Pick how dinner is served and the builder loads dish ideas for every course. Swap in your own, tag the vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free dishes, check a cost range for your guest count and print the card. Free, no sign-up.
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Choose the service style first, because it sets the price and the pace of the night. Then plan one course at a time: two or three starters, a main with a real vegetarian option, dessert and drinks. Collect dietary needs on the RSVP, taste the menu before you sign and print the cards only after your caterer locks the menu.
Service style drives the bill. Zola's 2026 numbers put a plated dinner at $65 to $85 per guest and a buffet at $40 to $65, before service charge and drinks. See the Zola Wedding Cost Index and the full table in section 02.
Put a QR code next to the menu card. Guests scan it and add their photos from the browser, no app and no account, so the toasts, the plates and the dance floor all land in one album.
WEDDING ALBUM
Emma & Daniel
Example album
Zola puts the average US catering bill at $6,927, usually between $5,500 and $8,300, or about 14% of the wedding budget. How you serve the food moves that number more than any single dish.
| Service style | Food per guest (Zola) | Builder estimate (all-in) | Works well for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plated dinner | $65-85 | $85-165 | Formal receptions, fixed seating, guests choose an entree on the RSVP. |
| Buffet | $40-65 | $55-120 | Relaxed receptions, lots of choice, fewer servers on the floor. |
| Family style | $50-70 | $65-135 | Shared platters at each table, a dinner-party feel, longer tables. |
| Food stations | $45-75 | Not in the builder | Guests move around, several cuisines, a mixed crowd of tastes. |
| Cocktail reception (heavy appetizers) | $35-55 | $45-100 | Evening or short receptions where guests stand and mingle. |
Zola's figures cover the food. The range in the builder is wider and higher, so read it as an all-in planning number: food plus the service charge, gratuity and drinks that land on the same invoice. If your quote only covers food, compare it with the Zola column. The fees are broken down in section 06.
Per-guest ranges from the Zola Wedding Cost Index (updated February 2026), checked October 2026. For a city-level view of the whole budget, try the wedding cost calculator.
The builder tags dishes as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or dairy-free. Allergies need more care than a tag. The FDA names nine major food allergens, and sesame joined the list on January 1, 2023 under the FASTER Act.
| Allergen (FDA) | Where it hides on a wedding menu |
|---|---|
| Milk | Butter sauces, cream soups, cheese courses, most cakes and frosting |
| Eggs | Aioli and mayonnaise, fresh pasta, mousse, meringue, many baked desserts |
| Fish | Salmon, branzino and tuna mains, Caesar dressing, Worcestershire sauce |
| Crustacean shellfish | Shrimp cocktail, coconut shrimp, crab cakes, lobster bites |
| Tree nuts | Pesto, macarons (usually almond flour), praline, nut crusts, some salads |
| Peanuts | Satay and Thai-style sauces, some desserts and candy toppings |
| Wheat | Bread, crostini, pasta, breaded starters, flour-thickened sauces |
| Soybeans | Soy sauce, teriyaki and sweet soy glazes, some marinades |
| Sesame | Tahini in hummus, sesame seeds on tuna or buns, sesame oil |
Some starter dishes carry common allergens: the chicken satay comes with peanut sauce, the tuna tartare with sesame, and macarons are usually made with almond flour. Write "contains nuts" in the description and tell your caterer which guests have allergies.
Allergen list from the FDA food allergies page, checked October 2026. Track who needs what alongside RSVPs in the guest list manager or the RSVP tracker.
The per-guest price on a catering quote is rarely the final number. These are the line items Zola sees most often, so ask about each one before you compare quotes.
Added to the food and drink bill by most caterers. It is often not a tip for the staff, so ask what it covers.
Expected on top of the service charge when the contract does not already include it.
Of the guest per-person price, for the photographer, DJ, planner and crew. Zola says 8 to 12 vendor meals is typical.
Per slice, when the cake comes from an outside baker and the caterer cuts and serves it.
Per bottle, if you bring your own wine or liquor to a venue or caterer that allows it.
When the venue has no full kitchen and the caterer has to bring or rent one.
Zola puts a Friday at 10 to 15% less and a Sunday at 15 to 20% less than a Saturday. Off-peak months can save 15 to 25%.
A limited bar can cut alcohol costs by 40 to 60%, per Zola. Beer and wine adds about $12 to $18 per guest, a premium bar $25 to $35.
Many caterers have a $2,500 to $4,000 minimum. For small weddings, Zola sees $75 to $100 per person once that minimum kicks in.
All fee ranges from the Zola Wedding Cost Index, checked October 2026. More ways to trim the bill in cheap wedding catering ideas.
Guests photograph the plates, the toasts and the cake before your photographer gets there. Give them one QR code and every shot lands in a shared album, straight from the phone browser.
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
An illustrative quote built from the middle of Zola's ranges, so you can see how a $50 buffet turns into a much bigger invoice. Your caterer's numbers and local sales tax will differ.
| Line item | How it is worked out | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Buffet food | 100 guests x $50 | $5,000 |
| Beer and wine bar | 100 guests x $15 | $1,500 |
| Service charge | 20% of $6,500 food and bar | $1,300 |
| Gratuity | 15% of $6,500 food and bar | $975 |
| Vendor meals | 10 meals x $35 (70% of $50) | $350 |
| Cake cutting | 100 slices x $2 | $200 |
| Special meals | 8 guests x $10 extra | $80 |
| Total before tax | About $94 per guest | $9,405 |
The food is $5,000. The other $4,405 is drinks, service, tips and extras. Type 100 guests and Buffet into the builder and its all-in range ($5,500 to $12,000) covers this total.
Some caterers may also add the service charge to vendor meals, and sales tax is extra. Want to see where catering sits next to the venue, photos and flowers? Split your budget in the wedding budget allocator.
Illustrative example, not a quote. Rates taken from the middle of the Zola Wedding Cost Index ranges, checked October 2026. The rows add up to the total.
Most menu problems show up late: a forgotten allergy, a card printed before the final change, a fee nobody asked about. These are the habits that catch them early.
Tasting prices from Zola, print timing and spare-card advice from Paperlust, both checked October 2026.
First dance
You guys!!
The toasts, the clinking glasses, the cake and the dance floor after dinner. Put one QR code next to the menu cards and every guest photo lands in one shared album.
From Mom
Scan to join the album
No app, no account
UPLOADING
THE ALBUM
June 21, 2026
647 photos · 95 guests
SCAN TO TRY
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your-wedding
Shown in your local currency. No per-guest fee, and the free tier is there for a test run first.
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A short HGTV piece where couples and wedding experts share how they set the menu, from the cocktail hour to the main course to dessert. Good to watch before you sit down with your caterer.
Watch on YouTube (3 min)Prairie wedding, big sky, golden hour that lasted forever. The photo missions were fun, we set one for sunset selfies and got about 30 variations. Some are absolutely stunning and they're all from our guests' phones. The slideshow at dinner had everyone smiling. Totally recommend
Red rock elopement with 12 people and somehow we still got 300 photos. Turns out when you have a small group at an insane location everyone becomes a photographer. Album looks like it belongs in a travel magazine tbh
My flower girl was 4 and she uploaded 17 photos from my moms phone. They are all blurry and at ankle height and they are my FAVORITE photos from the entire wedding i am not joking 🥹
What couples ask while they plan the menu: cost per guest, buffet or plated, courses, dietary labels, print timing and how the builder works.
Zola's 2026 Wedding Cost Index puts the average at $46 to $55 per person and about $6,927 for the whole catering bill, usually $5,500 to $8,300. By service style, Zola lists plated dinners at $65 to $85 per person, family style at $50 to $70, stations at $45 to $75, buffets at $40 to $65 and heavy-appetizer cocktail receptions at $35 to $55. Service charge, gratuity, tax and the bar come on top.
Usually, per guest. Zola's ranges are $40 to $65 for a buffet and $65 to $85 for a plated dinner, mostly because a buffet needs fewer servers. Check how many servings the buffet price covers and whether stations or carving add staff charges before you compare quotes.
Most wedding menus have three: a starter, a main and dessert, with drinks listed at the end if you want them on the card. Formal dinners can run to five courses with a soup and a salad. The builder has four sections (appetizers, mains, desserts and drinks), and any section left empty stays off the printed card.
Use short tags such as V for vegetarian, VG for vegan, GF for gluten-free and DF for dairy-free, and explain them once at the bottom of the card. The builder prints the tags next to each dish. For allergies, the FDA lists nine major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame). Share those needs with your caterer directly instead of relying on the card.
After your caterer locks the menu, which Paperlust says usually happens 4 to 8 weeks before the wedding. Paperlust suggests ordering digital prints about four weeks out, foil about five weeks and letterpress six to seven weeks. If you print at home with this builder, you can wait until the final counts are in.
Yes. Press Print Menu and the builder opens a print-ready card in a new window with your names, date, courses and dietary tags. Pick Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a file, or use the email option below the builder to send the menu text to yourself. The builder is free and needs no account.
