According to costofwedding.com, the average cost of a Baltimore wedding is $21K-$36K. Whether you’re planning a wedding that meets you and your guests’ basic needs in a casual way or the reception of the century, the reception is where the largest amount of your budgeting dollars will be spent, with as much as 40%-50% of your monies being spent on your wedding reception catering needs. This is the time of the year Patchwork Catering receives wedding catering inquiries on a regular basis, perhaps due to the fact that 33% of couples get engaged in the month of December. This time of year is very exciting for the Patchwork Catering team as weddings are my favorite parties to plan, I enjoy the personal connections we make with our brides- and grooms-to-be as we work together to create a perfect experience reflective of the couple, the venue and the season.
When Patchwork Catering is planning a wedding, fulfilling the bride’s- and groom’s-to-be dream reception is always our first priority; once we learn the wishes and desires of our couple, we then take a look at the budget to see what is realistic and attainable given the budgetary parameters.
While weddingstats.org lists the average cost of catering between $47-$71 per guest, Baltimore ranks as number 14 in the top 20 most expensive wedding areas according to a 2010 survey in The Knot; add to that the increasing interest in green weddings which include locally sourced, sustainable and organic menus, requests which can add an additional 25%+ to your food and beverage costs, it’s easy to understand how quickly costs can add up to $100 or more per guest.
To help you better understand Patchwork Catering’s wedding catering costs for a Baltimore area wedding, here’s some broad stroke average budgetary figures and information which serves to assist you in your budget planning process and to illustrate how your money is being invested. For a more complete picture of your event’s needs, please fill out our request a quote form to begin planning your wedding reception’s unique catering needs.
Food and Beverage
Cocktail receptions generally average $12.00-$16.00 per guest per hour for a selection of four to six items; higher priced items such as crab and filet will increase the average slightly, but are a great way to add a touch of indulgent elegance while maximizing a budget.
Stationary displays during the cocktail hour(s) can average $5.00 per guest for simple crudité, grilled vegetable or domestic cheese and fruit displays and up to $12.00 per guest or more for more elaborate displays of housemade charcuterie, artesian cheese, tapenades, dips and crostini to chilled shrimp cocktail and seafood displays, “build your own” chef assisted action stations and the like. Stationary displays are good considerations for weddings that have longer ceremonies, cocktail receptions that last longer than one hour or receptions with higher guest counts.
Seated plated dinners vs. buffet dinners can be a tossup depending on final menu selections with higher cost menu items dictating the need for a seated plated dinner to preserve the quality of the meal. Multiple station buffet dinners are great for a lively crowd, but often where you’re saving in the quality of the given menu item, such as sea bass for example, you’re reinvesting in quantity and variety for a multiple station buffet dinner. In either instance, expect an average cost of $25 per guest for a simple, seasonal buffet that would include a chicken entrée and suitable sides, to $50 per guest or more for more specialized, higher end, creative preparations and multiple station buffets.
Beverage service can vary as much as the dinner itself depending on the quality of service requested. Beer and wine bars are not necessarily less expensive than full bars as you can get approximately 22 drinks out of a bottle of vodka and only five out of a bottle of wine. Expect an average cost of $15-$20 per guest for full bar, wine and beer service that does not include premium brands, with an average additional cost of $5.00-$7.00 per guest for signature cocktails, champagne toasts, table side wine service and/or upgraded premium liquor options. Non-alcoholic beverage service is generally tied into the alcoholic beverage quotes, with sober weddings averaging $5-$10 per guest for non-alcoholic beverage service.
Rentals
Quite often venues will have tables and chairs included in the venue rental fees which help buffer rental costs, and venues with fully equipped catering kitchens are even more ideal, but quite rare with indoor reheating kitchens being more common. Rental costs can add up quite quickly, especially when more specialized equipment such tent(s), lighting, dance floors, carpeting/grass, ovens, refrigerators, generators and the like are required. More basic needs catering rentals tend to average $10-$18 per guest or more depending on the actual scope of your event. Determining your actual rental needs requires speaking directly with one of our event coordination specialists through a formal consultation process and site walk through to accurately quote.
Staffing
Seated plated dinner staffing needs generally start at $35.00 per guest with simple buffet dinners costing slightly less at $25.00. Actual staffing needs are based on the complexity of the final menu, event set-up and breakdown needs and event timeline; while these are historical averages, we have managed to do events for less where there’s less set-up and staffing required, such as is the case with heavy hors d’oeuvres cocktail receptions that are followed by a rather simple dinner service that doesn’t require seating for every guest at one time.
Tips
While gratuity is not included in our quoting process, it is appreciated and entirely at your discretion. You will not see any unexpected “service charges” when you choose to work with Patchwork Catering, a charge that is sometimes included in proposals to help offset personnel costs. We choose to let you see exactly how you’re investing your monies and where so that you can see exactly the level of service you’re paying for.
While it is easy to give broad stroke wedding reception catering budgetary figures, like snowflakes, no two wedding receptions are the same and each has their own unique variables to consider. To get started on planning your distinct wedding day reception catering needs, please fill out our request a quote form and we’ll email you our wedding catering questionnaire to help get us started; should you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly at 443-312-2094.
Gratefully yours, Chef Jacki Butterfield and the entire Patchwork Catering team
This is a very informative article and I am sure that this will help the couples plan their budgeting dollars better. Sometimes they have a hard time understanding how I lay a budget out and I will be able to explain by using your article, this will make it easier coming from a caterer.