Buffet lines are set up with elegant chafing dishes. Sit-down dinners with wait staff serving each table. Cocktail hours filled with passed plates of fancy hors d’oeuvres. There are about as many different ways to serve food at a wedding reception as there are different types of brides. Every occasion is different, and each couple brings their own personality to the planning. But one thing is certain, almost every wedding will be followed with some type of food, whether it’s a full meal or just cake.
So which one is right for you? What you choose might depend on your budget, the time of day of your wedding, or just what you prefer! Here’s a rundown of some of the things to consider when choosing how to feed your wedding guests.
Buffet Style. There are a couple of benefits to opting for a buffet dinner at your wedding reception. One is that you can offer a greater variety of food, with a few different choices of side dishes, an option that often isn’t available with a plated meal service. It’s also easier to add a gluten-free or vegetarian option to appease all of your guests.
The buffet-style dinner can also be great for a wedding reception with a more casual vibe. But don’t rule it out if you are opting for a more formal wedding. Talk with the caterer about serving options, and you’ll find elegant chafing dishes or something like a carving station that can make a buffet rise above its “all you can eat” reputation.
Buffets are also a good choice for larger weddings, as it can be hard to serve plates to a couple of hundred people all at one time efficiently. A buffet allows a way for the food to stay warm, and with people serving themselves, there’s less chance of waste. One thing to keep in mind, though, is the time it takes for people to stand in line for their food. Consider having salads and bread at the table, or use this time for the bridal party to go around and talk with guests to help pass the time.
Plated Dinners. Bridal couples planning a more formal wedding often opt for a plated dinner service. With nice garnishes and sauces, each plate can be presented in an artistic manner as one more way to add beauty and elegance to your big day. This type of meal service also keeps things moving along at a nice pace. With a seating chart or name cards, people can find their place at a table, and then servers bring food out so that everyone is eating at about the same time.
Planning a plated dinner provides some built-in parameters. Sending a choice card with each invitation means you will know ahead of time what food to purchase. It also allows for greater control over portions than a buffet-style dinner. However, you do need some flexibility in the amount of food to allow for a few surprise guests.
Passed Plates. Like the buffet, this option can go either casual or elegant. You can choose a variety of hors d’oeuvres and can either have catering staff pass them around or have stations set up around the venue. Or you might choose to do this during a cocktail hour before a plated dinner. Keep in mind that this option doesn’t necessarily save you money; guests will typically eat a full meal’s worth of food if your hors d’oeuvres are served at dinner time!
Cake and Punch. There are no rules that say you have to serve a meal to your wedding guests. People have just as much fun eating a piece of cake and hanging out with friends. Going the route of serving cake, along with a few extras such as a fruit tray, nuts, and other snack items, can be a great way to have fun and stay within budget, just be sure to not set your wedding to take place over a meal time!
Getting the Timing Right
While the type of meal service you choose is entirely up to you, keep in mind the time of day you schedule the wedding might lead guests to come in with certain expectations. So you might want to choose what type of meal (or whether to even have a meal) early on before you set the time of the wedding. Wedding services that start at 5:00 p.m. or later will have guests entering the reception venue right around dinner time, which means they will come expecting to be fed. So, if you’re looking to have just snacks or hors d’oeuvres, consider an afternoon wedding between 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Let Legacy Stables and Events help you plan the right meal service for your wedding day. Call us today for a tour of the property, and we can share with you the many options available from our expert catering team.
