would it be possible to find a good caterer for $40 a head?

Question

for 125 guests
outdoor tent wedding
bridegton, nj
or would that be crappy chicken and baked ziti?

Answer 1

Yeah these people must be from small towns. You can't find ANY hotel caterers that would do it for $40. It all depends on what you were going for. Hot dishes will always cost more. And probably no seafood options. And a sit down dinner is going to be more than a buffet.

Now I did come in at less than $40 a head--but I also did a buffet style with an extremely large fruit display, cheese plate, cold pasta salad, small sandwichs.... The hotels in my area were at $50-60 a head, but that did include chicken and a champagne toast.

If your caterer demands that she provide the beverages/ alcohol, then thats gonna run you more like $25 a bottle. Which is gonna add up a lot. If you can provide the beverages, you can price shop (Total Wine) and get case discounts (some have multi-case discounts as well). We did all our own beverages so we made a punch and had water, ice tea, and wine. All the water, tea, and punch were able to be less than $100 and we could have more selection than the caterer could provide.

OH!! KEY PHRASE! Negotiate the cake cutting fee!!! Many of them charge you per piece cut. My caterer did it for free, but some were close to $2 a piece. Thats 250 extra dollars on your total just to cut cake.

You need to search around. I called a lot of caterers and finally found 3 that were in my price range. Then interviewed them and tried to figure out what I could have without crossing out of that price range. She rented my linens and the glasses/silverware.

Good luck though and if you call around I'm sure you can find someone for less than $40, but it's not going to be as easy as previous posts seem to think.

Answer 2

Holy crap! $40/ guest?! My entire budget wouldn't even cover dinner and I'm only inviting ~100! Jeez and I wouldn't go with the caterer at $13.95 a head. Sorry can't help you for that part the country (I'm in VA). I just kept asking anyone I could and I finally found a place that's supposed to be excellent and $10.--/ person.; includes one entree', 3 vegetables/sides, and salad bar. And the place rents out for $500/ 4hrs and is already decorated beautifully. You just bring in your own touches if you wish. It's a lot better than the other places that we were going to settle for. Just ask as many locals as you can and hope the caterer can match your date.

Answer 3

For $5,000 I'll make you some crappy chicken and ziti. No, but seriously, I think you could find a really good caterer for that amount of money. That is a lot of money to spend on food. We spend about $1,000 on food for my wedding. We had Birria Seca, arroz, frijoles rancheros, ensalada de pasta, and chips with salsa.

Answer 4

Yes, absolutely! There are many catering companies, use the internet to help find some. If you choose a more upscale reputable company, you may end up paying $40 a head for heavy hor dourves...but still wonderfully delicious!


CONGRATS!

Answer 5

Dude, 40 bucks a head is a lot of money!! Do you spend 40 bucks a person when you go out to eat??? If so, you go to way nicer places than my wife and I. Crap, we are doing good when we go eat at the Outback and get a 17 dollar plate.......if you are getting chicken for 40 bucks a head, you are getting boned!!.....you should be getting very good food for that price!

Answer 6

I don't think you can get a good caterer for $40 even without a head.

Answer 7

Just do a lot of calling around. Don't forget about churches - they often have ladies' organizations that do catering. And the food is ALWAYS great.

Answer 8

Yes, it is. I don't know about NJ specifically, but I got a great deal for full mexican dinners for $12.00 a head (california). You just have to keep looking and do a lot of taste testing.

Answer 9

I suggest visiting weddinglenox.com and post your request. Their matching system http://www.weddinglenox.com/f-membersignup1.php will match you up with local vendors with pricing you specified. I tried it and have good result as I only recieved response from vendors according to my request.

One problem I had with my wedding is that it is hard to locate vendors in most website as most likely they group by states and there are too many of them that's too far from me and I have to look at each site to figure out.

The sites I provide above have a easy to use layout to show you pictures, pricing and location in one page plus, you can send out your inquiry for matching vendor to contact you. That save me lots of time to locate the best vendors with the right price.

Answer 10

good luck...i just signed my contract 62.50 a person steak scrod or chicken with an open bar 15.95 for kids to eat chicken fingers