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It was a potentially pricey piece of mail for Toronto bride-to-be Michelle. Earlier this month, she and her fiancé received a letter from their wedding caterer informing them that the bill for their August wedding would increase by 12.5 per cent due to worldwide hikes in food and fuel prices.

The new levy amounted to a $2,500 hit to her budget.

"We didn't see that coming at all," says Michelle, who asked not to be identified in order to keep the peace with her caterer. "It made me wonder, where are they shipping the food from - Iceland?"

A recent survey by Weddingbells magazine pegged the cost of the average Canadian wedding at about $19,000 - and about 50 per cent of that covers food and drink, experts say. Now, negotiating final price tags is likely to become increasingly vigorous as caterers jack up menu prices or charge extra levies. And many couples are scouring the fine print and locking in prices early.

Caterers say they are out of pocket for fuel surcharges on most deliveries, and are paying higher prices for staples such as flour, cornmeal, rice and grains. And it's not only prices for long-distance produce that are rising.

Even Canadian produce, such as corn and potatoes, is more expensive because of fuel surcharges on deliveries. Items that once came free with a big catering order, such as bread, are free no longer, says Jeffrey Roick, a Toronto event planner and partner in the event space The Carlu.

Russell Day, vice-president of Toronto catering company Daniel et Daniel, says that while the rise in prices has yet to hit big-ticket items such as meat, he is raising his menu prices by 5 per cent next week to make up for other rising costs.

"When we see prices going up, we shudder at the same time. Everything goes up and everything gets passed along," he says.

Flour, for instance, is used not only in cakes and pastries, but also in gravies and to coat meat before cooking. Instead of figuring out how much flour each dish uses, he's averaging it out across the menu.

"We've been rolling with it for a little while. We're trying to keep up, but keep a price increase that isn't going to kill people," he says.

In an industry already known for inflated prices, those who cater weddings are particularly open to skepticism. Susan Johnston, the senior event consultant at Vancouver's eco-friendly Green Coast Weddings, compares it to buying a carburetor for a car and one for a boat.

"It's the same carburetor, but the one for the boat will cost you double," she says. "It's the same thing in the wedding world," she says, adding she applies any industry kickbacks to her clients' accounts.

But brides and grooms can get tough if they think they're being treated arbitrarily. After Michelle and her fiancé wrote a letter of complaint, their caterer decided to waive the additional fee.

Caterers are often seen as a luxury, says Mr. Day. "We have to be conscious of how luxury we can be. We don't want to be seen as gouging. Hopefully things won't go too insane. We keep our fingers crossed," he says.

If a price spike pushes a couple's wedding budget beyond their comfort zone, Mr. Day says, he'll offer alternative menu choices or even urge clients to consider downsizing the event from a sit-down dinner to a cocktail reception.

While few items on a catering menu will be immune, there may also be ways for brides and grooms to trim costs, says Alison McGill, editor-in-chief of Weddingbells.

"You might want to rethink the sushi bar because it will inflate your costs," she says. The wedding industry may now have greater incentive to embrace the green, local-food trend, which may also influence the choice of a wedding date, she says.

"We have such a limited window. If you want fiddleheads in October, you're going to have to import them and that's going to cost."

Locally sourced and organic foods remain premium items for now, says Ms. Johnston. But for smaller weddings, couples who source some of their ingredients themselves, including Canadian wines, may find some deals. She suggests visiting small groceries and farmer's markets with a pitch.

"I bet they'll give you a 10 per cent discount," she said.

But if couples are locked into a contract, they should read the fine print. Those in luck will not find "prices subject to change." And even if that phrase is in there, caterers do live and die by their reputations, says Ms. McGill.

"Everything's negotiable. ... If there's no wiggle room, that's a red flag."