The biggest aspect of any successful soiree is the food and by ensuring that each of your guests has been well fed and has something from the menu to enjoy, a large part of your responsibility as a host will be taken care of.
Hence, if you are outsourcing the cocktail catering to somebody, make sure you convey these very important messages to your caterers before the party.
Number of Guests Invited
Not only the number of guests expected but also total number invited. This is in case some unexpected guests turn up. This will give your caterer a fair idea on how much extra food they should make.
Number of Vegetarian/Vegan Guests Expected
This is extremely important and must be conveyed to your catering company well in advance. They need not make a special menu for your vegan guests but they can probably do small quantities of vegetarian or vegan versions of the hors d’oeuvres being served.
Allergies
At least allergies of close family and friends must be conveyed so that those ingredients can be avoided as far as possible, especially if the caterer can still make the suggested menu whilst leaving out one of those ingredients.
Time of Serving
Make sure the caterers know when to start bringing out the appetizers. If they start too late, you might have some very hungry guests waiting and if they start too early there might not be enough guests in the party to enjoy the food.
Communicate well with your caterers to ensure there is no shortage of food or to make sure that no guest leaves your party hungry.