Pro baker needs help for friend's wedding that she wants me to cater.

[cakesdone]

I have never catered, though I love throwing outrageously large parties with lots of food. My friend's daughter is getting married. It would be one thing if it were only 20 or 30 people and I got to choose the menu, but she has 200 and a large, bland menu! How do I figure out how much to make? It's an evening wedding and reception but she has the whole buffet happenin' cuz that's what her family does, she says! She wants pigs in blankets, cheese tray w/3 cheeses, sausage balls, 2 types of meatballs, veggie tray w/2 dips, finger sandwiches (3 kinds), tortillas w/salsa, chicken tenders w/3 sauces, chips & dip, punch, wedding cookies and bite-size brownies. She also has a cake that serves over 250 and a groom's cake that will serve over 80 and is covered in chocolate covered strawberries. I thought I had this figured out easily, but once I started pricing stuff... LORDY! How do I know how much to get? HELP!!!!!!!!!!! I have 5 weeks til the wedding, but just a week until I go over the final details of the menu and cost with her, get the deposit, and sign the contract. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

[DC Sunshine]

cakesdone - you might be better off posting this in the professional catering forum - lots of people with lots of experience there that are more than willing to share their experience with you and their expertise. Don't panic - and welcome to ChefTalk

[Headless Chicken]

When doing large scale caterings, break down how much she wants to spend per person and that should give you an idea on how much to buy. Do the same with the wedding cake, charge per slice per person. If its nothing too lavish, I'd say she should be spending at least $40/person for food alone...250 people is a pretty large wedding. I would also add a little extra just incase, not everyone will nesessarily have everything on the menu and you'll get a few items that'll get hit hard like maybe your chicken tenders or the cheese trays. See if you can get some info on the guests, food allergies and stuff like that, you may not need to make a cheese tray for 250 if 100 of them are lactose intolerant for example.