Most people don’t know much about hiring a caterer and the associated costs unless they have recently planned an event or work with caterers regularly. Catering costs in the Atlanta area are higher than most folks think it is. This is not a list of vendors and their prices. This is a way to get a general idea of how much it costs to feed a group of people. We will briefly discuss caterers and how they operate. But the more specific information about finding and hiring a caterer is a topic for another day. This is a look at food costs at local restaurants to give you some perspective on what the price of food might be for your wedding near Atlanta. Maybe this will help you when you start to look into catering costs for a wedding in the Atlanta area.
Rice and Beans
What is the least expensive meal you can think of? A college student is usually pretty darn familiar with rice and beans. It is an inexpensive way to fill up your belly while you save on your grocery bill. If you go through a drive thru and order rice and beans, french fries and a drink it would cost about $11.00. Let’s say you had 100 friends you wanted to treat. It would add up to about $1,100.00. So even a basic, fast-food meal adds up in a hurry when you feed 100 people. Rice and beans is not a meal we’d like to promote for a wedding but it gets us started.
Italian Dinner
There is a restaurant chain in the Atlanta area that does a good job with Italian food and drinks. Everyone knows about their soup and salad deal- plus the warm, fresh bread they serve. But let’s say you decide to have dinner at the restaurant and get an appetizer, an entree, a non-alcoholic drink (often called an NAB in the catering world) and dessert. An average total would be around $44.00 but would grow to about $58.00 after adding a 20% tip and tax. So if it costs about $58.00 for one person that would grow to around $5,800.00 for a table for 100! It’s really not an extravagant meal but adds up quickly when you start to feed a large group.
You might wonder about leaving out a glass of wine or a cocktail but for this comparison it makes sense. Caterers typically provide non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) for weddings. Beer, wine and spirits are almost always obtained through a bar service other than the caterer. That’s why that cost is not included here.
A Nice Dinner in a Very Nice Restaurant
Newnan, a medium sized city near Atlanta, has a handful of “very nice” restaurants. The menu of one of these restaurants shows us this- to have dinner with an appetizer, an entree, an NAB and dessert with tip and tax included will cost around $93.00 per person. If you move the location to a fine steakhouse restaurant in Atlanta the similar meal adds up to about $148.00 per person. So, you know what to do. Multiply by 100 to get a range of $9,300.00 to $14,800.00 for 100 dinners.
Apples to Apples? How this Compares to Catering Costs in the Atlanta Area
Is this what you might expect to pay a caterer at a wedding venue? Not exactly. However, it might show you that food can be expensive. As wedding venue owners we see that the price of food is a large component of your overall budget. Seeing the catering fee come in around $9,300.00 to $14,800.00 would not be a surprise. Yes–we have seen some catering cost less but this price range is not unusual. Of course, certain food items and other additions can send the top end of this range much higher. As a reminder- these price estimates do not include any drinks from the bar.
Food for Thought- hahaha….
Most weddings in the Atlanta area include a meal. The normal meal served at a wedding is dinner. At The Venue at Murphy Lane most couples provide appetizers, dinner and dessert (maybe wedding cake but often something else). Most of the weddings here also have a bar service. Looking at the local restaurant menus and estimating a price per person can prepare you somewhat for the estimates and prices you may get when you start working with caterers for your wedding. It is not a direct comparison. It is an exercise to gain perspective and gives you insight to the catering costs for weddings in the Atlanta area.
What Most Caterers Do at Weddings
Comparing restaurant service to the services provided by a caterer is not exact and can only go so far. Caterers normally work out of vehicles and an on-site prep kitchen. They have to bring everything they use with them. Caterers normally prepare food off-site and bring it in commercial catering containers used to store the food until it is served. Some food is prepared on-site but that depends on the venue equipment and the caterer’s methods of operation. Caterers usually set up any tables or equipment they use to prepare or serve food and NAB’s. They usually have basic china plates, flatware and glassware for the drinks they serve and bring those items when they come. They typically set the dining area tables. The catering staff serves appetizers, dinner, drinks and dessert and busses tables during and after the meal. Catering staff cuts and serves the cake or helps serve other dessert items. Another task is to rinse the dishes, utensils and equipment they use and place it in racks for the trip out of the venue. Usually there are at least a few servers and a manager at the venue until the reception is over. Catering cleans the venue kitchen area and get “checked off” by someone on the venue staff before leaving. It’s not exactly the same as a restaurant you can see the similarities.
Ask Us About Catering Costs in the Atlanta Area
The Venue at Murphy Lane has been operating on our 88 acre farm in Newnan, Georgia since 2017. We have had over 200 weddings on our property. We have several ceremony sites, including a vineyard, to offer. Murphy Lane is about 60 minutes from downtown Atlanta. We can help you plan all the details of your wedding and can guide you as you work through the catering decisions. Let us use our experience to help you make great choices along your wedding planning journey.
Reach out to us for more info by clicking here.
The Venue at Murphy Lane is a locally owned wedding venue located 60 minutes from Atlanta, GA. We would like to give a shout out to other locally owned wedding venues across the USA.
Madison Green Country Club: https://www.madisongreencountryclub.com/west-palm-beach-country-club-event-space/
Island View Waterfront: https://islandviewwaterfrontevents.net/
Willow Oaks Venue: https://www.willowoaksvenue.com/
Pleasant Pastures Events: https://pleasantpasturesevents.com/
1908 Grand: https://www.1908grand.com/
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