Are you curious as to how much it’s going to cost you to hire a wedding caterer to prepare and serve food on your big day? This will obviously be one of the biggest expenses you’ll face when planning a wedding so you should try to figure it out.
A recent study found that the average couple spends about $75 per person when hiring a caterer for a wedding. But that number may go up or down depending on a bunch of different factors.
If you would like to learn about the factors that will impact the cost to cater a wedding before going through the process of finding a caterer, we’re going to lay them out for you below. Here are several factors that can affect the cost of a caterer during wedding planning.
The Specific Wedding Caterer You Hire
There are about 30,000 catering companies operating throughout the country as of 2022. You can bring almost any of them on board to serve as your wedding caterer.
One thing you should keep in mind, though, is that not all wedding caterers are going to charge the same prices. Some will inevitably charge more for what will amount to the same food.
More often than not, those caterers with a wealth of experience will charge you more than those with less experience. It’s something to remember while you’re shopping around for a caterer you can trust.
The Types of Wedding Foods You Choose to Serve
Another important factor when it comes to the cost of a wedding caterer will be the wedding foods that you ask them to serve. You’ll have to pick out different dishes that a caterer will provide, and these dishes will play a big part in how much they’ll charge you.
For this reason, you should think long and hard about which wedding foods you would like to offer to your guests on your special day. You might be able to save yourself some money by going with one option over another.
Prior to picking out the dishes you want to serve at your wedding in person or placing an order online, you should inquire as to what a wide range of dishes will run you. It’ll help you stick to your wedding budget while picking out your preferred wedding foods.
The Number of People Invited to Your Wedding
At the end of the day, one of the most important factors when it comes to the cost of a wedding caterer might just be the number of people at your wedding. The more people that you plan to invite to your wedding, the more you’re going to have to prepare to pay a catering company.
It’s why you should consider how many people you would like to have at your wedding before finalizing your guest list. If you leave even just ten people off it, you might be able to cut your catering costs by hundreds of dollars.
The Location of Your Wedding
If the catering company that you hire to prepare food for your wedding is located in the same general vicinity of your wedding venue, location shouldn’t be an issue. But if the catering company will have to travel a couple of hours away for your wedding, it might be a different story.
Ideally, you should always try to choose a caterer that’s situated in a spot that isn’t too far from your wedding venue. But if you aren’t able to do this, you’ll need to factor this into the equation when you’re coming up with the total cost for your wedding caterer.
The Setup Associated With Your Wedding Caterer
Is a wedding caterer going to be able to prepare food for your big day and simply drop it off at your venue so that it can be served? Or will they need to show up early for your wedding reception and get everything ready on the spot?
If your situation falls into the first category, you will usually be able to get away with paying a lot less for a caterer. But if a caterer is going to have to come to your reception and spend the whole time there preparing food, their services could get to be a little pricy.
The Extras Included by Your Wedding Caterer
Some wedding caterers will throw in a few extras for couples on their wedding days. For example, they’ll bring along waiters and waitresses who can help serve your wedding food and take good care of your guests.
Wedding caterers might also offer to bring you plates, wedding plates and silverware, etc. for the food that they’ll be serving at your wedding. It’ll prevent you from having to obtain these things on your own.
These kinds of extras might make things a whole heck of a lot easier on you and your soon-to-be spouse. But they might also increase the cost of a caterer in the end. You should keep this on your radar when you’re shopping around for a caterer to provide you with wedding foods.
See What It’ll Cost to Hire a Caterer for Your Wedding
Before you hire one wedding caterer over all the rest, you should try to secure quotes from as many of them as you can. You can use these quotes to see which caterers will be able to give you the best deals.
You can also use them to get a much better sense of what hiring a wedding caterer will cost you in the first place. It’ll enable you to tinker with your wedding planning budget.
Look for more tips on planning a wedding in the other articles published on our blog.
