Wedding Catering Cost: £40 to £100+ a Head, Plus Extras

How much does wedding catering cost in the UK?

A UK wedding breakfast typically costs £40 to £100 or more a head for a plated three-course meal, £20 to £30 for a hot buffet and £15 to £20 for a cold one, according to published UK price guides and caterers' own price lists in 2026. Evening food adds roughly £8 to £15 a head, and canapés £5 to £15. For 80 day guests and 120 in the evening, a total catering bill of several thousand pounds is normal.

The spread is wide because the same words cover very different jobs. A marquee in a field with no kitchen is a different undertaking from a venue with a full kitchen and its own staff.

What goes into a wedding catering quote?

Food: canapés, wedding breakfast, evening food, sometimes a late snack.

Staff: chefs, waiting staff, a front-of-house manager, and often a toastmaster-style role for the timeline. On plated meals this is a large share of the bill.

Hire: crockery, cutlery, glassware, linen, and for a field or barn wedding, a field kitchen or catering tent.

Drinks service: pouring the drinks reception, wine with the meal and the toast. Some caterers supply drinks; others charge corkage or a service fee to pour yours.

Tasting, travel, cake cutting and clearing away. Each of these is sometimes included and sometimes a line of its own.

What changes the price most?

Style of service is the main lever. Plated service needs a large team; sharing platters on the table need fewer; a buffet fewer again. After that, guest numbers, the venue (dry-hire venues with no kitchen cost more to cater), the date (summer Saturdays book first), and the menu itself. Beef fillet and a seafood starter cost more than slow-cooked shoulder and a seasonal soup, and both can be good.

Does the venue affect who you can use?

Very often. Many venues have an in-house kitchen or a list of approved caterers and only allow those. Others allow outside caterers for a fee, sometimes called a kitchen or catering fee. Dry-hire venues, barns and marquees usually let you bring anyone, but then the caterer brings everything, including the kitchen. Check the venue's rules before you get attached to a caterer: our guide to venue kitchen rules sets out what venues usually ask for.

How far ahead do you need to book?

Popular wedding caterers take summer Saturdays 12 to 18 months ahead. Midweek, winter and Friday or Sunday dates are easier. Expect a deposit on booking, often 20 to 30 per cent, final numbers two to four weeks before, and the balance before the day. Read the cancellation terms before you pay the deposit, not after.

What should you check before you sign?

Get one written total for your date, day and evening numbers, including VAT, staff hours, hire, travel and clearing away. Confirm what happens if you run over time. Ask how they handle allergies and special diets, and ask to see their food hygiene rating, which you can also check yourself on the Food Standards Agency's ratings site. Every caterer listed here shows that rating, with the date of the inspection and the council that gave it.