Weddings
The service-charge page: 20% versus 23–25%.
The least-read line of a Maui wedding contract is the service charge — and it is where five figures hide. Resorts run 23–25% on top of F&B minimums; our service is 20%, always on its own line. This page does the arithmetic.
The comparison, quantified
- Resort pattern: F&B minimum $7,500–$15,000 per event + 23–25% service + GET
- Independent-caterer norm: 18–22% service, sometimes buried
- myCHEF: 20% service, always its own line, no F&B minimum, GET up to 4.7120% its own line
- On a $31,500 wedding week: 25% is $7,875; 20% is $6,300 — a $1,575 difference
Why we can run 20%
No ballroom overhead, no venue F&B floor, no banquet department to feed. The 20% covers what a service charge should cover, disclosed on its own line under Hawaiʻi’s service-charge disclosure posture — wording flagged for counsel verification, posture published anyway.
The questions to ask any caterer
What percent is service, and is it itemized? Is there an F&B minimum or room fee attached? Is GET shown separately at the correct current rate? What happens to the deposit if the date moves? Four questions, and every honest operator answers them in writing.
Questions, answered
Not when the rest of the quote is itemized — opacity is the red flag, not the number. Ours is 20%, on its own line, next to published food prices you can check without calling anyone.
The charge covers service operations and is disclosed as such; gratuity for exceptional service is always voluntary and separate. Hawaiʻi’s HRS §481B-14 disclosure posture governs the wording, which is pending counsel verification.
Keep reading
- wedding The week, not the plated hour.
- wedding Maui is a week, not a plated hour.
- wedding The week starts with a long table and no speeches.
- wedding The rehearsal dinner: smaller, sharper, plated.
- wedding The reception: plated properly, priced plainly.
- wedding The morning after, fed properly.
- wedding Two people, one vow, one perfect dinner.
- wedding Under thirty guests is not a small wedding. It is the good kind.
Get a written quote
The button is not “Book now.” You tell us the table; we send a written quote — and that quote is the confirmed total.