WR: tell me about catering

[Deleted]

More wedding questions!

1. How much did you pay for catering?

2. How many people did you serve?

3. What did it include?

4. Plated, buffet or family style?

Any other tips are welcome too.

[Redpoppy]

$3000 for 75 people - plated meal of prime rib or stuffed chicken with sides, soup, salad, chocolate mousse dessert, champagne toast, cake cutting, tax, and tip. We spent another $500 on apps for cocktail hour and $2000 on open bar.

We had our reception at a restaurant with a banquet room versus a stand alone function facility. The function facilities I checked out started at $75 a head.

[puppiesandrainbows]

Sept 7, 2012 22:06:03 GMT -5 @amoosed said:

More wedding questions!

1. How much did you pay for catering?

2. How many people did you serve?

3. What did it include?

4. Plated, buffet or family style?

Any other tips are welcome too.

What type of tips are you seeking specifically? And costs will vary widely based on location.

[Deleted]

Oh I know it'll vary based on location, I'm just curious what people paid.

[carfar]

25 or 30 k I think for the food, service, china, glassware etc, food station style set up for 123 people. This did not include the alcohol, or the rental of the space itself.

I'd make sure to read the quote carefully to be sure what's included. Different caterers include different things, and price differently so quotes are not usually apples to apples.

Also a place that has a kitchen will probably cost less than having a place where a kitchen will be improvised or everything must br brought in.

[EmilieMadison]

We didnt pay for catering (super small wedding - family made dinner) but was wondering: have you considered Cosetta's or Kowalski's? AWESOME food at both places, and while it's not "cheap", it's might be less than a traditional catering company.

[Deleted]

I've thought about Cosetta's! I'm waiting to hear from two more traditional catering places that have worked at our venue. If they are way out of our price range I think we'll look at Cosetta's more seriously. Because its delicious.

[Deleted]

$2000 for 70 people. It included three passed hors d'oeuvres, boiled peanuts station during cocktail hour, and a buffet of Southern food (fried chicken, bourbon baked ham, and several Southern sides, cheddar biscuits and cornbread), pink lemonade and tea served in mason jars, and linens. It did not include room rental or our full open bar. Our in laws paid for the bar and I suspect that it ended up costing more than the food because it was paid for per drink and people drank a lot.

We paid for 90% of of the wedding ourselves, so we decided to get married in our college town instead of where we live because it's a LCOL area and was much cheaper to do it there.

[EmilieMadison]

Did you pick the venue?? WHERE? (PM me if you dont want to spread it all over the interwebs lol!)

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2012 15:25:33 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Did you pick the venue?? WHERE? (PM me if you dont want to spread it all over the interwebs lol!)

Haha. We picked Camrose Hill for next fall!

I'll just delete later if I feel like it.

[rubytue]

$4200. 7 years ago. BBQ buffet for 115.

[EmilieMadison]

Ooooh, that place is gorgeous!

[Deleted]

Sept 7, 2012 22:06:03 GMT -5 @amoosed said:

More wedding questions!

1. How much did you pay for catering? I do not remember. It was all included.

2. How many people did you serve? 70

3. What did it include? field greens salad, plated dinner with chicken, veggies, rice, bread basket, wines, coffee, tea, drinks, goblet of berries with cream for dessert.

Full Bar was separate.

We also had a cocktail hour with lots of delicious apps - coconut shrimp, a filet thing, apricot Brie thing....I can not remember all of them.

4. Plated, buffet or family style? Plated.

Any other tips are welcome too.

Buffets are hard to pull off efficiently and neatly. Keep it simple. No fussy table settings. Check the decor and colors of your venue before deciding on your wedding colors. Nothing worse than a purple and green wedding when the decor is red brocade curtains, lots of gold accents and a blue carpet.

[UMaineTeach]

Dinner Buffet (2 meats, 2 veg, gr. salad, potato, rolls, coffee, punch) for ~ 70 people for $1,500 - overpaid even though the food was good we were just paying for food, cooking, and 3 staff - no dishes, no clean-up. Salad was plated on the table when guest got there and they went to get the rest of the meal. This gave people something to do while waiting for their turn to go up.

Mom and aunt made the apps for cocktail hour - don't know a cost
Champagne/cider bought ourselves, bartender served for no fee ~ $80
Cake was ~ $100, no cutting fee, plating fee, or any of than nonsense
Rented dishes, flatware, and glasses from a party rental company, forget the cost.

::whisper:: cash bar ::/whisper::

[pacificrules]

(Seven years ago) We paid a little over $2000. It was $19/pp. It was a buffet style with salmon, chicken, potatoes, a couple of different salads, fruit and vegetables. It sounds boring, but everything was SO delicious! Lots of great flavor combos, sauces, etc. That price also included two different passed tray appetizers.

[orangeblossom]

About 10K I think.

It included four passed appetizers, buffet meal, linens (including colors), cake, no alcohol.

Ultimately we had about 150 people. Budgeted for about 200.

[Deleted]

Can you ask this on your local Knot board or local GBCN board? Honestly, prices vary so much regionally that knowing that someone paid $20/person isn't going to be helpful if in your area everything is more like $70/person... or vice versa.

[starlily]

1. $95pp not including tax, gratuity, or cake cutting fee, back in 2007.

2. 215 people

3. It included 5 passed hot apps & open bar during cocktail hour, champagne for toasting, dinner, unlimited wine & beer during meal service, coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic beverages, and open bar for 1-2 hours after dinner.

It also included table linens, chair covers, and table centerpieces.

4. It was a plated meal. Guests had a choice of filet, sea bass, or a vegetarian selection.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2012 16:34:28 GMT -5 v said:

Can you ask this on your local Knot board or local GBCN board? Honestly, prices vary so much regionally that knowing that someone paid $20/person isn't going to be helpful if in your area everything is more like $70/person... or vice versa.

I'm trying to avoid the knot. Lol. But I'm just curious what people paid, I know it'll vary a lot by location. I'm waiting for some quotes from a few places in my area so I just wanted to see what the MM peeps paid.

[elizabethann]

1. $3500
2. 100 people
3. This included a warm hour dourves bar while they waited for the bridal party to arrive. Unlimited delicious bread and a salad. Everyones plate consisted of both Salmon and a Steak, cheddar mashed potatoes and veggies.
We also had open bar throughout the night that was another ~$2000
4. Plated with large wait staff

Probably a bit overpriced for a LCOL area but we wanted to make the food memorable since we only had 100 guests. It was so good.

[Deleted]

1. How much did you pay for catering? $125/pp not including tax, tips, maitre d gratuity. HCOL in 2006.

2. How many people did you serve?175

3. What did it include? Full premium Open bar all night, 1.5 hr cocktail hour w multiple stations, raw bar, passed hot apps, martini and vodka bar; bread, salad, plated dinner (chicken, chateaubriand, Chilean sea bass, eggplant parm, or kosher meal- forgot what they served); dessert- chocolate fountain dessert station, wedding cake, petit fours). Also included hall fee, linens.

4. Plated, buffet or family style? Plated dinner

[caprisun]

1. How much did you pay for catering? A little over $10,000. After tax/gratuity, it amounted to $82/person, 4 hour open bar included in that and table side wine service during dinner.

2. How many people did you serve?
125-ish

3. What did it include?
Food wise: 3 passed apps during cocktail hour, 2 salad options, 3 entree options, 3 sides & wedding cake
Alcohol wise: 4 hour full open bar, wine poured table side at dinner, champagne toast

4. Plated, buffet or family style?
family style

[vccake]

Sept 7, 2012 22:06:03 GMT -5 @amoosed said:

More wedding questions!

1. How much did you pay for catering?

2. How many people did you serve?

3. What did it include?

4. Plated, buffet or family style?

Any other tips are welcome too.

1. Outside Philly, 14k. The venue didn't have much of a kitchen and this added to the price.

2. 74 adults and 10 kids

3. Dinner, apps, tea and coffee. Crazy. We had an open bar but bought all the booze. I was able to return unopened bottles.

4. Plated. Tilapia with caviar and filet mignon.