Catering cost per person

This totally depends on what you want. In in NYC, I would try to look for all-inclusives, but yes, that $150 sounds about right for food and alcohol (maybe a bit more depending on what you want).

Not sure if this helps but my venue not far from Philadelphia is $157 per person (tax & tip included) as a starting rate.

It depends a lot on what food and drink you get. Think of it like a restaurant. "How much does food cost?" is a meaningless question unless you say whether you're ordering at McDonald's or the Ritz. Similarly, just beer and wine will be a lot less than a premium open bar.

This is completely dependent on location. We paid $42/person. (alcohol not included. That was based on consumption at end of the reception. It came to $1500. We only hosted hard cider, beer, wine, and champagne) We're in NH.

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I'm in Philadelphia and paying 140 pp after tax . I think a good starting place for NY would be 150 .. it will be cheaper though if you head into NJ .. north jersey has amazing venues and 150 in NJ is achievable

I think your $150 PP estimate is low for a NYC wedding in a very desirable month (September). We work in that area, and I can tell you, even North Jersey venues easily charge more than that. You could probably save some money by going for a Thursday/Friday/Sunday wedding and/or a wedding after the holidays and before Easter (which is typically the off-season -- a less desirable time of the year that is reflected in the PP pricing). Or consider a luncheon/brunch wedding.

I would search for an all inclusive venue, and, unless you're having a very small wedding, look at boroughs besides Manhattan (or areas of Jersey and Long Island).

Like others have said it will vary. For our wedding our venue (included food and bar) ended up costing about $200 pp when tax, fees and upgrades were factored. Wedding was Monday July 3 so we technically had a 10% discount on package price. Package price was $112pp. Add ons included things like: offering three options (meat, chicken, fish) instead of two (vegetarian is automatically provided), additional $ for people actually choosing the prime rib option (it cost an addl $2 pp to just offer it and addl $10 for each guest who selected), upgrading the bar, adding an extra hour of bar (most places around here either cut off bar service an hour early or don't serve booze during dinner), linen rentals and chair rentals, and champagne toast. The venue did include a cake which was great to not have to worry about that. We spent an addl $10k on photography, DJ and flowers. This was for 100 guests in Mystic CT. Just keep in mind once you start making changes, the package price usually starts changing too! Good luck!

You can probably pull it off in north NJ, but it's tough when you add tax and service (generally about 28%)

In NYC, look at BK Venues; they rep out almost a dozen spaces, and their recommended caterers range widely in price.

If you like making charts and spreadsheets, I highly recommend using excel to keep track of all of the venues, caterers and other vendors you may be interested in. This will be especially helpful in choosing between all-inclusive vs outside caterer!

Thank you for all the messages and guidance, appreciate it a lot!!

$150pp is on the low side for NYC, unless you're thinking an off day (M-Th) during an off month.

Here is a great deal you may want to check out right in your area. Dyker Beach Golf Course, has an all-inclusive package for 5 hours, a great price and a ton of inclusions!

http://ny.dykerbeachgc.com/weddings/

I'm in northern NJ and I'm priced at $160pp. Two of my friends were married in NYC and their price was $200+ before taxes. September is still an expensive time and most venues I looked into in NJ was booked one year out or more. Good luck!

It will depend on area but that seems low for NYC unless you do off day, off season