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Is This a Reasonable Price? Semi-Long Post

soon2bmrsrlhsoon2bmrsrlh
10 Comments
in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
I just received an updated quote from our caterer (exclusive caterer for venue) and due to my lack of knowledge I'm not sure whether the pricing is reasonable or not. Just for reference, we are getting married in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Details...we gave the caterer our theme and he provided us with a sample quote for food stations. Cocktail hour: fruit display, cheese display, and olive bar. Salad station: lettuce salad, orzo salad, rice salad. Side station: truffled mac & cheese, sauteed veggies, sliced skirt steak. Entree station: ahi tuna slider, bbq pork slider, sirloin steak slider, and breaded chicken slider. All of these items were for $33/person (over budget). So I pared down the menu by nixing all the cocktail items, all the salads, the sliced skirt steak, and the ahi tuna slider....a total of 8 items. 

I received the quote today with the items removed and it's $25/person. I was a little blown away that I removed 8 items, two of which are fairly expensive (steak side & ahi tuna slider) and the price only decreased by $8. 

So keeping in mind that we are getting married in Iowa is $25 reasonable?

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Re: Is This a Reasonable Price? Semi-Long Post

  • PeavyPeavy member
    1000 Comments 5 Love Its

    So are you saying that you are only planning to serve truffled mac & cheese, sauteed veggies,  bbq pork slider, sirloin steak slider, and breaded chicken slider?  If this is for an evening reception at mealtime, this isn't enough food.  You've nixed the cocktail foods, but are you planning to have a cocktail hour with alcohol?  If so, then you really need to add some food there, or people will get very drunk very quickly.

    As far as the price goes, you've eliminated the low cost/low labor items - salads, cheese display, etc -- and kept the labor intensive sliders with the expensive ingredients.

    Why not tell the caterer what your price point is, and see what he can come up with.

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  • Starfish0116Starfish0116 member
    100 Comments
    $33/person for all of that sounds very reasonable. If that's out of budget I would suggest changing up your food items to something a little more inexpensive, but I wouldn't elimiate the food. If you're having an evening wedding with a cocktail hour you need food.
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  • NOLAbridealmostNOLAbridealmost member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    That sounds really, really reasonable to me. But I think PP made a very good point: tell them what you want to spend PP and ask them how they can make that stretch the most.  =)  
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  • soon2bmrsrlhsoon2bmrsrlh
    10 Comments
    We aren't having a cocktail hour...I should have mentioned that. So no worries about drinking without food. I did reply back to the caterer with a target per person amount and asked for other options but was just trying to get a feel for whether or not this was reasonable since we have to use the venue's caterer. Thanks for the help!
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  • Sue-n-KevinSue-n-Kevin member
    Seventh Anniversary 5000 Comments 25 Love Its First Answer
    Peavy's answer is straight on: you have eliminated all "easy" dishes that require very little labor, and kept the high labor (although lower cost) items.

    This is often a surprise to people, but appetizers or small "hand held" food often costs more because of the labor, not the cost of the item.

    It sounds like you did what I would have recommended and was already recommended above: give them your price point then see what they offer. It sounds like you want stations, and a variety of really cool foods. However, you may have to sacrifice some of your "vision/theme" for your budget. For $25 per person I'm sure they can put together a great meal for you.........but you may have to go with the less labor-intensive buffet than having multiple stations. You can still "jazz up" your food items, but they may be in large chafing dishes.

    Good luck.
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  • bridesally2012bridesally2012
    10 Comments
    I think this price is reasonable. Yes your caterer got rid of a lot of items and the price didn't go down much, but they probably now need to make a lot more of the items that are left (so your guests don't leave hungry). I'm also getting married in the midwest (but in a tiny town) and my food will end up being ~$18 per person (just plated salad and entree). So yeah, I think this is price is (unfortunately) quite reasonable.
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  • 031107031107
    100 Comments

    We paid $48-$54 pp depending on the entree picked - so yeah $33 pp is great.  We got married in Cleveland, Oh which is probably similar to Des Moines, Iowa in size and $$.

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  • spatton4989spatton4989
    10 Comments
    edited March 2012
     I just talked to my caterer the other day and got a price quote for $35 per person (includes: Salad, entree, and dessert). I havent yet talked to them about nixing the dessert to bring the price down...Anyway, I think your price per person sounds more like a entree type dinner. Therefor, its a little expensive for just sliders and such. Its just my opinion, Im also planning on a budget. Are you having open or cash bar? My mom gave my an awesome idea for the bar. We want our guests to have a few drinks and enjoy themselves but we dont have it in our budget for an open bar. So we are going to pay for one drink per person and put a ticket on the adults seating place. And after they use their ticket for a free drink its a cash bar. Just an idea to save you money. My question it the tip... Is it 20% on just the food?
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