When planning your own wedding and reception it is important to keep in mind the quality of your place settings. Labeling can be deceptive to people who aren’t “in the know” about such things. An excellent example of this is the difference between bright white china and American white. Bright white is exactly as it sounds, bright clean and white, while American white tends more towards an off white cream colored plate. Since it is rare that your guests will be handling their plates, you can take some liberties with what they are made out of. You may choose to use a heavy melamine plate versus a traditional ceramic plate. The area where you have to be mindful of is flatware.
Flatware covers all of the utensils that your guests will be using, from their soup spoon to the dessert fork. Flatware is sold in three different weights and quality. Each weight has its pros and cons as does the quality, each of which helps to inform the price point for your flatware.
- Medium Weight: excellent for one time use and is very affordable. However anything more than a single use the flatware will show its wear quickly as it is made of a thinner, softer metal the Medium Weight flatware tends to bend easily and also feels light and cheap.
- Heavy Weight: while costing more than heavy weight it will feel better in the hand not feel like cheap flatware. Additionally it will stand up to repeated use much easier.
- Extra-Heavy Weight: of the three weights, extra-heavy weight costs the most, lasts the longest and is well worth the money as it will feel and look like high quality flatware.
In addition to weight of the flatware, quality of the metal also needs to be taken into account. Flatware generally has a number stamped into it; this number represents the ratio of nickel to chromium that is in the flatware. The higher the nickel ratio the more resistant to corrosion the flatware will have. Below is a quick break down of the most common ratios
- 18/0 means that there is no nickel in the flatware and it will be more likely to corrode.
- 18/8 & 18/10 have very little in difference between them. Flatware with these designations will hold their luster for many years.
Bearing this explanation of how to choose the best flatware for your reception the next decision is where to purchase your flatware from. You may have a store locally to you but generally specialty catering stores deal with businesses versus average customers, also keep in mind that these shops tend to charge at a premium for their products. Your other option is to select a site from the wide variety online, making sure to do your research to make sure you are working with a reputable company.
Lionsdeal.com has worked very hard to fill the gap in customer service that is common among restaurant/catering supply companies. With an extremely wide variety of products to choose from you will be able to purchase everything from serving platters, chamfers, steam pans & accessories, and plates, dessert dishes, glassware and of course flatware in several qualities and styles. Another aspect of Lionsdeal.com that to keep in mind is their option to request a quote, this allows you to paste in your entire list of what you need, how many and they can give you a quote for your order and potentially suggest elements you may have overlooked!
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