The short answer
Kids count in a wedding headcount in whatever way the catering and venue agreements say they do. Check how each document defines a child, whether children are priced by age band or a children's menu, and whether they count in the final count and toward any food-and-beverage minimum. For chairs, place settings and floor space, count each child who needs one.
What is considered a child at a wedding?
A child at a wedding is whoever your catering contract says is a child, so find each line in the proposal or contract that mentions children, kids, youth, minors or ages. A contract may set age bands, such as a lower price for one range of ages and no charge below another. It may offer a separate children's menu, a reduced price for the adult menu, or no children's pricing at all, in which case children may be billed as adults. Copy the exact wording and page.
Check how age is measured. If a band ends at a certain age, ask whether that means the child's age on the wedding day. Teenagers may fall into the adult price even when younger siblings do not. If the proposal is silent, ask the caterer to put its children's pricing in writing.
- Age bands and the price for each
- How age is measured
- Children's menu, reduced adult menu or adult price
- Any no-charge age, and whether a seat is still set
- Whether service charge and tax apply to children's meals
- How children are listed on the final count
Do kids count toward the minimum and the final headcount?
These are separate questions, and the contract may answer them differently. The final count is the number of people you tell the caterer to prepare for and bill. A food-and-beverage minimum is a dollar amount; children's meals may or may not count toward it. A package that requires a minimum number of guests may count only adults. Ask the caterer about each in writing.
Also check the bar. A per-person bar package may be priced per adult of drinking age, per adult or per guest. If it is priced per guest, ask whether children and other guests under drinking age are charged, and whether a nonalcoholic option is priced separately.
How do children's meals change the catering total? For example
For example, a hypothetical contract prices adult dinner at $95, children ages 4 to 12 at $45 and children under 4 at no charge. With 110 adults, 10 children aged 4 to 12 and 3 under 4, food is 110 x $95 = $10,450 plus 10 x $45 = $450, a total of $10,900. A bar package of $30 priced per guest aged 21 and over, with 100 such guests, adds 100 x $30 = $3,000; priced per adult instead, it would be 110 x $30 = $3,300.
Now suppose a hypothetical $11,000 food minimum. If children's meals count toward it, $10,900 is $100 short. If they do not, only $10,450 counts and the shortfall is $550. The same guests and the same menu give two different bills depending on one sentence, which is why that sentence belongs in your notes.
Do children need their own chairs and place settings?
For seating and rentals, count each child who will sit at a table, whether or not they have a meal. A child in a high chair may take the place of a standard chair but still needs table space, and a booster seat sits on a chair. An infant held on a lap may need neither, but plan the table with room for a parent.
Ask the venue or caterer whether it has high chairs and booster seats, how many, and whether there is a charge, then add them to the rental order if not. For example, 123 people with 3 children in high chairs need 120 chairs and 3 high chairs, with space at the table for all 123. The table and chair calculator helps turn those counts into an order.
- Children seated at tables
- High chairs needed and who supplies them
- Booster seats needed
- Infants on a lap, with room for a parent
- Place settings for children with a meal
- A kids' table or activity area, if planned
Are vendor meals and children's meals counted the same way?
Keep them separate, even if a proposal prices them at similar amounts. Children's meals are guest meals with a seat at a guest table. Vendor meals are for the people working your wedding and may be served elsewhere, at a different time and without a place setting. Keep them on separate lines of the count so neither is double counted or left out.
If you hire a sitter or staff a children's room, decide whether the sitter is counted as a vendor meal, and whether the room needs its own tables, chairs, food and a separate entry on the count.
How should I track children on the guest list?
Give each child a row with a parent or guardian, the caterer's age band, meal type, seat type (chair, high chair, booster or lap) and any allergy notes the parent has shared with you. Record the age band rather than a birth date; it is all the caterer needs and keeps less personal information in the sheet.
When you submit the final count, split it the way the caterer prices it. For example: 110 adults, 10 children in the older band, 3 in the younger band, 6 vendor meals. Ask the caterer to confirm the split in writing, then check the invoice against it.
Children headcount worksheet
Use one row for a decision or deliverable. Keep unanswered items visible. Download the blank worksheet to open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
On a small screen, swipe the worksheet sideways to see the remaining columns.
| Category | Number | Price or rule in contract | Counts toward minimum? | Seat type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | — | — | — | — |
| Children, older age band | — | — | — | — |
| Children, younger age band | — | — | — | — |
| Infants, no meal | — | — | — | — |
| Guests under drinking age | — | — | — | — |
| Vendor meals (not guests) | — | — | — | — |
| Sitter or children's room staff | — | — | — | — |
| High chairs needed | — | — | — | — |
| Booster seats needed | — | — | — | — |
A message you can make your own
Add your document reference and the questions that apply. You decide what to send and send it yourself.
We will have children at our wedding and want to count them correctly. Could you confirm in writing the age bands you use and how age is measured, the price and menu for each band, whether children count in the final count and toward the food-and-beverage minimum, and whether the service charge and bar package apply to them? Please also let us know how many high chairs and booster seats you can provide and whether there is a charge.
Common questions
Do babies count in the wedding headcount?
A baby counts in the wedding headcount in the way the catering and venue agreements say. A baby who does not eat may carry no meal charge, but still tell the caterer and the venue, because the baby may need a high chair, table space and a place in the venue's capacity. Ask each vendor to confirm how it lists infants.
Do teenagers get a children's meal at a wedding?
A teenager gets a children's meal at a wedding only if their age falls inside a children's band in your contract. Read where each band ends and how age is measured, such as age on the wedding day. If a guest is near the cutoff, ask the caterer in writing which price applies before you submit the final count.
How much is a child's meal at a wedding?
A child's meal at a wedding costs whatever your caterer quotes for your date and menu; there is no single figure you can rely on. The price may be a set children's menu, a reduced adult menu, or the full adult price. Ask for it in writing with the age band, and whether service charge and tax are added.
Can I ask the caterer for a children's menu if the proposal has none?
A children's menu is something you can ask the caterer for even when the proposal has none; the caterer decides whether to offer one and at what price. If it agrees, get the menu, price and age range added to the proposal or to a signed change order, so the invoice can be checked against it.
Do children count toward wedding venue capacity?
Children count toward wedding venue capacity if the venue counts each person present, which a capacity limit may do, including children, infants and staff. Ask the venue how it counts capacity for your space and layout, and give it a total that includes children, so the seating plan and the fire code limit are worked out from the same number.
Are kids charged for the wedding bar package?
Kids are charged for the wedding bar package only if the way the package is priced includes them. Check whether it is priced per guest, per adult or per guest of drinking age, and ask the caterer in writing whether children and other guests under drinking age are included, and whether a nonalcoholic option is priced separately.
Should children attend weddings, or should I have an adults-only wedding?
Whether children attend your wedding is your decision, and the contract gives you the numbers to weigh it. Price the children you would invite at the rate your caterer quotes, add the chairs, high chairs and table space they need, and check the venue's capacity. If you plan a kids' table, decide who will watch it.