Reception Planning 101: Basics

What's the biggest expense of a wedding? If you answered the dress or the photography, guess again. It's the reception.

A big 50 percent or more of your wedding budget will go toward the reception -- and that's just the food and drink. Entertainment is extra. We estimate the average reception to cost $8,000.

Where does all that money go? Here's a breakdown:

Facility charges

At some sites, you have to pay a flat fee or an hourly charge to use the facility. A place that lets you use an outside caterer (such as a civic site) will probably charge such a fee. Other sites, such as hotels, let you use the ballroom for free, but you have to use their catering department and spend a minimum amount on food and drink.


Food

You get to buy everything from hors d'oeuvres to dessert. Some caterers will also provide the wedding cake and the groom's cake, if you follow that Southern tradition. The typical method of calculating wedding catering costs is based on a per-guest figure. The cost can be as little as $4 to $6 per guest for a simple "cake, punch and mints" reception. Or, it can get as high as $100 per person for a full sit-down dinner with an open bar.


Drink

Beverages can consume a significant chunk of your catering budget, whether your reception has punch and coffee or a full open bar with premium brands. The charge for beverages depends on what you serve and how the reception site accounts for this. We've heard of at least one hors d'oeuvres reception at a posh hotel that racked up a bar tab of $9,200 for 400 guests. They had a full open bar serving premium liquor, and the bar tab amounted to almost half the $19,000 total cost of the evening!


Labor

Most sites impose a mandatory gratuity of 15 percent to 20 percent. This applies to the food and sometimes the liquor served at the reception. If you serve a buffet that costs $3,000, you must pay as much as $600 extra for the servers, bus boys and other staff.

Other, mostly independent, caterers charge flat per-hour fees per waiter at the event -- usually $10 to $20 per hour per server. No matter what the total tab of your function, you pay only for the number of people actually serving your guests.


Rentals

Certain reception sites may lack tables, chairs, silverware, china, glassware, table linens or other essentials. All these items must be rented and brought to the site. Some caterers have an in-house supply of rentals, while others arrange the needed rentals through an outside company.

Charges for this service vary greatly. Sometimes the caterer will charge you only what the rental company charges them. Other caterers may tack on an extra 5 percent to 10 percent to cover the administrative expense of dealing with the rental company. Some caterers absorb any charges for broken or missing rental items; others hold you responsible for any breakage or damage.