Wedding Budget Breakdown: Food

By: Jaclyn Holtzman, Editor, AllFreeDIYWeddings.com

During an interview with Food For Thought's Brian Kiefer, I begged for him to break down the wedding reception budget more specifically. He continually stressed that there are so many variables that no definite percentages could be given. With that disclaimer and his eventual caving, I present to you a wedding budget breakdown for your food-related items. The food or reception budget, including your venue, should be about 48.5% of your overall budget, according to this complete wedding budget breakdown. If your celebration is at a hotel or somewhere similar where rentals are not necessary, those percentage points can be allocated to the venue budget.

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the full wedding budget breakdown, click here.

Now that you have these (very) general numbers, let's get a bit more specific. Keep in mind, again, that the numbers given are estimates and averages.

Staffing/Rentals: 37-43% of your food budget. This includes front-of-house staff, kitchen staff, bartenders, and any rentals that need to be acquired.

Hors D'oeuvres: 7% of your food budget. These typically cost about $11.50/person.

Dinner: 22-33% of your food budget. The first course should cost about $6-$8/person and entrees will cost anywhere from $20 for poultry to $36 for high-end fish. Bread will cost about $2.25/person and coffee about $2/person.

Dessert: 5% of your food budget. Each person typically eats about $7 worth of dessert.

Alcohol/Drinks: 23% of your food budget. This includes all drinks and dinner wine.