Catering is the second-largest line item in most wedding budgets after the venue, and it’s the one your guests will most directly remember. This is the practical version of what to think about — the service style, the math, the bar economics, dietary planning, and a clear answer on the cake question.
The service-style decision.
Five common formats, with honest per-guest ranges for Virginia:
- Plated dinner: $100–$150 per guest. Most formal; longest service window; highest service staffing.
- Family-style: $80–$120 per guest. Shared platters delivered to each table. Communal feeling, faster service than plated.
- Buffet: $50–$85 per guest. More variety, less labor, lower cost. Quality of presentation varies more than other formats.
- Stations: $60–$100 per guest. Multiple cuisine or course types, encourages guest movement. Best at weddings where mingling matters.
- Brunch or luncheon: $40–$75 per guest. Often the lowest-cost full-meal format. We’ve covered brunch weddings separately.
The single biggest cost driver isn’t which format — it’s the guest count multiplied by the per-guest rate. Cutting ten guests from a plated dinner saves more than switching to buffet.
The bar economics.
Bar costs run roughly:
- Open bar (full spirits, wine, beer): $15–$30 per guest, by hour or per-head charge
- Limited bar (beer, wine, signature cocktail): $10–$20 per guest
- Beer and wine only: $8–$15 per guest
- Cash bar: No venue cost, but a meaningful guest-experience cost. Increasingly viewed as inhospitable for the wedding format.
The single biggest swing here is the spirits choice. A limited bar with a beautiful signature cocktail tends to outperform a full open bar in guest experience while saving meaningful budget.
Bartender ratios — the underrated lever.
One bartender per fifty guests is the minimum that works. One per thirty-five is what a smooth bar actually requires at peak. The marginal cost of an additional bartender ($250–$400) is one of the highest-impact catering dollars in the budget — nothing degrades a reception like a fifteen-minute drink line.
The cake question.
A traditional tiered wedding cake for a hundred guests runs $600–$1,500. The honest truth: most guests don’t want it. Cake is increasingly being replaced or supplemented by:
- A smaller cake just for the cutting moment, with a dessert table for the actual eating
- Multiple smaller desserts — pie, donuts, cookies, sorbet — that guests can choose from
- A late-night sweet (like ice cream sandwiches or fresh donuts) instead of a sit-down dessert
If cake is important to you, get one and savor it. If it’s only there because it’s tradition, the alternatives often produce better guest experience for similar or less money.
Dietary planning.
For a hundred-guest wedding in 2026, plan for:
- 10–15% of guests vegetarian or vegan
- 5–10% with a specific allergen restriction (gluten, dairy, tree nut)
- 1–3% with religious dietary requirements
Ask on the RSVP card. Provide options that cover the main categories without making it a per-person individual menu. A vegetarian entrée that’s genuinely good outperforms three barely-vegetarian options.
Late-night food.
An underrated category. Pizza, sliders, fries, donuts — arriving an hour into dancing — is one of the most-remembered hospitalities of the wedding. Budget $5–$10 per guest. Disproportionate impact for the spend.
How to do tastings well.
Three things:
- Schedule the tasting three to four months before the wedding, when the catering plan is mostly settled but adjustments are still possible
- Bring two trusted palates with you (a parent or wedding-party member); your own evaluation will be partial
- Write down what you actually thought about each dish before you leave the tasting; memory blurs within a week
The honest takeaway.
The catering decisions that matter most for guest experience are: enough bartenders, food that arrives on time and at temperature, a clear story across courses, and dietary options that genuinely work for the people who need them. Most other variables matter less than they’re given credit for. A buffet with these four things right will outperform a plated dinner without them.