Wooden Paddle Catering

•Ratings include Zola and Google reviews

About Wooden Paddle Catering

Wooden Paddle Catering

Wooden Paddle Catering is Chicagoland's go-to for full-service wedding catering that's anything but ordinary. We roll up to your venue with mobile wood-fired brick ovens and cook everything fresh and live — wood-fired pizzas, chef-designed apps, desserts, and craft cocktails your guests will not stop talking about. We handle it all: professional staffing, full bar, rentals, setup, and teardown. Family-style, plated, or stations — you name it, we bring it. With 10+ years and 1,000+ events across Chicagoland, we've been to just about every venue in the suburbs. Serving the greater Chicago area within 50 miles of Lemont. 🔥

You shouldn’t be worrying about food on your wedding day. For real. We handle the food, the allergies, the timing, the clean-up… all of it. You just show up, look cute, get married, and wait for everyone to ✨rave✨ about the food.

Sample catered weddings

Watching a couple slice into a pizza instead of a cake, seeing guests enjoy the food — that kind of joy keeps us inspired all day.

Guest Count

100

Total Catering Cost

$10,000

Menu Highlights

  • Seated meal
  • Family-style meal
  • Passed appetizers
  • Stationary appetizers
  • Wedding cake service
  • Dessert service
  • Appetizers, Pizzas, Pastas, Desserts

Services Included

  • Chef(s)
  • Service Staff
  • Setup / Breakdown
  • Clean Up / Trash Removal
  • Service Captain(s)
  • Bartender(s)
The Couple🥰
The Buzzkill🍕
Burrata Toast🍞
Housemade Gelato & Sorbetto🍨

Services

Services

  • Bartenders
  • Cleanup and breakdown
  • Consultations and tastings - complimentary
  • Rental coordination - directly invoice couple
  • Serving staff

Cuisines

  • American
  • Eastern European
  • French
  • Fusion
  • Italian

Dietary accommodations

  • Dairy-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Halal
  • Nut-free
  • Vegetarian

Meal types

  • Breakfast/brunch
  • Buffet
  • Dessert service
  • Family-style meal
  • Food stations
  • Food trucks
  • Passed appetizers
  • Seated meal
  • Stationary appetizers
  • Wedding cake service

Beverage services

  • Bartending
  • Beverage servingware rentals
  • Mixers/non-alcoholic options
  • Provides liquor license

Drink types

  • Beer
  • Coffee service
  • Liquor
  • Mobile bar
  • Non-alcoholic
  • Signature cocktails
  • Wine

Extra costs

  • Bartender services
  • Rentals - beverage ware
  • Rentals - dining ware
  • Rentals - furniture
  • Rentals - linens
  • Service Fee
  • Wedding Cake & Dessert Service

Reviews

Write a review
Rating: 4.8

4.8 out of 5

34 reviews

  • CN

    Chinwendu N.

    Rating: 5
    •Zola
    •Oct 16

    Wooden Paddle Catering

    We received a lot of compliments on the choice of food at our wedding! Wedding food that's actually appealing was one of our main concerns and Wooden Paddle definitely delivered.

  • RV

    Romina V.

    Rating: 5
    •Zola
    •Oct 16

    Delicious and great pricing!

    We worked with Wooden Paddle for our wedding caterer and it was so delicious! I would definitely recommend doing a tasting, you get to try a lot of their options, pizzas pastas and meats. Our guests really loved the food, they thought it was a unique choice and we got lots of comments that it was better than traditional wedding food and requests to send them the name of the restaurant to visit on their own later. It was also more affordable than most of the other caterers we looked into. The family style service worked really well and went smoothly. We were very busy saying hello to all our guests during dinner but Wooden Paddle made sure to pack our leftovers and any food we didn’t get to eat so we could still enjoy it at the end of the night back at our hotel. Highly recommend booking and definitely recommend the pesto pasta, meatball appetizers, and the Buzzkill pizza!!

  • AV

    Alexis V.

    Rating: 4
    •Zola
    •Oct 7, 2026

    Even with a lil hiccup, Wooden Paddle came on top!

    We initially went with Wooden Paddle because of recommendations from multiple venues and friends. Even with some hiccups, I'm glad we chose Wooden Paddle as our catering team. Our tasting was such a fun and great experience that left us soooo full. It was then we realized we may have considered too much food! For the most part, Wooden Paddle was very responsive and very collaborative. Unfortunately, I can't give them 5 stars because while the company was going through some staffing changes, they did not let us know that our catering lead was no longer with the company. That was a frustrating experience, as it meant my emails were going unread and unanswered for weeks. All of that to say, they made it right. Our wedding day was perfect and the team was soooo easy to work with. Our guest can't stop talking about the food, which is always the win.

  • KC

    Katie C.

    Rating: 5
    •Zola
    •Oct 6, 2026

    Delicious food, professionally experience

    We loved working with Wooden Paddle Catering! The quality of the food and drinks was incredible, everyone at our wedding raved about the food and drinks. Everyone we worked with was so kind and professional. They were able to accommodate different dietary restrictions which was so nice especially considering the groom's family was vegetarian. Without asking, they made sure to make one of our prosciutto pizzas without prosciutto to provide to the groom’s family table. The set-up and tear-down was so seamless on the day of our wedding. Thanks for helping give us the wedding of our dreams! If we had one piece of feedback, it's that the menu wasn't completely accurate regarding which items were vegetarian. For example, the harvest salad was listed as vegetarian, but when we asked about it at our tasting, the nuts in the salad are cooked in beef tallow. It was very easy to order the salad without nuts, but we're glad we asked, otherwise we wouldn't have known. And the ooey-gooey butter cake is not listed as a vegetarian item on the menu, but when we asked to confirm, we were told it was vegetarian. This ended up being very minor in the scheme of things, but just think updating the labeling would make things clearer. Overall, everything worked out perfectly on the day and we're so glad to have worked with them!

  • MG

    Marisol G.

    Rating: 5
    •Zola
    •Sep 21, 2026

    Amazing food and staff!

    Everything was amazing, so much so that I am at a loss for words! From prep, communication and planning beforehand, to the amazing staff day off, to the FOOD! We got rave reviews from our guests. We’re so happy we decided to go with Wooden Paddle for our post-wedding party!

Our menu is fully à la carte, and our pricing is totally transparent! We’ll create a quote for your specific event, but for reference, our couples typically spend between $75 - $150 per person. If we know your budget, we’ll work with you to make a plan that fits!
We’re firm believers - Aunt Jane shouldn’t have a lesser-than meal simply because she doesn’t eat wheat! We’ve got gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and vegetarian options, so we can accommodate just about anything.
We generally travel up to 50 miles from our Wooden Paddle kitchen in Lemont, IL. Is your event a little bit, or a lot a bit, further away? Let’s talk anyway! We do make exceptions.
We’ve catered at over 100 event venues around the Chicagoland area. Even if we’re not on your venue’s preferred vendors list (yet!), there’s still a *pretty* good chance we’ll be able to cater your event. We’ve done it before, and gosh dang it, we’ll do it again! And if you nix a venue altogether and go the backyard route? We’re happy to cater there too!
All you need to do is sign your contract, and pay your 30% deposit. Then you’re locked in, and your date is yours!
We bring a full crew, including chefs, servers, bartenders, and event captains. The amount of staff we bring to your event depends on your guest count, menu, venue requirements, etc. We’ll let you know what you need as we build your proposal! Staff is always charged seperately.
We also provide all the at-the-table rentals - tablecloths, napkins, plates, silverware, wine glasses, water glasses, etc. Consider it taken care of!

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