Catering costs

Shoutsilently12

What is an average cost per person for catering in the Burlington area? For plated meal and hors d' oeuvres?

subdola

This is so completely going to depend on your venue and your caterer.  You could spend from $20 per head to over $100 per head.  

You could start by looking at catering websites, many of which list their prices or have a list ready if you ask.  Then, look at venues with on-site catering and see what their menu options are.  

You can find something in any price range, so the better question to ask yourself is what are YOU comfortable spending per person?

Shoutsilently12

The place I found is about 75-100 per person I was wondering what it would cost for just a caterer. I just wanted to try and compare to see if that spot was a lot higher than from a caterer.

PirateLady

I'm paying around $40/person for dinner and hors d'oeuvres, including labor costs, for my Burlington wedding. Good food was one of my priorities, and I was willing to pay for good, locally grown food.

The price is really going to depend on the menu. I would start by figuring out your budget and a rough estimate of the guest count. Most caterers will be able to come up with something for you within those guidelines. There are a lot of options out there at every price point. Most of the cateres I saw were in the $30-$40 per plate range, but I've only gotten one formal quote.

When you get quotes, make sure it includes labor and rental of any special serving equipment (we need to rent a commercial coffee pot and water urns for coffee/tea service). Also keep in mind, depending on your venue, you may need to rent plates and utensils.

Another thing to think about is the bar service, if you want to serve alcohol. Our venue (and probably VT law) requires that alcohol be served by someone with a bartending license. Ask your caterer if they have a liquor license. Some do, some don't, some can only serve beer and wine but not hard liquor. If you caterer doesn't serve alcohol, you'll have to hire a bar service, or at least someone with a serve safe certification (and this being a college town, that shouldn't be too hard to come by).

There aren't a lot of Vermont brides on here. I'd be willing to offer any advice I can. Let me know if you need help.

rachelj11

we met with a range of caterers in Burlington and the majority of our quotes came in between $45-50 for appetizers and plated dinner.

CarinandLuke

<strong>Dear PirateLady,
Would you be willing to share the caterer's information?  I'm in the process of researching VT caterers and I'm very interested!
Thanks,
Carin</strong>
carin.hoffman@gmail.com

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_vermont_catering-costs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:131Discussion:f11cd029-d6ac-4fbe-be49-71c114ea92b6Post:1c7500f7-3a5c-419b-ae40-3583345cb14a">Re: Catering costs</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm paying around $40/person for dinner and hors d'oeuvres, including labor costs, for my Burlington wedding. Good food was one of my priorities, and I was willing to pay for good, locally grown food. The price is really going to depend on the menu. I would start by figuring out your budget and a rough estimate of the guest count. Most caterers will be able to come up with something for you within those guidelines. There are a lot of options out there at every price point. Most of the cateres I saw were in the $30-$40 per plate range, but I've only gotten one formal quote. When you get quotes, make sure it includes labor and rental of any special serving equipment (we need to rent a commercial coffee pot and water urns for coffee/tea service). Also keep in mind, depending on your venue, you may need to rent plates and utensils. Another thing to think about is the bar service, if you want to serve alcohol. Our venue (and probably VT law) requires that alcohol be served by someone with a bartending license. Ask your caterer if they have a liquor license. Some do, some don't, some can only serve beer and wine but not hard liquor. If you caterer doesn't serve alcohol, you'll have to hire a bar service, or at least someone with a serve safe certification (and this being a college town, that shouldn't be too hard to come by). There aren't a lot of Vermont brides on here. I'd be willing to offer any advice I can. Let me know if you need help.
Posted by PirateLady[/QUOTE]