Anyone hire a personal chef instead of using a caterer?

We are getting married in August and have decided after reviewing some of the most boring/basic menus that were offered to us that we will hire a private chef instead. This was also due to other caterers being unwilling to alter their menus or consider our preferences. We have an idea of what to discuss with the chef as we already have an idea of a menu, but has anyone else done this? Is it best to give them likes and dislikes and allow them the flex to build on that? We didn’t want to overwhelm him, and he seems amenable but I also don’t want to not have things we really like and we have several dietary requirements that cannot be ignored for health reasons. Any advice is appreciated!