Wedding Catering Calculator

Wedding catering quantities depend on the number of guests, meal style, event duration, and time of day. Running out of food is every host’s nightmare, but over-ordering wastes money.

Per-person food guidelines for a wedding reception:

Appetizers / Cocktail Hour (1 hour):

• 6-8 pieces per person if a full meal follows
• 12-15 pieces per person if appetizers are the main food (cocktail reception)

Entrees (plated dinner):

• 1 entree per person, 6-8 oz (170-225g) of protein plus sides

Entrees (buffet):

• 1.15 servings per person before any overage, because people serve themselves a heavier plate
• Add the usual 10% buffer on top and you land on 1.25, which is the figure most caterers quote
• Include 3-4 protein options if possible

Side dishes:

• 4-5 oz (115-140g) per person per side dish
• Offer 2-3 side dishes

Salad:

• 1 cup dressed salad per person
• Or 1.5 oz (42g) undressed greens per person

Bread/rolls:

• 1.5 rolls per person

The overage buffer, and why it is a separate number Every quantity above is what people will eat. What you order is that plus a margin, and 10% is the floor rather than the target. 15% is the safe choice for a buffet or an unfamiliar caterer, and 20% is worth it if the guest count is still moving. Running out of food at a wedding is the one catering failure guests remember; leftovers go home with the wedding party, to the staff, or in many places to a food bank if you arrange the collection in advance.

The calculator asks for the buffer rather than hiding it, so you can see the difference between the eating estimate and the order.

Wedding cake: Servings come from standard bakery tier sizes, at the usual 1 inch by 2 inch wedding slice:

These are the same figures the cake size calculator works from. Past about 200 guests, most bakers stop adding tiers and cut a plain sheet cake in the kitchen while the tiered one stays on display, which nobody notices and which costs a great deal less.

Beverages: Not one drink per person per hour, which is the rule everyone quotes and which overshoots. People drink fastest in the first hour and slow down after, and roughly 15% of a guest list does not drink at all. So: 1 drink in the first hour, 0.75 in each hour after, against 85% of the head count. A 4-hour reception for 120 guests works out to 102 drinkers × 3.25, or 332 drinks, where the flat rule would say 480.

Non-alcoholic runs 2 to 3 servings per person, and that one is sized for everybody.

Seasonal and time-of-day adjustments:

• Evening weddings: a full meal is expected and guests eat accordingly
• Afternoon weddings: lighter fare is fine, and this page cuts food quantities by 20%
• Summer: more drinks, lighter food, and far more water than you think
• Winter: heartier dishes, and something hot at the cocktail hour