$10,764.00 just for food?!

GypsyWife_

does this price seem outrageous? for 150 guests, a sitdown dinner of chicken or beef , hor'deurves and a cake.

QueerFemme

GypsyBridetobe said:

does this price seem outrageous? for 150 guests, a sitdown dinner of chicken or beef , hor'deurves and a cake.

No.

kryan32

That's $71.76 pp - is that all inclusive?  If it includes the tax, gratuity (20% here), linens, non-alcoholic drinks, and use of space, then it seems okay.  I'm not sure where you live but that seems reasonable to me...

 

GypsyWife_

no im paying for the venue seprately. i think that includes a coffee station, gratuity, and staff. well it looks like ill be having a buffet because thats only $17.00pp. im surprised by the gap in prices. no wonder why ive never been to a sitdown dinner wedding before.

manateehugger

Nope - that sounds about right. I would actually kill to get that price. 

GypsyWife_

thank you PDKH good to know. if you are in san diego i can give you the caterer's info.

melb2013

That's about what we paid for food.

Jessica41381

Not bad at all!

Ven&Radio

That sounds downright reasonable. I'm paying close to that for 60 people (just catering).

southernbelle0915

I think it depends on exactly what you're getting but I would say no, it's not bad at all. 

If you think it's high, take the estimate to another caterer and ask them to make you deal. Any caterer is going to love the money and publicity that comes from a 150 person wedding. Negotiate.

Maggie0829

Sounds about right to me.  I think for our reception (which included food stations and bar) we spent about $16,000 if not a bit more so yeah, the estimate that was given seems pretty average.

ETA:  Oh and that was for 130 people.

DaisyMaeMommy

Sounds about right. We were quoted at $9400 for 130 people, and that included tax, gratuity, and alcohol.

NOLAbridealmost

Sounds really normal to me.  We spent about 120.00 per person (we had a pretty decadent spread and premium brand open bar).  For a more modest spread with a basic bar it would have been about what you've been quoted.

MayDay513

Nope. Sounds about right. Plated dinner is expensive.

KCLindgren

PDKH said:

Nope - that sounds about right. I would actually kill to get that price. 

Same here!!!

GypsyWife_

no and my other half shotdown a buffet. however, i found a diffrent caterer for about 1k cheaper that includes open bar and cake.

GypsyWife_

i have to apologise for all my grammar mistakes. im not a great speller and i am missing more than half my keys off my keyboard.

hyechica81

75pp at my venue for a full course sit down dinner open bar, cocktail hour with lots of food options. dj cake and centerpeices are included in this price 

PickleJuiceSlurper

IMO- spending almost 11 grand on food for one night is ridiculous and a waste of money.  I would cook chicken for 150 guests for you for half that.. again this is just my opinion. 

With that said, $10,000 to me, could be only $1,000 to you. Depends the financial situation of the parties you're asking.  My whole wedding cost less than half of what you may be paying for just your food. 

lauraandrew7

i think it sounds reasonable, i had 130 guests and I paid 10000

allielynn88

I couldn't fathom spending that much on food for my wedding. I'm spending a little over $1000 on food/cake/drinks but I also don't have a huge wedding party.  My FI and I decided to do close family and friends. We are having a plated dinner at a very nice restaurant after the ceremony. 

Majide

allielynn88 said:

I couldn't fathom spending that much on food for my wedding. I'm spending a little over $1000 on food/cake/drinks but I also don't have a huge wedding party.  My FI and I decided to do close family and friends. We are having a plated dinner at a very nice restaurant after the ceremony. 

Good to see I'm not alone!  We are doing a plated dinner, and I'm looking at about $1600 for food.  I thought that was expensive!  It looks like generally $33 per person, including staff, service, clean-up, cake cutting, tax, etc.

smalfrie19

Thats more then my entire wedding COMBINED!

QueerFemme

StageManager14 said:

smalfrie19 said:

Thats more then my entire wedding COMBINED!

And that helps how?  It's more than my entire wedding as well, but that doesn't mean that it is an unfair cost for the services listed.  

Right. My whole wedding was about $12k, including our attire, wedding party attire, wedding bands, etc. But, we didn't have a plated dinner or a full open bar.  Just because I didn't spend that much, doesn't mean what she is being offered for that price is unreasonable.

FizzySips

FWIW, at a lot of the venues/caterers we considered (in Seattle) there wasn't a significant cost savings for one meal type (plated vs buffet) over another. Family style was typically the most expensive. And no, that number isn't unreasonable for a plated meal for 150 in this area.

kking1982

I am sorry, but that seems high to me. My custom made menu includes three custom salads (one "normal", one potato, and one fruit) 1 beef dish, 1 chicken dish, 2 sides, rolls, sweet and unsweet tea. All of my catering quotes have come in under $35 per person counting all service charges and gratuities. We are looking at doing a cupcake tree with each person averaging 3 cupcakes making that $10pp if you include the "cake". We live in Jacksonville, FL. A couple of caterers in the smaller rural areas surrounding Jax have quoted prices as low as $24pp.

mnwatson1

Majide said:

allielynn88 said:

I couldn't fathom spending that much on food for my wedding. I'm spending a little over $1000 on food/cake/drinks but I also don't have a huge wedding party.  My FI and I decided to do close family and friends. We are having a plated dinner at a very nice restaurant after the ceremony. 

Good to see I'm not alone!  We are doing a plated dinner, and I'm looking at about $1600 for food.  I thought that was expensive!  It looks like generally $33 per person, including staff, service, clean-up, cake cutting, tax, etc.

These posts make me feel better.  We're doing a buffet, but if we were doing plated, it would be costing us roughly $25-$30pp at our venue, including alcohol, but not including the space rental (which is $425 and includes all flatware, dinnerware, and linens).  Our venue is also known for having some of the most awesome food in the area, and will totally customize our menu to our requirements and our budget, but right now we're looking at about $17pp for a buffet and alcohol, and we're doing the whole wedding for under $8000.

EDIT:  We're planning on having roughly 100 guests at this point.

MissBeccaMN

 I'd say its pretty high, for the combination of my food and drinks (unlimited non alcoholic, beer and wine all night) AND 3 cakes, we are only paying around $5000 and we have been thinking that costs a lot!

ahende04

I think it is reasonable. I was quoted 48.95/adult for 2 meal options on a buffet, set up, clean up and I live in a fairly small area. Children 5-12 are half price and kids under 5 are free, but I am still paying almost 7000 for my 150 guests

kking1982

StageManager14 said:

kking1982 said:

I am sorry, but that seems high to me. My custom made menu includes three custom salads (one "normal", one potato, and one fruit) 1 beef dish, 1 chicken dish, 2 sides, rolls, sweet and unsweet tea. All of my catering quotes have come in under $35 per person counting all service charges and gratuities. We are looking at doing a cupcake tree with each person averaging 3 cupcakes making that $10pp if you include the "cake". We live in Jacksonville, FL. A couple of caterers in the smaller rural areas surrounding Jax have quoted prices as low as $24pp.

So, with your example, including cupcakes, you're at $45 per person.  But you think $24 for a full complement of soft drinks AND appetizers (and extra staff for these things), and adding in real cake instead of the cupcake (which likely includes a cutting fee and more work for the servers) is too high?  

I was responding to the OP price of about $72 per person. I think that is crazy high.

Maggie0829

And this is why we need the location put back under the username so that we can use their location for reference when talking about prices.  For instance, for my wedding in Baltimore the price OP listed is reasonable.  But for a bride in a small town with a much smaller cost of living the original price would seem crazy high.