[PROPRIÉTAIRE : nom de l'auteur] · 30/08/2026 · 3 min read
An event budget isn't a number, it's a series of decisions. Built well, it protects the experience as much as the finances.
The main lines
Venue, food and beverage, technical production, design, staffing, transport, accommodation, communications and management fees. For a gala, food and beverage often make up 35 to 45% of the total.
Taxes and service charges
In Quebec, GST (5%) and QST (9.975%) apply to most lines, and 15 to 18% service charges are themselves taxable. Forgetting this can mean a gap of more than 30%.
Contingency
We recommend an 8 to 12% reserve, managed transparently and reported at every stage.
Indicative ranges
A 100-guest 5 à 7 often falls between $15,000 and $40,000 CAD; a 400-guest gala between $100,000 and $250,000. These ranges reflect venue, service level and design.
Sharing your budget band at the start doesn't push us to spend it: it lets us propose realistic options rather than ideal ones.