Stations vs. Plated. vs. Buffet

Knottie40771715

I am pricing out stations v. plated. v. buffet for a 200 person wedding. We always liked the idea of plated, but bbq stations sounds really fun (and its cheaper!). I have never been to a wedding with stations but would love to hear feed back on how folks felt about it. Is the flow ok? I just dont want a traffic jam at the stations but they said they will be double sided and open for a few hours...

Lauderdale Pink

I kind of like the station ideas better than buffet, but you are correct about the traffic jams, especially if the stations are chef prepared and people are waiting for food.  Best combination would be to add some display tables of fruit, cheese, veggies, or even a large anti pasta salad.  

floridabride44

Food stations are fun, but with stations your guests could end up waiting in five lines instead of one line.  Plated is nicest, if it's in your budget. But traditional buffet would be better than stations, IMO

southernbelle0915

We did stations and ended up with about 175 guests. No one had to wait a long time for food. You just need enough stations and plenty of servers. Your cater should be able to do the math on this.

If you do stations, you need to talk to the caterer about clean up. Since people could get up and get food whenever they wanted, we had the caterers constantly clearing plates that were finished - not just one time after dinner.

tj&cw

Have been to a wedding with stations it was fun. They did a few area where you could have a chef make special items and a lot of salads, veggies and other stuff. 

Depends on your time of day too.....I wanted family style but was told the platters are to big for the table with all the amount of choices we are having (Brunch). So we are doing buffet

Good Luck

Maggie0829

We had stations and 130 guests.  No one had to wait in line very long or at all.  Your caterer should be able to figure out how many chef attendants and stations you will need so that no one will have to wait for their food.

atlastmrsg

I prefer plated.  No lines, easier to sit and relax and chat.  No handling anything like tongs, etc.  No food displays that can look sad/mauled/messy as the night goes on.

Some people will invariably post that they prefer stations or buffets because they can eat more.  I'd prefer less food that's really good and I don't have to do anything to get it.  I'm not there to gorge.  While I've seen well-executed stations, I just feel more special as a guest when I can sit and have courses brought to me.  

Maggie0829

atlastmrsg said:

I prefer plated.  No lines, easier to sit and relax and chat.  No handling anything like tongs, etc.  No food displays that can look sad/mauled/messy as the night goes on.

Some people will invariably post that they prefer stations or buffets because they can eat more.  I'd prefer less food that's really good and I don't have to do anything to get it.  I'm not there to gorge.  While I've seen well-executed stations, I just feel more special as a guest when I can sit and have courses brought to me.  

That is not why I prefer stations/buffets (I know you weren't talking specifically to me but I figured I would respond).  I prefer them over plated because I have more of a chance to actually get the kind of food I enjoy.  With a plated meal there is a very slim chance that I will like everything on that plate thus me being hungry after all is said and done.

And honestly, I hardly ever look at the stations/buffet that closely to see it looking sad.  In fact, the weddings I have been to that had stations/buffets were always stocked, restocked and kept clean very well that hardly anything looked sad or picked over.  And once dinner is over with the stations/buffets are cleaned up and food removed so you certainly aren't looking at picked over items all night long.

blushingbride8888

I agree with @Maggie0829. We're doing a buffet - which is more expensive at our venue than plated - because we have some picky eaters. If we go with plated we get a "chef's choice" starch and veggie vs. selecting what we want for the buffet and getting an additional side.

We contemplated stations but ultimately decided it would be too much food..our options for stations are really only carving block. If it was pasta, etc. I might change my mind. I think it depends on the options you're getting.

BlueBirdMB

We had 4 dinner stations for 120 guests.  There was never a line, even at the beginning.  I like stations because you get to choose whatever you want on the day of based on what you are in the mood for and what looks best.  Or you can choose to taste a little of many things.

MandyMost

I think stations has a different flow to the whole event than either plated/buffet. With stations, there's really no set "dinner time". You just kinda graze at everything for a while. With a buffet/plated you really have a set meal time that starts/ends. 

Maggie0829

MandyMost said:

I think stations has a different flow to the whole event than either plated/buffet. With stations, there's really no set "dinner time". You just kinda graze at everything for a while. With a buffet/plated you really have a set meal time that starts/ends. 

That's not always true.  We had stations but a set start and end time as to when people can go and get food.  I believe the stations were up and open for 2 hours.  After that they were cleaned up and removed.  Now if one was having a cocktail style reception then I could see the stations being open throughout the course of the event and having no set dinner time.

PrettyGirlLost

I had 150 guests.  We had passed apps and an antipasto station open during cocktail hour, and then the antipasto station was refreshed during dinner and we had a meat carving station- which included risotto, mashed potatoes and a veggie, and a made to order pasta station open.

Our dinner stations were open for 2 hours, then they were switched over to coffee and dessert stations.

JoanE2012

If given the choice, I'd much prefer stations.   Unlike a buffet where you would stick to a certain "theme", I think stations give you the option to have multiple cuisines.  And its not just one big line like a buffet.....you can pick and choose where to go.

hellohkb

We're doing stations and a buffet. As a guest, I don't mind any of those options. It's free food, after all.

Knottie091071

I'm definitely a fan of attending events with different stations. Maybe I'm in the mood for pasta, or maybe for stir fry, or maybe for roast beef (just naming some of the stations I've seen together at events). I like the chance to choose exactly what I want for my meal. One friend of mine had a buffet for 150ish people. It worked well because the coordinator went around telling each table when they could get up for food, so there was no issue with long lines. We just continued to chat and drink while waiting for our table to get called. No big deal. I've waited longer to be served a plated meal (literally, some people had finished their meals before my meal was served). Basically, no matter how you serve food, some people are going to wait longer than others to eat. It's just unavoidable. And I'm quickly finding that it is impossible to please every single person.

As the one planning a wedding, you will definitely have to consider the costs of each option, as well as whether the venue allows for cooking to occur in the main space, which would need to occur with most stations.

Also, BBQ is delicious, so I'd be happy as a guest at your wedding! Go for it!

BlueBirdMB

Maggie0829 said:

MandyMost said:

I think stations has a different flow to the whole event than either plated/buffet. With stations, there's really no set "dinner time". You just kinda graze at everything for a while. With a buffet/plated you really have a set meal time that starts/ends. 

That's not always true.  We had stations but a set start and end time as to when people can go and get food.  I believe the stations were up and open for 2 hours.  After that they were cleaned up and removed.  Now if one was having a cocktail style reception then I could see the stations being open throughout the course of the event and having no set dinner time.

It depends how you have things set up.  We always had some food station open.  App stations, then immediately transitioned to dinner stations, then immediately transitioned to dessert stations.  There was never a time where there wasn't food out.  The idea was to graze.  That being said, the type of station that was out slightly determined dinner time.

[Deleted User]

ohannabelle

I like plated service. 2 out of the 3 times I've had it at a wedding, it went well. The third time, I felt that the servers were understaffed, and it took a looooooong time of everyone being stuck at their tables. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. And finally getting food that might have been decent, 20 minutes before. It was honestly really boring. Worse if you're stuck at a table with shy or dull people. 

Given a choice, I vote stations. I like the activity, and think it keeps the energy level of the party moving. When everyone simultaneously sits down to wait, the atmosphere becomes much quieter and low key. If that's what you want, yay, but I like a busier, party sort of energy.

I don't mind buffets at all, if they're well staffed and maintained. As PPs have noted, it's fun to customize my choices, or to try tiny bits of unfamiliar choices.

Passed appetizers can be fun, but it always seems as if the prawns are somewhere I'm not. 

Typically, I'm appreciative of whatever's offered me. 

PrettyGirlLost

ohannabelle said:

I like plated service. 2 out of the 3 times I've had it at a wedding, it went well. The third time, I felt that the servers were understaffed, and it took a looooooong time of everyone being stuck at their tables. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. And finally getting food that might have been decent, 20 minutes before. It was honestly really boring. Worse if you're stuck at a table with shy or dull people. 

Given a choice, I vote stations. I like the activity, and think it keeps the energy level of the party moving. When everyone simultaneously sits down to wait, the atmosphere becomes much quieter and low key. If that's what you want, yay, but I like a busier, party sort of energy.

I don't mind buffets at all, if they're well staffed and maintained. As PPs have noted, it's fun to customize my choices, or to try tiny bits of unfamiliar choices.

Passed appetizers can be fun, but it always seems as if the prawns are somewhere I'm not. 

Typically, I'm appreciative of whatever's offered me. 

This has happened to me so many times at weddings that I dread sit down dinners.

curachel20

I went to a wedding that did family style. We loved it so much, it's what we decided to do. Several choices for everyone and no one is limited to just one entree, but you don't have the wait time of stations or buffets.

Jen4948

It really depends on how well things are run.  If everything is running smoothly, there are sufficient staff, there's sufficient food, and there isn't a really long wait, my choice would be stations.  I like the option to be able to choose what I'm going to eat from several offerings instead of just one.

The two things that need to be avoided IMO are long waits for service and long lines at the buffets or stations.  Those can really kill the mood.

Dreamergirl8812

I've never been to a wedding with stations but I really like buffet. The quality of wedding food can be really spotty so I like being able to get more mashed potatoes so I can skip the weird looking asparagus.

I do not like family style. At my MOH's wedding one table (full of guys in their early 20's) ran out of food before some of them got any. I ended up bringing them our extra tray of skirt steak because we had too much.