Catering

I don’t think you can easily figure that out - it depends so much on location, type of food (BBQ or Italian through to high end fine dining will have a huge variance in price) and so on. What sort of food are you looking at?

View Quoted Comment Smoked chicken or Boston butt , Mac& cheese,green beans & salad, rolls

There is no "average". It depends on if you want brunch, lunch dinner ... buffet, plated 3 course or 5 course... full open bar or beer and wine only...

It depends entirely where you are located. Call around for quotes or look online. A caterer would be able to give you a better estimate than what we can.

View Quoted Comment 😊
That is what I figured

View Quoted Comment I did call around but some are just extremely out of my budget so I was just getting someone point of view or their experience

There is no average because it depends on so many factors. Are you having dinner required to be provided by an all inclusive venue? Those typically have 5 figure minimums that you must meet. Are you going with a regular catering company (which has a plethora of options) ? Are you considering having a favorite local restaurant deliver drop off catering served buffet style in chafing dishes? Or skipping all that and doing cake and coffee only? Al of have wildly different price ranges on their own. Then you have to factor in the going rate where you live. A major city will be more expensive than a small town, but you can still make it work no matter where you are.

For reference, we were quoted 13k for 140 people for the following in CA:


3 appetizersBBQ buffet (meat, rolls, salad, corn)Tray of vegan lasagnaCake cuttingOpen bar for 5 hoursAll staff (servers and bartenders)Chairs, tables, linens, bar, glasses, plates, silverware
The company we were going to work with was one of the best priced ones in our area (canceled reception, so didn’t end up using them). The best way to lower costs of your catering bill is to drop your number of guests.

For 120 people in California we were quoted 4,000.

This is food only and we are renting chargers. Carne Asada, Enchiladas, Rice, Beans, Green Salad, two passed apps, and a dessert station. However all alcohol will be through our venue, as well as tables, chairs etc.

We're looking at around $7,000 for 150 people in Michigan. It includes appetizers. chicken and beef entrees, potato side, rice side, veggie side, and 2 salads (I think), plus a popcorn bar for a late night snack and our alcohol. There's also linens and tableware in the cost as well.

There were many places that charged twice as much that we found, but we couldn't justify spending that much on catering alone so we kept looking. We ended up going with a catering company that's with one of our favorite restaurants so we know the food is good.

I agree that there is no useful average amount for catering. It ALL depends on what you are getting and where you live. The only way to find out what is available and reasonable for your wedding is to get comparable quotes from a few local places and go from there.

There are definitely ways to reduce costs that can work for anyone by choosing less expensive meals, getting drop-off restaurant catering, having brunch instead of dinner, and/or reducing your guest count.

For reference I’m getting married in FL. This quote is for 100 people (BBQ buffet) including appetizers to be passed around, real china (yes some will up charge you for that) and an open bar. $7,300

Hi Melissa! I think the best way to estimate food & booze costs is to ballpark at least $100-$200 per guest. (So for 150 guests it could be 15k at minimum!)

For much more detailed data, check out WeddingWire's Cost Guide and put in your city & state:

Wedding Cost Guide: Catering

I'm in CA, and we were quoted at $15k for 150 people ($100 PP). The venue is all inclusive though, and catering is done through them. It includes appetizers, dinner buffet, beer, champagne & wine, tables, linens, utensil's, cake, fruit and cookie trays at the end, and so many things I won't even have to think about, so I think it's priced very fairly.