How to Price Wedding Catering: A UK Caterer's Per-Head Guide

Wedding work can be the most profitable in a caterer's calendar — or the most painful, if you price it the way you price a standard event. Weddings carry expectations, extra service, and a host of small costs that quietly erode your margin if you do not account for them. This guide is written for the caterer doing the quoting, not the couple shopping around. It covers how to set a per-head price, what to fold into your costs, and the mistakes that turn a profitable booking into a break-even one.

What UK couples actually pay

Before you set a price, it helps to know the market you are quoting into. Reported UK wedding catering figures vary widely by service style and region — typical ranges look like this:

Service style	Typical per-head range	Notes
Buffet	£15–£50	Most economical; lower service overhead
Street food / stations	£35–£55	BBQ, pizza, grazing boards — popular and flexible
Three-course served meal	£40–£100+	Highest service and staffing requirement
Premium / fine dining	£60–£100+	Includes event management, full front-of-house

These are typical ranges reported across the UK, not fixed rates — London and the South East sit well above national figures, while parts of the North and East come in lower. Treat them as a sanity check on your own pricing, not as a target. Your job is to price for your costs and your margin, then position against the market.

Start from your cost per head, not the market rate

The single biggest pricing mistake is anchoring on what other caterers charge and working backwards. Start with your own numbers instead.

1. Cost every dish. Work out the true ingredient cost per portion for each item on the proposed menu. Our food cost per head guide walks through the full method, and the catering cost per head calculator does the arithmetic for you across a multi-dish menu.
2. Apply your target food-cost percentage. Most caterers aim for food costs at roughly 25–35% of the selling price. If a menu costs you £18 per head in ingredients and you target 30% food cost, your per-head food price is £18 ÷ 0.30 = £60.
3. Add everything that is not food. This is where wedding margins disappear if you are not careful.

What weddings add that standard events do not

A wedding quote that only covers food and basic service will lose you money. Build these into your per-head price or list them as separate line items:

• Staffing for a longer day. Weddings run long — set-up, drinks reception, meal service, evening food, clear-down. Cost the actual hours, including travel and any overnight.
• Tastings. A pre-booking tasting has a real ingredient and time cost. Decide whether it is free, refundable against booking, or charged.
• Hire items. Crockery, glassware, linen, serving equipment — either your cost or a rental you pass through with a handling margin.
• Multiple service moments. Canapés, a served meal, then evening food is three services, not one. Price accordingly.
• Dietary and allergen requirements. Weddings almost always involve special diets. Building an allergen matrix for the menu takes time, and alternative dishes carry their own cost. Use the allergen matrix generator to produce the chart your staff will work from on the day.
• Travel and time. Mileage, parking, and the hours lost to a venue an hour away.
• Contingency. Final guest numbers move, suppliers raise prices, things go wrong. A small contingency protects the margin you planned.

A simple worked example

Say a couple wants a three-course served meal for 80 guests:

• Ingredient cost: £22 per head
• Target food cost 30% → food price £73 per head
• Staffing, hire, travel, contingency: £15 per head
• Quoted price: roughly £88 per head, or about £7,040 for 80 guests

That sits comfortably inside the typical served-meal range, and — crucially — it is built from your costs, so you know it is profitable rather than hoping it is.

Common wedding pricing mistakes

• Undercharging to win the booking. Weddings are emotional and competitive, so it is tempting to drop the price. Low prices attract clients who negotiate harder and refer other price-sensitive couples. Price fairly and let your food and service justify it.
• Quoting before the menu is finalised. Price the actual menu, not a placeholder. A "from £X per head" headline is fine for enquiries, but the firm quote needs real numbers.
• Forgetting service scales with guests. Doubling guest numbers does not just double food — it changes staffing, equipment and logistics. Re-cost, do not just multiply.
• Burying everything in one per-head figure. A clear breakdown (food, service, hire, travel) makes your quote easier to trust and easier to adjust if the couple changes the brief.

Turn the quote into a clear proposal

Once your numbers are right, present them well. Our guide to quoting for catering events covers what a strong catering quote contains — itemised pricing, deposit and payment terms, cancellation policy, and an allergen note. When the event is confirmed and delivered, the catering invoice template guide helps you bill cleanly.

Price wedding catering from your own cost base, account for everything a wedding adds, and position against — not below — the market. Do that consistently and weddings become the most profitable bookings in your year rather than the most stressful.

Sources

• Bark — UK catering price guide

Per-head figures are typical UK ranges reported across industry sources (including wedding-planning guides such as Bridebook and Hitched), for guidance only — they are not fixed rates. Always price from your own costs and target margin.