How to budget for your catering event

Your Event – Your Choice
   
The reception style you choose will set the tone for your event. The choices are basic – the guests can be seated, they can stand or they can do both. Here are the four most popular catered reception styles:

Seated Reception
You must have a location large enough for your seated reception. Tables surrounded by people seated on chairs and holding food, table settings and center pieces need a lot of space. So banquet halls and hotel ballrooms are traditional favourites.

There are several service choices for seated receptions. In plated service, each plate is prepared in the kitchen and carried to the table. This risks the food getting cold while in transit. But you’ll need only one server for every 10 to 16 guests.

In French service, food is prepared tableside, with additional servers placing food on each plate. With hand service, the server offers food choices to two guests at a time from a platter or basket. For Russian service, guests help themselves from a platter held by the server. These last three kinds of service can require a server for as few as every five or six guests.

There are many advantages to the seated reception. These include:

• The meal cost often is comparable to buffet or food stations.
• There’s no juggling of glasses and plates, and each guest has a designated place to return to.
  
• It allows more control over the timing of such events as the toasts, cake cutting and bouquet toss.
  
• Seated meals give you and yours a chance to rest after a long day on your feet.
  

Buffet
The buffet reception offers the advantages of a sit-down dinner with the mobility of a stand-up affair. It’s particularly effective for receptions with more than 150 or so guests.

Not only can you offer your guests a range of culinary options, the buffet lets you present the food in visually exciting ways. You can echo your wedding theme with decorations, ice sculptures and other creative touches on the buffet table.

Cost, however, can be a factor. It’s important to keep a steady flow of food to the buffet, which can result in wastage. The cost per guest can end up comparable to a sit-down reception.

If you decide to formalize your buffet, have wait staff behind the buffet tables serve your guests. This also can cut the waiting time in line. Consider a seated cocktail hour followed by a buffet.

Stand-Ups
The stand-up reception encourages your wedding guests to mingle and get acquainted. It doesn’t have assigned seating and, because there are no lines to shuffle through or extended waits for service, they can eat, mingle, talk and dance as the mood strikes them.

Even though a stand-up features hors d’oeuvres and appetizers, the cost difference between it and sit-down usually is no more than three or four dollars per guest. These finger foods can be expensive because their preparation requires more Labour and their ingredients are frequently costlier.

One of the hardest decisions when planning a stand- up is how much seating will be needed. Every guest will sit for a while. But if there aren’t enough seats for everyone to sit at the same time, you’ve guaranteed that there will always be guests up and moving. Our suggestion is to provide reserved seats for older guests and place small tables with chairs on the periphery of the reception space.

Since mobility is your goal, serve food easily eaten while standing. Provide a varied menu of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. Such choices help your guests enjoy the celebration.
At a stand-up reception, your guests not only have mobility, they have the chance to focus on you and your betrothed. And you can easily be approached by guests who otherwise must struggle toward and around the head table.

Food Stations
If you like the ease of a buffet but not its lines, and if you find a sit-down dinner lacking in fluidity, food stations are a great alternative. They are the most popular kind of stand-up reception.

Food stations let guests take what and how much they want without standing in a long buffet line. They work best in larger, ballroom-size rooms that offer ample room for movement and to creatively position the stations. Food stations can cost as much as sit-down dinners or buffets. You also have less control over guests, who can get up and eat at their leisure. With a buffet or sit-down, you can better control your guests’ movements.

You can customize food stations to reflect your interests. Because each station features one food or group of foods, your reception menu can include a range of food not usually served together. Vegetarian stations are very trendy, as are seafood, pasta and salad stations. Another alternative is the mini-meal station that provides a small, but complete, meal.

Live-action stations manned by chefs also are a popular choice. At these, a chef creates dishes before your eyes.

Let us organize an event that your guests will talk for months! *Estimates provided include venue and bar

Passed Hors D'oeuvres Reception
Typically one to two hours in length, a passed hors d'oeuvres reception is generally used for corporate and social networking to precede another event, such as a theatre performance or an exhibit opening. Waiters carry trayed presentations of eight to twelve bite-sized hors d'oeuvres that will be served to your guests during this time. Guests will also be offered wines and sparkling mineral water from waiters carrying silver trays. Bar Service can range from beer, wine and soft beverages to various options of full bar service packages. An hors d'oeuvres reception will normally utilize standing cocktail tables to promote networking and socialization as well as bistro style seating which can be used for your guests' comfort.
Cost Range : $35.00 - $50.00* per person

Cocktail Reception
A cocktail reception is a special event designed to be a significant alternative when the host does not desire full dinner service. Although substantial food is desired to appease guests, it is not intended to serve as a meal. Guests are customarily served a selection of passed hors d'oeuvres and selections of displayed appetizers and food stations. Cocktail receptions typically last for two to three hours and often include a short presentation from the host. Just as our passed hors d'oeuvres reception, a cocktail reception will also employ the use of standing cocktail tables and it is suggested that bistro style seating also be incorporated.
Cost Range : $45.00 - $70.00 per person

Seated Dinner
A seated dinner is a special event designed to replicate a restaurant environment and experience. Generally, a seated dinner will begin with one hour of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres after which, guests will be seated in a custom dining room prepared especially for your event. Much more service staff is necessary for a seated dinner simply due to the increased details required to prepare and serve guests a full course dinner.
Bar service is usually temporarily suspended during dinner service while dinner wines are served and would resume following dessert. All options for bar service are available for seated dinners. Table linens may range from your choice of solid coloured clothes to specialty boutique options.
Cost Range : $95.00 and up per person

Buffet Stations
A fantastic option for a social event. Buffet Stations lean toward the less formal side, but only in feel. This style of event is often used for anything from wedding receptions to formal corporate events and fundraisers. Staffed and freestanding buffets are stationed in various locations along with cocktail style seating to entice guests to explore all of the options that have been chosen for them.
Cost Range : $85.00 and up per person

Event Equipment
Many different options may exist for each aspect of an event, be it the style of china or the quality of a wine glass and silverware. Opulence would like to provide each of our clients with the finest foods and highest calibre of service available. The quality of equipment on which we serve our food is equally as important as the quality of food.

Linens
Every special event requires linen, to cover guest dining tables and to enhance the appearance of objects such as waiter stations, bar accessories and cake tables. Along with the many aspects of your special event, there are many options in linen from which you may choose. We aim to make each event for our clients as unique a possible; linen is one of our primary tools in this challenge.

Flowers, Decorations, Support Staff
Should you need flowers, decorations, a photographer, entertainment, and etc. for your event, we would be happy to arrange these services for you.

Service Charges
In order to better assist you, a 15% service charge for coordinating our event may apply.

Off Site Food
For the protection of our guests, Deluxe Catering will be the only supplier of food consumed at the event.
The only exception is a Wedding cake.

Client Responsibilities
The client assumes full responsibility for replacement cost for breakage of dinnerware and glassware, damaged linens, loss of equipment/props and late charges for rentals acquired on their behalf for the event.

Photographs
Deluxe Catering Inc. may photograph events and guests In attendance. All pictures may be used on our website or in
our printed material. We are able to provide photographs to the client (upon request).

Alcohol
As a courtesy, Deluxe Catering Inc. will purchase the liquor license in the clients name and Address. We reserve the right
to refuse alcohol to any person that appears to be intoxicated. The host will be responsible for their guests and will be held accountable for any damages incurred. Liquor Liability Insurance is recommended for all alcohol events.
To purchase an insurance policy contact us and we will be happy to provide it.

Chargeable Staff Time
This may include the following: Travel time
Set-up time: between 0.5 to 4 hours prior to guest arrival – depending on the size of the event (includes the set-up of a buffet table and dessert/coffee station if necessary). Dinner and bussing services to the completion of dessert and coffee/Tea.
Final clean up.  Additional requests will be charged accordingly, we charge for a minimum of 4 hours.