Wedding guide
Food vans for weddings: what to know before you book
A food van serves hot, freshly cooked food to your guests at your venue. Here is how it works, what it costs and what to check before you book.
Why a food van
Why couples choose a food van
Guests come to the van, choose their meal and receive it hot and freshly cooked. There are no plated meals going cold and no complicated menu cards to manage.
A fish and chip van, a loaded fries menu or a gourmet burger van suits barns, marquees, village halls, gardens and any venue that welcomes outside caterers.
Your timings
Wedding breakfast or evening food?
We can serve your wedding breakfast or your evening food. Tell us your timings and we will plan service around your day.
A fish and chip supper works well as evening food, because it is hot, filling and familiar to everyone. Our guide to evening wedding food ideas has more on timing and choosing a menu.
Prices
How much does a food van cost for a wedding?
Our prices are per guest, so you know the cost from the start.
- Option 1 Fish and Chip Van: £12 per person
- Option 2 Loaded Fries: £10 per person
- Option 3 Gourmet Burgers: £12 per person
A non-refundable £50 booking fee secures the date and a £650 minimum spend applies on the day. As a guide, the minimum spend covers about 55 guests on Option 1 or Option 3 and about 65 guests on Option 2.
Guest numbers should be finalised 4 weeks before the event where possible. The invoice is sent 28 days before the event and the final payment is due 14 days before it.
Space
Will a food van fit at our venue?
Our van needs a space about 6 metres long and 2.65 metres wide, with about 12 feet (3.7 metres) of headroom, on firm, level ground. Our serving hatch is on the passenger side, so it helps to plan where it will face your guests.
Check that your venue welcomes outside caterers and has space for the van close to your guests. Our space and access checklist covers ground, access and power in more detail.
Speed
How quickly can a food van feed our guests?
Very quickly. We regularly serve more than 150 guests an hour. We have served 171 guests in 43 minutes and 250 in 90 minutes.
Service usually runs for 1 to 2 hours, depending on your numbers. Nothing on our menus takes longer than 6 minutes to cook.
Menus
Choosing your wedding menu
You choose one of our three menus for your wedding. Your guests then choose their own meal from it on the day.
- Option 1 Fish and Chip Van: footlong fish fresh from Grimsby, sausage, fishcake and more, with chips and a choice of peas, curry or gravy.
- Option 2 Loaded Fries: wedding street food with a choice of 3 toppings.
- Option 3 Gourmet Burgers: steak, chicken breast fillet or veggie burgers with a choice of toppings, salad, fries and homemade onion rings.
Our veggie burger is suitable for vegans and all our sauces are vegetarian. Our mushy peas are vegan. Our chicken, steak and fish options are Halal. Children who would rather not have the toppings can have chicken nuggets and chips with Option 1 or popcorn chicken and fries with Option 2.
Checklist
Questions to ask any wedding food van
- What is your food hygiene rating? Ours is 5 (very good), the top rating.
- Are you insured? We hold £5 million public liability insurance and £5 million products liability insurance.
- Can you send our venue your paperwork? Our risk assessments, gas safety certificates and insurance details are available on request.
- How many guests can you serve an hour? We regularly serve more than 150.
- What happens if it rains? Our serving hatch opens out to give cover for two or three guests at a time. Where we can, we park close to your venue so guests stay dry.
- Do you need power? Not always. Your venue’s hook-up lets us run silently. Away from a power supply, we bring our own generator.
- Do you take the rubbish away? We ask for bins near the van for the trays, cutlery and sachets.
Wedding reviews
What couples say
Quality★★★★★Communication★★★★★Value★★★★★
The best decision for my wedding! Brilliant service and the food was amazing! I can’t thank them enough! Already looking for the next opportunity to book them! Guests loved the idea of fish and chips at a wedding
Annabel C, Wedding, Cockliffe Country House, Arnold, September 2026
Quality★★★★★Communication★★★★★Value★★★★★
All my daughter’s wedding guests were amazed at how quickly they were served. The food was quality and the choice was good too. I would definitely recommend – thanks ♥️
Diane M, Wedding, Stoke-on-Trent, September 2026
Questions
Wedding food van questions
Do you cover our wedding venue?
We travel to venues within about 35 miles of Swadlincote, across Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and the West Midlands. Sometimes we can go a little further, depending on the size of the event. See the areas we cover.
Do our guests need to pre-order?
Usually not. Guests choose at the hatch on the day, which keeps things simple for you. If your timings are tight, a pre-order list helps us serve even faster. You are also welcome to limit the choice to a few favourites from your menu.
Can we try the food before we book?
We attend very few public events, so tastings are hard to arrange. Please ask and we will let you know if we are serving near you soon. Most customers book on the strength of our reviews. Read our reviews.
Reviews
What couples say
Recommended on Facebook98% of our 50 Facebook reviewers recommend us
Deb C recommends OceanView CateringMay 2020 · Facebook
Supplied a fish and chip van outside the club where we held our wedding reception. Absolutely delicious, fresh, good value. Really helped make the day, especially as the first thing we knew we wanted when we organised our wedding was a fish and chip van. Hadn’t even decided when or where. Fantastic, everyone said so
Sarah K recommends OceanView CateringAugust 2019 · Facebook
Ocean View catering came to my wedding on Tuesday and catered for 90ish people. They did an excellent job and the food was delicious. Before the event we pre-ordered all of our food to make service on the evening quicker. No problems with communication as they were quick to respond to emails and any questions. Brilliant food and I would recommend them to anyone!
Georgina S recommends OceanView CateringSeptember 2021 · Facebook
I hired the fish and chip van for my wedding reception and it was amazing! My guests loved the food and big portions the staff were so lovely and helpful. I had to change the dates a few times due to covid but that was no problem at all. Highly recommend.
Check your date
Bring OceanView Catering to your event
Tell us your date, venue and guest numbers and we will come back to you with availability and a quote.
Call or text Jacqui 07922466350Call or text Jo 07922040994Email oceanviewcatering.co.uk@gmail.com