The largest line after the venue, and the one most likely to arrive 30 percent higher than the quote you agreed.
The Knot’s 2026 national average per person for food. Most couples land between $70 and $150, before bar, rentals, service charge and tax.
Catering is usually 30 to 40 percent of a wedding budget, and past 200 guests it can pass 40. Almost every published figure is food and service only. Alcohol, rentals, gratuity and setup are billed separately and routinely push the real total 30 to 50 percent above the base quote.
The same guest list produces a very different bill depending on how the food reaches the table. Plated service needs the most staff and the most timing. Buffet cuts labor but needs more food, because guests serve themselves generously. Family style sits in between and tends to photograph best. Stations and food trucks can drop the number substantially for a casual day.
Beyond style, the two things that move the number most are protein and guest count. Chicken to filet is a $20 to $40 per person swing. And every guest you cut saves the full per-head rate, which is why the guest list is the only lever that reduces catering, rentals and venue capacity all at once.
Most caterers quote food only. A full open bar adds $30 to $75 per person on top. Beer and wine only runs $15 to $40. Priced per drink rather than per head, cocktails run $9 to $15 and beer or wine $7 to $11, and guests average roughly two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after, so a five-hour reception lands near six drinks each.
Ways to cut it without a cash bar, which most guests read badly at an otherwise hosted event: limit the menu to beer, wine and two signature cocktails, which takes 25 to 40 percent off a per-head package; close the bar during dinner and for the last half hour; or buy your own where the venue allows it and return unopened bottles, which can save $800 to $1,500 at 100 guests even after corkage.
Together these routinely push the real total 30 to 50 percent above the base quote. Ask for the all-in number for your guest count, not the per-head rate.
The bill
The kitchen
Tastings and staffing ratios tell you more than a menu does.
For plated service the working standard is roughly one server per ten to twelve guests, and fewer than that is where service slows and food goes out cold. A caterer who cannot tell you their ratio is quoting a number rather than a plan.
Ask whether it is free, discounted or charged, whether it is private or a group event, and whether the person cooking your tasting is the person cooking your wedding. Bring the actual menu you are considering rather than accepting a showcase selection, and ask how the dish holds after twenty minutes under cover, because that is how your guests will eat it.
Ask how vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergy meals are handled, whether they cost more, and how the kitchen tracks who gets what. A caterer who treats this as an afterthought will produce a sad plate for the six people who needed it.
Exclusive caterer, preferred list, or open. If the venue is exclusive you have no shopping to do at all. If bringing an outside caterer triggers a kitchen fee, that fee belongs in your comparison. Book six to twelve months out, earlier for peak-season Saturdays.
We are building this market by market, and a city page goes live only once it holds enough real caterers to be worth your time. Two listings is not a directory, so until it is useful it stays closed.
Most couples pay $70 to $150 per person in 2026, with a national average near $80 for food. A casual buffet can run $30 and a multi-course plated dinner $150 or more.
Roughly $10,500 to $22,500 at typical rates, with the national average landing near $12,750 before bar, rentals and service charge.
A full open bar adds $30 to $75 per person. Beer and wine only runs $15 to $40. Per drink, cocktails are $9 to $15 and beer or wine $7 to $11.
Usually 30 to 40 percent, and past 40 percent at weddings of 200 or more guests.
A charge of $1 to $3 per slice for the staff time to cut, plate and serve a cake brought in from an outside bakery. Ask about it before you book the bakery.
Next: bar services, wedding cakes, or all 24 vendor categories.