Budget mishap!

If you have time to set aside the money, I would just cover it. Easier for everyone. TBH $850 over is not bad at all imo!

Honestly if someone else was paying for my entire wedding I would just pay the $850 myself. While that amount isn't insignificant, it is really a drop in the bucket of the whole budget.

Give your dad a heads up about the fee and let him know that you're planning to pay for it. And be ready for any other unexpected fees or charges to pop up over the next nine months - there will definitely be more things that cost more than you expect!

If he is already giving you enough money to pay for everything else, I would cover it yourselves. If you budget a little, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with $850 before October

This is exactly what I was going to say. You shouldn't keep the information from your dad, but it's ok for you to step up and pay that.

Just a thought: Some Caterers add that service charge but it's NOT a tip or gratuity. You might want to verify what that charge is for. I got a few quotes where they had a 22 percent service charge, but that was to cover travel, setup and tear down costs but had nothing to do with tipping, so the expense was another 20% on top of that.

I agree with some of the PPs, tell your dad, but tell him you are going to pay it (if you are able to! If not, the two of you could maybe figure a way for him to pay it now and you pay him back, etc.)