Food stations?

apltalia

So, my fiance and I definitely like the idea of food stations!  Especially a taco bar!  I was wondering if anyone here had done stations?  How bad were the costs?  Any tips?  I figure we can't just have tacos because not everyone will eat them, what are some other ideas? Thanks!

MyNameIsNot

We did stations. We had a carving station, a pasta bar, and a sushi station. I think there was something else, but I can't remember. I did really like the idea of having the buffet options, but not having everyone in a line. 

Costs were similar to plated or buffet. It just depends on how many options you have and what needs a chef. 

charlotte989875

I just went to a wedding 2 weeks ago and it was great because there were a ton of options and you get could what you wanted. There was a ton of food! 

We looked at it for our wedding but we had too many guests for the venue to do stations otherwise we would have. The PP cost was similar to our plated dinner. 

ETA: one of the stations was a taco bar and it was a HUGE hit. I made nachos and they were delicious. 

maine7mob

Stations are great. And you can do tacos if you do vegan and vegetarian options. All buffets will build in wastage costs, but they won't necessarily be higher than per-person sitdown prices.

MRDCle

We did stations. We had a salad station, a pasta station with two sauces and toppings, a taco station with a few different proteins, and a slider station with a few different proteins. It was nice because it accommodated all the different dietary restrictions guests had and they were continually replenishing for 2 hours so no one went hungry. I think it was around $28/pp? So not far off from a plated meal at the same venue. 

short+sassy

Although I'm not familiar with pricing, I think a taco station sounds like a great idea.

Tacos are so versatile!  With a few meats you can cover fish/chicken/beef tastes.  Veggies can also make good taco fillings, ie sautéed squash, eggplant, avocado.  Throw in all the toppings and typical sauces.  And you'll be covering even the pickiest palates and dietary restrictions.  Someone doesn't like tortillas?  They can even make a taco salad, without the tortilla shell.

Jen4948

Stations are a nice idea. The only suggestion I have in this area is to assign tables for seating if you do stations, so that nobody has to hunt for an open seat after they get their food and beverages.

MesmrEwe

The key is that your caterer be on the ball.  I've seen it work both ways where it's fantastic and I've seen it turn into a sh**-show and the caterer running out of food entirely before a significant portion of guests are served.  The key - research your caterer well on this!