For a buffet reception in Bradford, one 2026 cost guide gives about £25 to £68 per head. Waiter service runs from £35 to £90 or more, and a mehndi menu starts at about £14. London costs more. The number that matters is the price per head once VAT, staff, crockery, set-up and clearing are added, so ask every caterer for an itemised quote.
What published guides say
There is no official price index for wedding catering. The figures below come from wedding cost guides and survey publishers. We have labelled who produced each one, because some are written by businesses that sell wedding services.
Bradford, per head, 2026 (The Asian Wedding Experts, May 2026; wedding media, no published method):
| Event and service | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mehndi or informal event | £14 to £22 | £22 to £32 | £32 to £45 |
| Main reception, buffet | £25 to £38 | £38 to £52 | £52 to £68 |
| Main reception, waiter service | £35 to £50 | £50 to £68 | £68 to £90+ |
London, per head, 2026 (same publisher, May 2026; prices quoted exclusive of VAT):
| Event and service | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mehndi or informal event | £22 to £32 | £32 to £45 | £45 to £65 |
| Main reception, buffet | £40 to £55 | £55 to £75 | £75 to £100 |
For context across all UK weddings, not just Asian ones:
- The Hitched National Wedding Survey (vendor-produced, 2,020 couples) found average spend per guest of £272 across the whole wedding, not just food.
- Bridebook's 2026 UK Wedding Report (vendor-produced, around 7,000 couples) put average reception catering at £5,406 and evening catering at £2,002, for weddings averaging about 74 ceremony guests.
At 300 or 400 guests, even a modest change per head moves the total by thousands. A £5 difference across 400 guests is £2,000 for one event.
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Catering total
£6,000to£9,000
- Main event300 guests · £20.00–£30.00 a head£6,000 to £9,000
Ranges round to the nearest £10 and quotes to the nearest £1.
Our free catering cost calculator works out the total for each event from your guest numbers and per-head prices, including VAT.
What a per-head price should include
Two quotes at £40 per head can be very different offers. One might include staff, crockery and a chai station. The other might be food delivered in trays. Ask for a written list against this table.
| Item | Often included | Often extra | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starters, mains, rice, breads, dessert | Yes | Extra dishes or live stations | How many dishes per course? |
| Serving staff | Buffet staff usually | Waiter or table service | How many staff per guest? Until what time? |
| Crockery and cutlery | Often | Premium or gold-rimmed sets | Is breakage charged? |
| Chafing dishes and serving kit | Usually | ||
| Tables, chairs, linen | Sometimes | Often if the venue doesn't supply | Who provides what? |
| Soft drinks, water, tea | Sometimes | Mocktails, lassi, chai stations | Per head or per jug? |
| Set-up and clearing | Usually | Late finish or overtime | What is the finish time? |
| Halal certification or vegetarian kitchen | Depends on caterer | Can you show the certificate or confirm the kitchen practice? | |
| Travel and delivery | Local usually | Outside the caterer's area | What counts as local? |
| VAT at 20% | Sometimes | Often added at the end | Is the price including VAT? |
Two points on VAT. A business must register for VAT when its taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in 12 months, according to HMRC. So a small caterer may not charge VAT at all, and a larger one will add 20%. A £60 quote before VAT is £72 per head after it.
Why prices vary so much
- Service style. Waiter service needs more staff than a buffet. The Bradford ranges above show waiter service costing roughly £10 to £20 more per head at each level.
- Menu. Lamb, fish and live grill stations cost more than chicken curry and rice. So do extra courses.
- Location. The same publisher's London ranges start £8 to £15 per head above Bradford's, and the London figures exclude VAT.
- Date. Saturdays are the busiest day: the ONS counted 43.6% of all marriages in England and Wales in 2022 on a Saturday. Ask whether a Friday, Sunday or winter date changes the price.
- Venue rules. Some halls have an in-house kitchen and only allow their own catering. Others allow outside caterers but charge a kitchen or corkage fee. Check before you compare. Our guide to choosing a venue for 500 guests covers this.
- Numbers. Some caterers set a minimum number, and some lower the price per head above a certain number.
How to compare two quotes
Line them up on the same basis. For each quote, per event:
Match the menu
Ask each caterer to quote the same menu and number of dishes, or note where they differ.
Add everything to one price per head
Add VAT, staff, crockery, linen, drinks and any venue kitchen fee, then divide by your guest number.
Check the terms
What is the deposit, when is the balance due, what happens if numbers drop, and what is charged for overtime? Get it in writing. Read our guide to wedding deposits and cancellations.
Check the business
Look up the food hygiene rating on the Food Standards Agency's ratings site, which scores businesses from 0 to 5. Food businesses must register with their local council at least 28 days before they start trading.
Taste before you commit
Ask whether the tasting is free or deducted from the final bill.
An illustrative comparison (invented figures, to show the method):
| Caterer A | Caterer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline price per head | £38 | £44 |
| VAT | +20% (£7.60) | Included |
| Waiter service | +£6 | Included |
| Crockery and linen | +£3 | Included |
| Full price per head | £54.60 | £44 |
| For 350 guests | £19,110 | £15,400 |
The cheaper headline price turns out to be the more expensive quote. Run the same sum for every event, because a caterer who is cheaper for the walima may not be cheaper for the mehndi. And check the payment schedule as well as the total: a quote asking for most of the money months ahead ties up cash you may need for other deposits.
For a fuller list, use our questions to ask your caterer and read how to vet a wedding caterer.
Dietary needs, halal and vegetarian kitchens
A South Asian wedding menu is rarely one menu. Needs vary by family and guest list, and many families plan for several of these at once:
- Halal. Many families need halal meat. Ask the caterer who supplies their meat and whether they can show certification, and ask the venue whether its kitchen is used for non-halal food.
- Vegetarian and no egg. Some guests eat vegetarian food, and some avoid eggs, onion or garlic. Ask whether vegetarian dishes are cooked separately.
- Allergies. Nuts, sesame and dairy appear in many South Asian dishes. Government guidance says caterers must supply allergen information for every item containing any of the 14 listed allergens, so ask for it with the menu.
- Children's portions. Ask whether children are charged the full rate.
Build these into the brief you send every caterer, so their quotes cover the same thing. If you're hosting a walima and a mehndi with different caterers, send both the same dietary notes.
Where to save without the guests noticing
- Simplify the mehndi menu. Street food or a single buffet at the mehndi, with the full menu kept for the main day.
- Book one caterer for several events. Some offer a better rate for a whole week. Ask.
- Trim dishes, not quality. Two excellent curries beat four average ones.
- Get guest numbers right. Every household you count twice costs money. Our guide to how many guests at an Asian wedding explains how to count by event.
Finding caterers in the north
We are building city guides to caterers in Bradford, Leeds, Bolton and Blackburn. On Nodus you can browse vendors, message them and keep quotes and bookings in one place. Per-head minimums on caterers' profiles are coming. When you book, you pay a deposit to confirm, then the balance before your event, each paid directly to your vendor through Stripe.
Questions
One 2026 guide puts Bradford reception buffets at about £25 to £68 per head and waiter service at £35 to £90 or more, with mehndi menus from about £14. The same publisher puts London buffets at £40 to £100. Neither publishes its method, so use these as a starting point and get itemised quotes.
Not always. VAT-registered caterers add 20%, and businesses must register once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in 12 months. Some smaller caterers are not registered, so their price is the final price. Ask every caterer to quote including VAT.
At minimum, the food for each course, serving staff, crockery and cutlery, chafing dishes, set-up and clearing. Some caterers also include tables, linen, soft drinks and tea. Ask for a written list, because two quotes at the same price can include very different things.
Mehndi menus are often simpler, with fewer courses, street food or a single buffet, and sometimes no table service. Published ranges for Bradford start around £14 per head for mehndi menus, against about £25 for a main-day buffet.
Look them up on the Food Standards Agency's food hygiene ratings site, which scores businesses from 0 to 5. Food businesses must register with their council at least 28 days before trading. Ask for their public liability insurance and a tasting.
Get quotes you can compare
Send every caterer the same brief: events, dates, guest numbers and menu. Then the quotes line up. Nodus is free for couples.
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