Catering, which to choose??

valbeil

Ok so my wedding is really far away more than two yrs but since Im on a budget its easier to buy everything over a longer period of time. So right now Im just looking into options because I know prices never stay the same.
First of all I want to go with catering so I don't have to worry about the food.
Next I want plated over buffet style because I know I'll spend more on food if everybody can go back for seconds and in some cases thirds.
(Don't get me wrong, Im feeding my guests Im just on a budget)
Ok next I want something easy and that everybody will eat because I have some really picky eaters and alot of them!
So I need to know if a gourmet burger is they way to go? Do you guys think its tacky?
Also does anyone have a suggestion for a caterer in the dfw area?
Thank you in advance and wishing everybody the best of luck!!

HYDROPHILE

What type of wedding are you having? More formal or more laid back? Generally, you don't spend any more on buffet if people go back seconds or thirds.  The caterer makes a set amount of food to serve for a buffet.  They (generally) don't charge by each pan of food they bring out to serve (unless you're having your reception at a restaurant, etc., but even then they plan and cook in advance.)

Because of the number of people we're having at our wedding, the price for buffet was the same as what a plated dinner would be.  Since plated dinners have the feeling of "more formal" or "more expensive," we chose the plated dinners No one (except anyone that reads this post - lol) will know that we didn't pay more for plated over buffet. 

For what it's worth, we were engaged Dec. 2009.  We visited our first venues January 2010 (for a 2011 wedding) since the area in which we are getting married books quickly.  We booked our caterer and venue March 2010 (a good year and 5 months in advance.)

NOLAbridealmost

You seem to be putting the cart before the horse here.  First, find a caterer or several. See what they offer and what they can do. They'll likely have some great suggestions that you haven't even considered.  They'll be able to tell you what's more affordable and what things tend to be crowd pleasers. 

To find a good caterer in the DFW area, you should go to the local boards on the left:

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And ask the local girls.  They'll be able to help you find someone. 

Then come back here when you've got your options narrowed down and you can run the menu by us then.  

lisab613

it seems like there's a lot to think about here: how fancy do you want your food to be? if people are going to be very dressed up, eating burgers might be kind of hard, but if it's more casual, that might be perfect. for what it's worth, i would love to eat a burger at a wedding.
but you're going to need to have a couple of options for people probably -- accounting for vegetarians, or those who eat meat but not red meat. it seems like you can decide on a finger food menu -- chicken sandwiches, burgers, and some kind of fish or pasta dish -- or something fancier, like the chicken cordon bleu, some sort of steak and either fish or pasta.

HYDROPHILE

I think the OP meant that they would make a decision NOW, but they would pay off their balance over a longer period of time.