Buffet dinner or sit down?

mullerl

I am going back and forth on this. We have vegetarians, people who only eat fish, some eat chicken or beef. There won't be pork. 

What do you think about buffets compared to sit down dinners? And vice versa.

We will have food at the cocktail hour.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

TiffanyT816

I had the option of buffet or plated. I'm opting for plated because it's much more formal. It's really up to you and the mood of your wedding (buffet us typically a bit mire casual than a plated meal)

lyndausvi

It's all personal preferrence.   I prefer sit-down and DH refuses to eat off buffets, so we did sit-down.    I don't hate buffets, just prefer not to  have to carry my food across a room.

franklissa

We went with buffet. We really loved the menu choice on our particular buffet. We did look through all the choices are caterer offered.

JoanE2012

I prefer sit down, especially for a wedding.

Ven&Radio

I prefer a plated dinner.  When I see a buffet, I can't help but wonder what's been sneezed on, or who dropped the serving utensil and fished it back out of the food with potentially unclean hands...

melb2013

I really like stations and part of the reason why I chose my venue was because they did stations.  I don't like buffets because of the lines.  I prefer stations over a plated meal when I'm a guest because I like choosing what I want to eat on the day of, instead of having to choose earlier.  I know that you can sometimes do menu service, but I've never attended a wedding like that.  We are also having a lot of vegetarians, so I thought that stations would work well- people have options this way.  I think everyone has a different preference, but that's mine.

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:86dac2a5-1cbe-491f-a78b-70242c14a81e">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]I really like stations and part of the reason why I chose my venue was because they did stations.  I don't like buffets because of the lines.  I prefer stations over a plated meal when I'm a guest because I like choosing what I want to eat on the day of, instead of having to choose earlier.  I know that you can sometimes do menu service, but I've never attended a wedding like that.  We are also having a lot of vegetarians, so I thought that stations would work well- people have options this way.  I think everyone has a different preference, but that's mine.
Posted by melb2013[/QUOTE]

<div>What is the difference between a station and a buffet? I've been to buffets that had stations. I agree with the line situation. Thank you!</div><div>
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mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:12292cfe-cd04-4a44-9064-21d9f3e43366">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]I had the option of buffet or plated. I'm opting for plated because it's much more formal. It's really up to you and the mood of your wedding (buffet us typically a bit mire casual than a plated meal)
Posted by TiffanyT816[/QUOTE]

<div>Our wedding is going to not going to be formal, but I think I am liking the idea of the plated service more that I think of it. I plan on having passed hor dovors and platters during cocktail hour. Thank you for your thoughts!</div>

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:39f11d21-e666-40d4-86e7-def5a07b06d6">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]It's all personal preferrence.   I prefer sit-down and DH refuses to eat off buffets, so we did sit-down.    I don't hate buffets, just prefer not to  have to carry my food across a room.
Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

<div>Thank you for your response! Is that an english bulldog? I have 2 frenchies! I love me some bulldogs!</div><div>
</div><div>I am leaning more and more towards the plated dinner. The last wedding I went to I thought I was in heaven! Passed appetizers, platters that was cocktail hour. Next came the buffet. Wait now we sit for dinner!? It did go until 1 am which I am all about!</div>

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:f8a9c0c0-e3a0-44e2-9091-e8e0f646c965">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]We went with buffet. We really loved the menu choice on our particular buffet. We did look through all the choices are caterer offered.
Posted by franklissa[/QUOTE]

<div>Thank you for your response! I never thought this was going to be something I would be going back and forth about! <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /></div>

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:443f8c19-190b-4cdb-b8d3-7004187127fc">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]I prefer sit down, especially for a wedding.
Posted by JoanE2012[/QUOTE]

<div>I've seen both pulled of so well that now I have to decide! Thank you for your response! I have been picturing my friends, who love their wine, walking around with plates of food. I think that sealed the deal! <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /> That would be a mess!</div><div>
</div>

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:83d29084-8d8d-46d0-b0de-36dffce23511">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm personally a fan of buffet.
Posted by Sleeper2013[/QUOTE]

<div>I appreciate your response! I LOVE food! So this has been a hard decision for me!</div>

mullerl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_buffet-dinner-or-sit-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:87004c6f-0473-43a9-83cd-742840903450Post:fb8f5b4e-9bc7-43ce-b54a-8bcd0c7aaa6d">Re: Buffet dinner or sit down?</a>:
[QUOTE]I prefer a plated dinner.  When I see a buffet, I can't help but wonder what's been sneezed on, or who dropped the serving utensil and fished it back out of the food with potentially unclean hands...
Posted by Ven&Radio[/QUOTE]

<div>That seem like it would be a problem with both options. Maybe more so with plated. Thank you for your response!</div>

rkw0717

We will be having a buffet at our reception and our caterer will have staff there to actually scoop the food on each person's plate (this helps with portions as well as avoiding the whole 'dropping of the serving utensil and fishing it out with unclean hands' issue lol). 

If you think the whole waiting in line thing might be an issue for your guests, I've been to weddings where tables would be called up one by one in order to keep from having everyone wait in a long line and helps moove things along a lot faster. Just an idea to throw out there!