How to Make a Wedding Budget: Food Edition

We’ve been talking a lot lately about wedding budgets lately, because determining your budget and sticking to it is one of the most important (and most challenging!) components of wedding planning. Generally, the two largest pieces of your budget are your venue and your food. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but it is a good place to start. So, today we’ll be tackling the food component.

First, it’s important to remember that wedding food does not have to be a sit-down dinner. There does not need to be filet mignon, or fancy seafood, or dry chicken. In general, though, it is nice to offer some sort of festive food and beverage, even if that just means cake and punch (no alcohol required, obviously). Let’s just think about the many options available for modern couples when planning their wedding food. You can offer light cocktail fare, or a morning brunch, a light lunch, the aforementioned cake and punch, a buffet dinner, family-style meal, food truck assortment, a dessert-and-cocktail reception, or a fully catered meal. All of these options come with different costs, so it’s important to prioritize.

Lots of wedding websites will tell you to start with what you want to feed your guests and your budget, and then decide how many people you can afford to buy all that fancy food for. We’re going to propose the opposite, because we think it makes more sense to include all the people you love than have expensive things at your wedding.

First, figure out your wedding food budget. The best way to do this is to look at your overall wedding budget, and then decide what portion of it will be taken up by food based on your priorities, as discussed in an earlier blog post. It will probably be close to fifty percent, but it is really up to you. Got that number? Okay, great. Now decide how many people you want to invite, and subtract about twenty percent for those who won’t be able to make it (for more information on how to anticipate this and deal with it, head here). Divide your budget by your headcount, giving you a dollar amount you want to spend per person on food.

This number will help you decide what you can and can’t afford to offer your guests. What that amount will get you can vary widely by region, but it’s a great place to start. If you’ve only got $10 per person, that’s okay! Consider something small like cupcakes for everyone and call it a day. If you’ve got $200 per person, awesome. Have fun getting exactly the fancy wedding food you want. The important thing is that now you have that number, and you can start calling vendors and asking what they can offer for that price.

Food vendors aren’t always caterers. For less expensive options, call around to your favorite restaurants, food trucks, or even grocery stores, and find out what sort of catering they offer. And if you do call a caterer and they laugh at your number or say they can’t work with you, don’t worry about it. That’s on them, and you’d rather find that out at the outset. Be open-minded and patient, and set aside an afternoon with the internet and phone to really hit the pavement.

If you decide you can’t offer your guests a full meal, that’s okay. They will be fine. But there are some things you can do to make it easier for them. First, it’s important that you tell people what to expect. People have become accustomed to full meals at weddings, so if that’s not what’s happening, let people know so they can make sure they don’t come hungry. Don’t schedule an all-day event. If you’re not gong to provide a full meal, don’t expect everyone to party with you from 3pm until 11pm. Your loved ones will need the opportunity to feed themselves if you can’t. In general, it’s a good guideline not to schedule your wedding during primary meal times if you’re not offering a meal. Do a cocktail reception in the afternoon, leaving plenty of room for dinner in the evening. Or do an after-dinner dessert-and-cocktail reception. And fortunately, with Glö, it’s easy to communicate with your guests with our online invitations and guest management tools.

Looking for more advice on wedding food? Check out our favorite wedding hack blog post, which includes wedding food tips from A Practical Wedding, Offbeat Bride, and Bon Appétit Magazine.