Wälchli Feste AG

Catering and tents from one company in Aarwangen

Wälchli Feste AG is a catering and tent-building company based in Aarwangen in the Oberaargau, canton of Bern, and it has been working since 1959. Its own headline sums up the offer as catering and tent building from a single source. For a wedding that means the same company can put up the tent, bring the furniture and infrastructure, and serve the meal, from what the homepage calls the party tent to the multi-course menu.

The owner and managing director is Beat Fischbach, who signs the welcome note on the homepage. Most of the company's work, as the homepage describes it, is company events, anniversaries, public festivals and large banquets, and it says it works throughout Switzerland while remaining rooted in its region.

Weddings in the catering offer

The catering page names weddings plainly. The team cooks and serves for 50 to 5,000 guests, it says, at cozy public festivals, lively general assemblies, impressive company parties and romantic wedding celebrations. It adds that the setting can be a factory hall, a tent or the open air. The FAQ answers the wedding question directly: yes, the company caters weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other private events, and it puts personal discussion with the client at the center of the planning.

The formats listed are aperitif and finger-food catering, buffet and banquet catering, grill and barbecue catering, and drinks catering (Getränke- und Genuss-Catering). The introduction also mentions classically served menus and street-food combinations. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are available by arrangement, with details settled during planning.

On request the company supplies rental equipment (crockery, glasses, cutlery, place settings) and service staff. The exact scope is written into the order confirmation, so a couple should check that document carefully to see what is and is not included.

Food truck, restaurant and seminar venue

The catering page links to three other operations that the company runs:

• George's Take Away, a food truck described as mobile catering for events, weddings and company parties. For a relaxed evening or a late-night snack after the dinner, this is the most wedding-relevant of the three.
• Restaurant Time Out, the gastro operation at the Schoren ice hall, which the site says runs 6 days a week.
• Stadttheater Olten, listed as a seminar and conference center.

None of these is presented as a wedding venue on the pages, so a couple looking for a location should not assume one of them is available for a reception.

Tents and rental material

The tent side of the business is substantial. The navigation lists festival tents and halls to buy or rent and a separate rental material section. The homepage says tent work can go beyond the region depending on the project. For a couple planning a garden or field wedding, this is the reason to look at Wälchli Feste AG: the tent, the furniture and the kitchen come from one contract rather than three.

Track record

The references are almost all large public or corporate events. The homepage news list includes the Jazz Tage Langenthal (tents, infrastructure and gastronomy), the BEA public fair in Bern, where the company runs two gastronomy outlets including the traditional Restaurant Treichle in hall 12, the HESO autumn fair in Solothurn, where it runs two outlets from 18 to 27 September 2026, the festival New Orleans meets in Zofingen, which the news item says filled the old town with music and food again in June 2026, the regional gymnastics festival in Wangen an der Aare and the Swiss Automotive Show at Forum Fribourg. The closest thing to a private celebration among them is the anniversary general assembly of the Ersparniskasse Affoltern i.E., for which the company supplied the tent, infrastructure, furniture and the complete catering, which is the same combination a marquee wedding needs.

The catering page carries a testimonial from Stefan Wälchli, CEO of Clientis Bank Oberaargau, who writes that Wälchli Feste AG has for years been the caterer for the bank's general assembly, each time with over 1,500 participants, and that he is always impressed by its professionalism and high quality standard. That is a corporate client, not a wedding couple, but it speaks to the company's capacity for a large event.

How to inquire

Inquiries go through a non-binding online form, with separate buttons for catering and for tent building. The FAQ says the company reviews the details and then gets back in touch to plan. Catering questions go to a named contact, Kathrin Geiser (kg@waelchlifeste.ch); the general line is +41 62 922 56 73 and the address info@waelchlifeste.ch. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 08.00 to 12.00 and 13.30 to 17.00. The company is at Bützbergstrasse 17, 4912 Aarwangen. The final guest count has to be confirmed at least 14 days before the event. General terms for catering (AGB Catering) are available as a download.

What the site does not settle

The site publishes no prices and no wedding menus. It does not say how long a quote takes. It is written in German only, and neither page says whether the team plans events in English, so a couple from abroad should ask that in the first email. The catering service area is Aarwangen, the Oberaargau and the canton of Bern, plus the cantons of Solothurn, Aargau and Luzern and neighboring regions; a wedding further away, or in the mountains, is a question to raise directly. The site does not say whether the company works with florists, photographers or musicians, or helps with accommodation for guests.

Who it suits

Wälchli Feste AG suits couples marrying in the Bern and Solothurn area who want a tent or an unusual space (a hall, a farm, a field) and would rather deal with one company for the structure and the food. It also suits large weddings: the lower bound on the catering page is 50 guests, so a very small dinner is not what it is set up for. The references are mostly festivals and corporate events, which shows capacity at scale but says little about the more personal side of a wedding, so ask how they handle a wedding day from the first conversation.