cost of catering- i think its too high!

kzsnyder

We are providing the beef, potatoes, corn, and green beans for our 80 person wedding. We are also providing all the table cloths, silverwre, cups, and plates.  We are asking the "caterer" to marinate, prepare, cook, and serve the food, and provide

Cheese

Spinach dip

Crackers/bread

Hummus/olive spread

Iced Tea

Lemon Wedges

Apple cider

Coffee

Hot Tea

Hot chocolate

How much would You think would be a reasonable charge for this?

writergirl28

Have you actually found a caterer who will allow you to supply some of the food? I've never seen a caterer willing to do this, which is why I ask who you're using.  The cheapest in the York/Lancaster area I have found is $30/person for sit down or buffet meal and that was a BBQ/cook out type meal. Hope that helps!

thesupernovagirl

Haggle.  I've seen a LOT of posts on this site where the bride haggled about the price of food for their wedding and started the bidding dirt cheap and worked upwards.  I was AMAZED at some of the prices they scored.  You HAVE to know that if a place can charge $15 a head for a regular lunch buffet but when the words dinner wedding reception come into play the prices climb to as much as $60 a person that they are jacking the price up because the word wedding comes into play.  I personally feel a caterer has NO say if you bring your own snacks as long as your not using their plates to serve them.  Although if the venue is providing the food that is a different story.  YES catering prices are absurd.  I KNOW that if I could do it myself I could do it with fresh local ingredients and at a fraction of the cost.  My best advice is to haggle, and plan the details.  I've head of some caterers including place settings and linens but sometimes its cheaper, sometimes it is not.   Some caterers will actually charge you for the damn linens on the buffet table at $16 a pop! 

thesupernovagirl

If you provide the food the caterer will likely not serve the drinks, clear plates, clean the dishes and some other details you may not consider.  Also who will provide the salt and pepper shakers? butter/ trays? coffee cups? water glasses? sugar packets?  The devil is in the details.  TRUST Me I considered making my own food as well and the details were not worth the trouble.