Catering γάμου: τιμή ανά άτομο, επιλογές και ερωτήσεις
Catering γάμου, τιμή ανά άτομο το 2026: σερβιριστό, μπουφές, πιατέλες και μπάρμπεκιου σε σύγκριση, ποτά, σερβιτόροι, δοκιμή μενού και διατροφικές ανάγκες.
Η ομάδα του Eventadore11 λεπτά ανάγνωσηςΕνημερώθηκε 26 Οκτωβρίου 2026
As a rough guide for 2026, wedding catering in Europe costs about €35–160 per person for the food, depending on the style, the number of courses and the region, plus about €25–60 per guest for drinks through the evening. Add staff, crockery and linen, a late-night snack and any fee your venue charges, and the real cost per guest can easily be twice the menu price. Before you compare caterers, ask your venue whether it lets you bring one at all.
A buffet is not automatically cheaper than a served dinner: the courses, the ingredients, the staff hours and above all your number of guests move the bill.
What does wedding catering cost per person?
As a rough guide for 2026, for food and service, without drinks:
Plated dinner, three courses: about €55–120 per guest; four or five courses, €80–160.
Buffet: about €40–100.
Family style, sharing platters on each table: about €50–110.
Food stations, with chefs cooking at counters: about €55–120.
BBQ or grill: about €35–80.
Canapés with the drinks reception, four to six pieces each: about €8–25 per guest.
Late-night snack: about €6–20 per portion.
Service staff, when charged separately: about €25–40 per person per hour.
Crockery, glassware and linen, when the venue has none: about €5–20 per guest.
In Germany and France a served dinner commonly lands around €60–150 per guest before drinks. In Spain and Portugal, venues and caterers usually quote a menu per person, roughly €50–150, with the open bar sometimes included. In Poland the price per plate (cena za talerzyk) of roughly 300–500 zł, about €70–120, usually covers a whole night of courses, often without the alcohol, which many couples supply themselves. Big cities, Switzerland and resort areas sit higher.
The price per head falls as the party grows, because the kitchen team, travel and set-up cost much the same for 60 guests as for 90. Saturdays from May to September cost most, and a venue without a kitchen means a mobile one, more power and more set-up.
On Eventadore every caterer is in the search. With your date and number of guests, each card shows what that day costs, all in, travel included; without them, a price range. The price is locked when you add a caterer to your Planning: nobody renegotiates it, the caterer only says whether they are free. Search for caterers to see real figures for your day.
Wedding catering options: plated, buffet, family style and more
Most weddings combine several: canapés with the drinks, one style for dinner, and a late-night snack.
Two silver trays of canapés on a white table at a drinks reception
Plated dinner
Every guest is served at the table, from one menu or from two or three mains chosen in advance. It is calm and formal, three courses take a predictable 90 minutes to two hours, and little is wasted. It needs the most staff, about one server per 8–12 guests, and a choice of mains has to be collected beforehand and marked on the place cards.
Buffet
Guests serve themselves, which suits mixed tastes and dietary needs and takes fewer servers, about one per 15–25 guests. It is not automatically cheaper: the caterer prepares more food when guests choose their own portions. Ask how many lines they set up; with one line for 120 guests, the last table may eat half an hour after the first.
Family style
Platters and bowls go on each table and guests pass them round: generous and sociable. It needs wide tables with low centrepieces, and staff to carry and refill, about one per 10–15 guests.
Food stations
Counters with one dish each: pasta finished to order, a carving station, a grill, cheese. Guests move about and mingle, but stations need space, power and more chefs.
BBQ and grill
Relaxed, summery and often the lowest cost per head. It needs a spot where the smoke drifts away from the guests, a plan for rain and a separate grill for vegetarian food.
Late-night snack
Around 23:00, soup, mini burgers or a local favourite keeps the dancing going. Plan portions for about two thirds of your adult guests: by then some have gone home.
Drinks: a package, or paying for what is drunk?
Drinks are nearly a quarter of the bill in the example below, so check how they are charged:
A package, a flat price per adult for set hours: about €25–60 for water, soft drinks, beer, house wine and coffee. Sparkling wine for the toast, spirits and cocktails are often extra.
By consumption, per bottle opened: cheaper if your guests drink little, uncertain if they don't. Ask whether an opened bottle counts as finished.
Your own drinks: some venues allow them and charge corkage, often around €10–20 a bottle; others refuse.
A cocktail bar, often a mobile one with its own staff: see bars for weddings.
Rules of thumb:
About one drink per guest per hour.
A 75 cl bottle of wine fills five glasses; a bottle of sparkling wine about six flutes, so a toast for 80 guests takes 80 ÷ 6 = 13.3, or 14 bottles.
If 60 of your 80 guests drink wine with dinner, half a bottle each is 30 bottles.
Staff and service: how many waiters do you need?
As a rough guide, to check against your caterer's plan:
Plated: one server per 8–12 guests.
Family style: one per 10–15.
Buffet: one per 15–25, plus someone keeping it full.
Bar: one bartender per 50–75 guests.
Add the kitchen team and a service lead who runs the timing with your venue and your other suppliers. Staff are usually charged from set-up until they have cleared away, so a reception from 17:00 to 01:00 means nine or ten hours each, not eight.
Tell your caterer early:
Your running order. A speech that runs twenty minutes over turns a hot main course into a warm one; our wedding day timeline helps you plan the gaps.
Your suppliers' meals. The photographer and the DJ or band work through dinner too; many caterers offer them a cheaper meal.
The venue's kitchen rule: own kitchen, a partner list or free choice
Settle this first, because it decides whether you are choosing a caterer at all. A venue works in one of three ways:
Own kitchen only. The venue cooks, or works with one exclusive caterer, and an outside caterer is not accepted. Choosing the venue is choosing the food, so compare its menus as part of the venue price.
A partner list. You choose from caterers the venue works with. Ask for the list early, and whether anyone off it is possible.
Free choice. Any caterer you like, but check the kitchen or room for a mobile one, power for ovens and cooling, water, cold storage, the rubbish and the set-up hours. Ask whether the venue charges outside caterers a fee, and who brings tables, chairs and crockery.
Venues on Eventadore say how catering works at their venue when they register, and one with its own kitchen lists at least one menu. In Portugal many quintas cook themselves or work with one caterer; see choosing a quinta, and how to choose a wedding venue for the other questions to ask before you sign.
Tasting, final numbers and dietary needs
The tasting
Many caterers hold the tasting once you have booked, three to six months ahead; some offer one before you sign, free or charged per person. Taste the real dishes in real portions, and ask how each is kept hot for your number: food for four from a restaurant kitchen is not food for 120 from a mobile one.
Final numbers
The caterer needs your final count usually one to three weeks before the day; after that you pay for that number, even if fewer come. Set your reply deadline at least a week earlier.
Allergies, diets and children
Ask every guest, when they reply, what they don't eat: vegetarian, vegan, allergies, intolerances, halal or kosher (which may need a certified kitchen). If your guests reply online, the guest list keeps who is coming and who eats what.
An allergy is not a preference: it needs a plate prepared apart and a server who knows the seat. In the EU, caterers must give allergen information for unpackaged food too, covering the 14 allergens the law lists, among them gluten, nuts, milk, eggs, fish and sesame; the European Commission explains the rule. Ask for the allergen list for each dish, and from what age children pay the adult price.
A worked example: catering for 80 guests
Lena and Jonas are marrying on a Saturday in June in a barn with free choice of caterer: 80 guests, 74 adults and 6 children, family-style dinner. The figures are made up; the pattern is common.
Canapés, five pieces at €2.50 each: 80 × €12.50 = €1,000
Family-style dinner at €70 per adult: 74 × €70 = €5,180
Children's menu at €25: 6 × €25 = €150
Drinks package at €40 per adult: 74 × €40 = €2,960
Soft drinks for the children at €10: 6 × €10 = €60
Seven staff (six at the tables, one at the bar) for nine hours at €35: 7 × 9 × €35 = €2,205
Late-night snack, 50 portions at €9: €450
Crockery, glassware and linen at €9 per guest: 80 × €9 = €720
The venue's fee for an outside caterer: €350
Meals for the photographer, the DJ and his technician: 3 × €30 = €90
Total: €13,165, about €165 per guest.
The €70 dinner is less than half of what each guest really costs. Now suppose they choose a buffet at €60 per adult, which needs five staff instead of seven: the food falls by 74 × €10 = €740 and the staff by 2 × 9 × €35 = €630. The total becomes €11,795, about €147 per guest, and almost half of the €1,370 saved comes from the staff, not the food. Compare caterers on the total for your own number; our wedding budget breakdown shows how it fits the rest.
Questions to ask a wedding caterer
Are you free on our date, and how many weddings do you cater that day?
What exactly is in the price per guest: courses, coffee, staff, crockery, linen, set-up and clear-down?
How many staff, for how many hours, and what does an extra hour cost?
Have you worked at our venue, and does it charge you a fee?
How are drinks charged, and can we bring our own?
Can we have the allergen list for each dish?
When is our final number due, and can it still go down?
How much is the deposit, when is the rest due, and what if either of us cancels?
Who exactly is the contract with, and who leads your team on the day?
You can message any caterer from their profile on Eventadore; phone numbers and links stay hidden until a booking is paid. When you reserve, the checkout names who you contract with: legal name, town, country, and whether they offer as a business or as a private person. For other trades, see questions to ask wedding suppliers.
Frequently asked questions
How much does wedding catering cost per person?
As a rough guide for 2026, about €35–160 per person for the food, plus €25–60 for drinks. With staff, hire, a late-night snack and any venue fee, the real figure can be double the menu price.
Is a buffet cheaper than a plated dinner?
Not always. A buffet needs fewer servers, but more food. In our example, a buffet instead of family style saved about 10% of the total, so compare whole quotes, not menu prices.
How many waiters do we need for 100 guests?
Roughly 8–12 for a plated dinner, 7–10 for family style and 4–7 for a buffet, plus one or two at the bar. A room far from the kitchen needs more.
Can we bring our own caterer to the venue?
Only if the venue allows free choice, or your caterer is on its partner list. A venue with its own kitchen usually accepts no outside caterer, so get its answer in writing first.
When should we book the caterer?
Right after the venue, because its kitchen rule decides who you may choose. For a Saturday between May and September, start looking 9–12 months ahead.
