Wedding Catering on a Budget: How to Save Money on Your Reception

If you’ve started pricing out your wedding reception, you might be shocked by some of the costs - especially the catering! The most expensive part of any wedding is usually the food. Feeding 100 or more people will never be cheap. But there are some ways to save money on your wedding catering. The best way is by choosing the right caterer and making the right choices for your menu. Start by understanding a caterers service and exactly what they’ll be charging you for.

Please note: this article contains affiliate links. That means that I may earn a commission if you decide to buy something.

Average Cost of Wedding Catering

According to The Knot, the average cost for wedding catering is $9,170 or $70 per person. (Read the whole article here: This is the Average Cost of Wedding Catering)

But depending on where you live, your catering costs could be higher or lower. Prices can also depend on the time of year and where you’re getting married.

If your venue is a traditional ballroom or banquet hall, they’ll probably offer in-house catering and you’ll need to order your meal and bar packages from them. If you’re paying a rental fee, or you’ve chosen a less traditional venue, you’ll be able to hire any vendor to cater your wedding.

Total Costs for Wedding Catering

When you’re on a tight budget, there’s nothing worse than a surprise bill. Make sure you understand the total costs before you decide on your catering package. When you book your caterer, remember that you’ll need to pay for more than just the meal.

You’ll pay for the meal package, plus the bar package per person. Depending on your caterer, you might also have to pay corkage fees, slicing fees, delivery fees, set up fees, gratuities and sales tax. As well, some caterers require a minimum number of guests or a minimum dollar amount. Read the small print, and make sure you understand the minimums before you sign the contract.

To read more about catering fees and see the full cost breakdown for wedding catering, read this next: How Much Does it Cost to Cater a Wedding?

Affordable Food Service Options

The food service you choose will have an effect on your catering costs. A plated meal is the most expensive, because it requires more work in the kitchen and more servers for your guests. If you want to save some money, you can offer family style service instead. Family style is when the food is served on platters to each table and your guests can help themselves. Another less expensive choice is buffet. Buffet is popular because you can offer more selection and each guest can choose their favorites.

Save Money on Your Wedding Caterer

Your wedding caterer might charge corkage fees if you bring your own wine. Avoid the extra fees by ordering your wine through your caterer.
Your caterer might also charge slicing fees if you order your cake from another baker. If you want to avoid slicing fees, you can order the wedding cake through your caterer, as well.
Some caterers will let you provide the alcohol for the bar. If you set up the bar yourself, the caterer will provide a bartender and charge you an hourly rate. This is usually a lot less expensive than a per person bar package.
Consider closing the bar during dinner. You can open the bar during cocktail hour, then again after dinner, in time for dancing.
Ask your caterer for substitutions. If there’s items included in the meal package that you don’t want, ask if you can exchange it for something else. For example, your meal package might include desert. You could serve wedding cake instead and ask them to waive the slicing fee in exchange for the desert.

Food Trucks For Your Wedding

A food truck is a fun choice if your wedding is outdoors. Prices range depending on where you live and what kind of food trucks are available in your city, but the cost per person is usually a lot less than a caterer.

Arranging a set menu is the most affordable option. Set menus are often inexpensive choices, like barbecue, pizza, tacos, falafels or kebabs. A set menu will also help you avoid long lineups. If each guest has to order, then wait while their food is made, the lineup will be terrible. Hire a food truck that will have a few set options ready to go. Each guest can ask for what they’d like, then have it handed out immediately.

Save Money on Your Wedding Bar

After the food, your next biggest cost is the bar. Offering a full, open bar is the most expensive choice. Offering a cash bar is the least expensive, but you’ll get lots of opinions on a cash bar. In some communities a cash bar is typical, and expected at wedding receptions. If your family and friends offered cash bar at their weddings, go ahead and do the same.

If you don’t want to have a cash bar, but don’t have the budget for an open bar, you can offer a limited bar instead. For a limited bar you’ll provide beer and wine for your guests. For more variety, you can offer beer and wine plus one or two signature cocktails. A limited bar is a good compromise. It’s a lot less expensive than an open bar, but your guests can still enjoy some drinks at your reception.

Cut Your Guest List

As long as you’re over any required minimums, cutting your guest list will help trim you catering bill.
An average meal package is $70 and an average bar package is $20 per person. If you cut 10 people from your guest list, you’ll save $900 right off the bat.
As well as catering, you’ll save some more money overall. With less guests, you can order a smaller cake and fewer wedding invitations and favors. Plus you’ll need less rentals, like tables, chairs and linens.

Wedding Menu Ideas for a Buffet

Buffet is the most affordable food service, but the type of food you put on your menu will have an effect on your final price, too. Prime rib and seafood are the most expensive. But which foods are most affordable? Think of family style meals with dishes that are easy to prepare for big groups of people.

Roasted chicken
Roast beef
Turkey
Ham
Green salad
Pasta salad
Mixed vegetables
Roasted potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Pasta dishes
Rolls and butter

Wedding Menu Ideas for Food Stations

Food stations or food bars are similar to a buffet, except that they’re based on one specific dish, like a taco bar or a pasta station. You can offer a main dish plus lots of toppings. They’re usually less expensive because they require less service - your guests can serve themselves, similar to a buffet. Plus the cost of the food and ingredients can be lower, depending on the menu you choose.

Taco bar
Burrito bowls
Fajita station
Burger bar
Mashed potato bar
Baked potato station
Mac and cheese station
Pasta stations
Noodle or rice bowls
Salad bar
Waffle bar
Ice cream bar

How to Save Money on Wedding Food

If you can’t find a caterer to make a dinner that fits your budget, think about serving something other than dinner. It’s perfectly acceptable to serve only refreshments, appetizers or cake at your reception. For good etiquette, just make sure you don’t plan your reception for dinner time and let your guests know what you’ll be serving on the invitation.

Consider Changing Your Wedding Date

I know, I know! It took a long time to choose the perfect date and get everyone to agree. But if you can’t find a caterer to fit your budget, think about changing it to a different time of year. Sometimes you can get lower prices, or an off season discount by getting married during the winter. Some caterers will waive the minimum guest count or minimum fees for you if you get married in the off season. If you don’t want to put your wedding off till another season, think about planning a weekday wedding instead. Lots of vendors will offer discounts for wedding services that don’t fall on the traditional Saturday night.

Breakfast or Brunch Wedding Reception

You can save loads of money by planning your wedding for a Sunday breakfast or brunch. The catering will be a lot less expensive. Plus, no one expects a full bar in the morning. You can offer a champagne toast, plus wine and beer and none of your guests will look sideways.

Appetizer and Cocktail Party Wedding Reception

Serving appetizers instead of a meal can help keep your costs down. You’ll save money on the food, and you could also save a lot on rentals. You won’t need full tables, chairs and linens if you’re not having a sit down meal. As well, you’ll need less servers for less time. The only rule to stick to: make sure your reception ends before dinner would start. Or schedule your reception to start after dinner would end.

Cake and Punch Wedding Reception

Cake and punch is a short and sweet wedding reception. You can plan a full ceremony, plus a champagne toast and a first dance at your reception. You’ll have a chance to celebrate with your loved ones and still stick to a small budget.

Sample Budget Wedding Menu Ideas

Menu for a Brunch Buffet:

The most inexpensive options for a brunch are classic breakfast items. Include scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausage. Plus a bread basket, butter and jam. If you want to have a signature drink, Mimosas or Bloody Marys are classic brunch cocktails. Add some juice, coffee and tea for a simple and perfect brunch menu.

Menu for an Appetizer and Cocktail Party:

The most affordable options for appetizers are the type that can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. These are usually classic choices, like meatballs, mini quiche cups and stuffed mushrooms. Other inexpensive options are items that can be made in a batch, then served in small portions. Like shooter cups of pasta or soup, or grilled cheese sliders and pinwheels. You can also put out bar snacks, like nuts and pretzels, so your guests have something to munch on in between the passed appetizers.

Menu for a Cake and Punch Reception:

If you’ve got at least a few hundred dollars in your budget, you can order a beautiful bakery cake and offer a champagne toast. If your budget is smaller, you can always bake your own cake. Or make a semi-diy wedding cake by ordering a plain white cake and decorating it yourself with flowers and a cake topper.

A Self Catered Wedding Menu

If your budget is too small for a traditional caterer, think about doing DIY or semi-DIY for your wedding meal. You can cook a whole meal from scratch if you want to. But you don’t have to - there’s lots of different ways to DIY your wedding menu.

Order Meals From Your Favorite Restaurant

Instead of hiring a traditional caterer, you can order meals from your favorite restaurant. On the day of your wedding, they can be served buffet style or family style to each table. Your food bill will be a lot less than a traditional caterer.

You’ll still need someone to set up the food and clean up afterwards. You can hire students, young relatives or staff from the restaurant you ordered from. If you’re on a super tight budget, you can ask your family and friends to help with the food service on your wedding day.

Buy Ready Made Meals From Your Local Deli or Grocery Store

If you don’t have a lot of help with your DIY wedding menu, you can order food that can be served cold. You can order sandwich trays, pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw and fruit and veggie trays that are easy to set up and put away. You can even give your wedding a vintage or picnic theme and have some fun with your food and decorations.

If you’re thinking about catering your own wedding, read this next for more ideas: Self Cater Your Wedding: How to DIY Your Wedding Food

Take Your Time Making Your Decision

With so many options, it can be hard to decide, so take your time talking to caterers and going over your options. You don’t have to do everything on the list, but switching up a few things for your wedding can help you save money. And when you’re on a budget, every bit counts. So take your time going through your catering options. In the end, you’ll be sure you’ve booked a service that you love - and that fits your budget!

Wedding Planning eBook

Want to read more about planning an inexpensive or DIY wedding? Get the ebook: Affordable Wedding Venues and Menus. Includes how to find alternative venues, what to look for and how to plan easy and affordable food for your wedding.