Budgeting for a Memorial Reception

Catering costs for a memorial reception generally scale along three lines: the menu style you choose, your guest count, and whether you need staff on site.

Per-person menus and platters both scale with headcount, but not always in a straight line — many caterers price larger group sizes at a slightly lower per-person rate, since fixed costs like setup are spread across more servings. That means a modest increase in guest count doesn’t always mean the same percentage increase in cost.

Beyond the food itself, it’s worth budgeting separately for packaging (often a small per-person fee covering platters, containers, and serving utensils), delivery (usually priced by distance from the caterer’s kitchen), and staffing if you want servers on site rather than a drop-off (typically priced by the hour, with a minimum call time).

Minimum orders are another line item to plan around — many caterers set a minimum order size, sometimes different for weekday and weekend events, so a very small gathering may cost more per person than a mid-sized one simply because of that floor.

The most reliable way to budget accurately is to ask for a written quote once you know your venue and rough guest count, rather than estimating from a menu’s per-serving price alone — fees and minimums can otherwise catch people by surprise.

Our own pricing is published on each menu page, and our delivery fees and minimum order policy are listed on our Contact page, so you can build a rough budget before you call.