How many servers and bartenders do i really need?

That seems like a lot! We're having around 100 people and we're having 3 servers (I think the most we were quoted as recommended was 5) and 1 bartender. We're also doing buffet style so I'm not sure if that makes any difference. I imagine for plated you might need a couple more servers to get the food out faster whereas we just need a server to man the table.

So we were told for our catering (family style) we’ll have 1 server per 1.5 tables (which ends up being 1 server per 12 guests as we’re having 8 people to a table). For bartenders, we have 1 for every 50 guests, plus a bar back for the evening. I think your bartender number sounds right but it sounds like maybe a few too many servers. It really depends on how they serve though.

We had 8 staff for 160 people. We also had a plated meal and wine service with dinner.

For 200 people, or caterer suggested 13 servers and 3 bartenders, and we're having a plated meal with table wine service. Our final guest count is 155 and we're probably going to stick with the same numbers unless our caterer suggests otherwise. A lot may depend on the venue - I think you can definitely ask them why they suggested that number and how long dinner service would take to get some more information.

We only needed a second bartender after 100 people.

I think 10 servers is way to many, do you even have 10 tables?

We had 1 server per table (8 people per table) plus our own dedicated server, banquet manager, and venue coordinator and 1 bartender per 50 guests. We only had 42 total including us so only needed 1 bartender.

Thank you everyone for your input! Very helpful. It seems like 10 servers would be too many - I've emailed the caterer for a definite answer on that.

We have a head table with 19 guests and then 6 other round tables

Two bar tenders sounds good to me. You'd have about 7.5 people per server which I think is also about right on average. You should call and inquire about the number.