Totally confused...

okiediva

Met with the caterer yesterday...loved her, said she could do whatever we wanted. She also gave us sample menus...I have no clue what I want. Do I do heavy hor' d'ouerves?? Or a buffet? Plated Dinner?? I'm clue less

Aquarian342

Well the type of reception you have will all depend on your budget, how many people are attending, and how formal you want things to be.  

If you have a good amount of out of town guests you might want to provide dinner, but say you really aren't super into formal stuff and you want people to just mingle and pick their food when they get there-then a buffet would be good.  Or if you really want a super informal relatively short reception, you might just want to go with a few hor' d'oeuvres tables so people will end up getting up more and walking around a lot.

Or if you have a decent budget and you are more traditional or just want something more fancy, then a sit-down dinner would be perfect.  Guests don't have to get up as much, they choose what type of food they want when they RSVP typically (so they know how much to prepare of each-steak or fish, etc).

I think if you really love a certain food on the menu you should see if you can sample it, and incorporate that into your choice somehow.  We're having our wedding and reception all in the same place with an appetizer cocktail hour after the ceremony.  Then dinner is a buffet around 6:30pm (two meats and a more heavy pasta dish without meat, potatoes, salad, rolls).  Then the bar opens again and we have music, dancing, etc until like 10:30pm.  We are very informal and like the idea of people getting up and moving around, but also have a lot of out of town people and we want to give them a good meal so they're set for the night.

I know a lot of info, but any of that help?

futurepivko

a lot of depends on your budget....for us it was cheaper to do a plated meal, which is fine because it was what we wanted

the other part depends on when is it being served? if its being served between 2-4pm (a "not normal dinner time") then heavy appetizers is fine. if its being served during normal dinner time (after 5) then a plated meal or a buffet would be necessary.

okiediva

We plan on doing our ceremony between 6 -7, estimating around 50, maybe 60 guests. Would love for a relaxing feel to our wedding but beautiful. I don't want it to feel like a house party or a backyard BBQ..love those just not for my wedding

Aquarian342

Yeah, I forgot about time of day too...and since your reception will be held somewhere between 7 and 11pm, you'll probably want to provide a meal.  Sit-down plated food or buffet really depends on your budget with the caterer.  Is there going to be a bar?  Sometimes it's a better deal to get a bar package included with a food package if that's possible; however, that may also limit what you can do for food. 

 I would just add up per person the cost (including service charge), and see what that comes up to for plated vs. buffet.  Both are nice I think, but having a smaller party is really nice for buffets in my opinion.  Everybody can actually mingle more, and getting up to serve themselves won't be a chore or take forever then, and people can get up for second helpings if they wish as well.  

The overall feel of your wedding, in my opinion, depends on your decorations, crowd, type of food, etc, so don't worry that a buffet feels houseparty-ish or like a BBQ.

Miracle520

Def do dinner but decide if you want the more elegant, classic plated dinner or you want people to mix and mingle and do buffet. Would your caterer do stations? Sometimes that's a great way to do more upscale buffet style. I personally prefer a plated dinner but that's because I'm a germophobe and worry about people touching all the buffet food.

Milsey32

Do dinner. As far as plated vs. buffet... I prefer buffet because I get to have as much as I want of what I want BUT I know other people don't like waiting in line or knowing other people can see how much they take

okiediva

We def have decided to do dinner. Now the argument is buffet vs plated. Our caterer also said we could do family style dining. Have any of you ladies ever gone to a wedding where they did that?