No matter what you plan to do with food, theme, etc – you must understand fully where you money is going.  Of all the vendors that you will hire, I think the Catering proposal/contract is the most misunderstood contract.  This goes for weddings that cost more than $5,000.00 as well.  Much of the time, I think it’s because it’s not broken down sufficiently.  Also, another factor is that in the beginning – many times it’s not complete.  You don’t know what rentals you will need, how many people you will feed, how many servers you will need, what kind of service you will receive, etc.

Then, in the end, it’s like – OMG – where did all this cost come in?

So, I am going to take a few moments to go over two different contracts.  They won’t necessarily be geared towards a $5,000.00 wedding – but will give you an idea of what to look for where.

La Prima Catering

If you take a quick look at this contract, you see that it’s not broken down at all.  You do not see an overall price per person for food.  You don’t see a rental breakdown or staffing breakdown.  Because of this, you have to look at every aspect of this contract – first page to last – to understand what it’s really saying.

1. Front page – You see it’s a 3 hour reception for 100.  So, whatever you see on the subsequent pages – it’s for 100 guests.  It also states the wedding date, and who it’s for.
2. First page – tells you what you are going to have.  This wedding is a dessert reception.  If you add more food, it will go up.
3. Third page – tells you what equipment you will use and what your staffing will be.  Be careful here. Equipment is the stuff La Prima will be bringing.  This would include plates, glasses, silver and the like – as well as chafing dishes, serving plates, coffee servers ,etc.  If you are renting linens, tables, and chairs through them, this is where you would see linens, overlays, napkins, chair covers, tables ,and chairs.  If you modify your service, modify your guest count or change your menu, this portion will change – but we are not sure by how much.   It’s a really basic contract.  It would be nice to see kinds of chairs (cushion color if applicable) colors of linens, kinds of plates, silver and glass, colors of linens would be nice – just as a confirmation that you and the caterer are on the same page.  It eliminates mistakes.   Be careful here. This price might be for the standard item.  If you go in for the tasting and like other glasses on the table – this item might go up.  Make sure you determine what your standard choices are.
4. The staffing portion is how much staff you will have at your event that day.  At this wedding – they had 1 server.  This portion would definitely change if you had a more extensive set up or changed your menu or service choices.  If your guest list changes – you cannot just divide the final cost by 100 to get a price per person  (read below).  Call the caterer and request a new proposal to give you a more accurate quote.

One note about guests lists.  The food price is inversely proportional to your guest list.  As your guest list goes up – the cost per person (for the food portion) goes down – because the caterer spends less money to buy more food.  If you original quoted price was $100.00/guest for 100 guests – and you ended up with 150 guests, your new price might be $98.60/guest.  Likewise, if you originally estimated for 150 guests at $98.60 per guest – and ended up with only 100 guests – your new price per person might be $100.00/guest (it costs more for the caterer to buy food for less people).

Be careful…

Even though you are spending a bit less per person – you still are not really saving because you are adding more people.

With that said, an increase in guest count will make everything else increase proportionally -rentals (you need more plates, glasses, etc), linens (you might have more tables), chairs (you will need more seats), etc.

Absolutely Perfect

This one I like, because there are no ambiguities.  It’s laid out really really well.   You need to take this proposal and compare it to yours to see where you have questions.

1. Front page – tells you what is is, how many people, and the wedding date.
2. Page two gives all of your hors d’oeuvre options.  Be careful here – you only get to choose 6 within the pricing.  Choose more or make different choices, it will affect the pricing.  Beware that it’s not offering any stationary items – just butlered.  If you want something stationary, it’s going to be an add-on.
3. Page three is what you are getting for your first course, main course, and dessert course.  If you decide to change something here, it will add to the price.  If you opted for choices for your main course, you would see them laid out here.
4. Page four – offers your beverage choices – which include, you purchasing alcohol, you purchasing alcohol but caterer providing mixers, caterer purchasing alcohol, and coffee services.  Be careful here - the alcohol itself is not included – and will be priced based on what you choose.  These prices are the cost of the caterer bringing the ice, mixers, coordinating, etc.
5. Page five – your pricing breakdown.  It clearly shows your price per person for 200 guests.  It shows your beverage items in parentheses (not added into the contract, but nicely laid out so you can easily add and take away).  Your rentals which they break down on the next page.  It also includes staffing.  They clearly show what you will get and how much it will cost.  They also show overtime staffing charges – how much it will cost to extend your event.
6. Page six is your rental breakdown.  How much it will cost to rent tables, chairs, tents, etc.  Be careful here – these prices are for the standard stuff.  If you choose something different – it will change the cost – for example, if you want square goblets, or lead crystal champagne flutes.  At your tasting, make sure you see what’s standard.

I hope this helps you better understand your caterers contract.

Happy planning!

Thanks to Rachel Smith for the wonderful photograph