Catering

Kirstenl

Just curious... what would be the average for catering per person for buffet? seated? I just started searching & have no idea what would be a good deal or not!Thank u!!!

squirrly

Oh, it varies A LOT.  Is there a bar included?  What kind of food?  BBQ vs filet is a very different price.  Multiple courses?  Apps for cocktail hour included? 

BBQ can be really tasty and might be about $15/person, just for food.

Catering that includes linens, tables, chairs, china, non-alcoholic beverages, multiple entree choices, apps for cocktail hour, etc. can run anywhere from $30/person to $100/person.  Some caterers charge more for buffet because they have to make more food, while some charge more for plated service because they need more servers.  It just really depends.  The best thing is to email the caterers you're interested in and get quotes or price lists.  There's no real benchmark to work with.  People can tell you what they paid, but unless you know all the details, you're not going to be able to use that info much.

Variables:
# of apps
# of sides
# of entrees
table cloths
napkins
chair covers
chair sashes
non-alcoholic beverages
centerpieces (some venues include them, actually)
are apps buffet or passed? 
is dinner buffet or plated?  if buffet, how many lines?  stations?
china, silverwear & glassware

Kirstenl

WOW.....you just made my head hurt lol. This crap is too confusing sometimes.

squirrly

Nah, it's not that bad.  Where's your wedding (city)?  Do you have a venue?  Formal or casual?  Any particular restaurants you like in the area?  Or, type of food you want?  Maybe I can give you some places to contact for quotes.  It's easy to do all that stuff via email.  Once you have a couple in hand, it starts to make a lot more sense. 

I just wanted you to know that when people throw out numbers on the knot of their per person price, it could include just food, or a whole ton of other stuff.  I couldn't tell you what our food only price was - I just know the price to the venue for food, including apps and late night snack, plus chairs and tables and stuff they had to rent and the DJ and the tent and setup and teardown and cutting the cake and and and and. . .

Which means nothing next to a food only price.    Context is everything.