Buffet or sit-down?

ldcf11206

My reception will be from 2pm-6pm.  We will be serving dinner entrees, but I am wondering if we should serve the food as a buffet or have it served at the tables?The restaurant is a nice, upscale place.  I have been to a party there in the past, and the food was served buffet style.  It worked out well, but I don't know what is more appropriate for a wedding...buffet or sit-down?We will have approximately 100 guests.Thanks for your thoughts!

mbcdefg

Either is fine. Sit-down is the norm in my area, so IMO it's a little more elegant. But buffet is also nice because you can take as much/little of certain dishes as you want. Is there a difference in price between buffet and sit-down at this restaurant?

ldcf11206

No difference in price between sit-down & buffet. 

danieliza1127

I really think either is fine.

eas2730

Either is fine.Buffet may be a nice option which may get your guests to talk to each other, rather than just to the people at their table. The people there love you and know you, so even if they don't know each other, they'd probably like each other since they get along with you/fiance.

aerinpegadrak

Either is fine.  I tend to prefer buffet so that I can control my food options and portions, and so I don't have to decide what I want for dinner two months in advance.  A plated meal does tend to have a slightly more formal feel, however.

tenofcups4me

Either is fine for a wedding. I prefer sit-down (buffet always seems more casual to me and the food, in my experience, doesn't hold up as well). But it's personal preference.

jenn.daniel

I prefer buffet so can can get what I like can skip the brussel sprouts. Make sure the site can coordinate that many people though. My grandma perfers sit-down, and be aware than grandparents and other older guests may need someone to get food for them.

terbear_86

I would think that for a 2 pm- 6 pm reception you should do buffet as some people may not be ready for a sit- down mean in between "normal" lunch and dinner hours---- usually in my area anyway-- a plated dinner is not served before five unless it is plated lunch which is served no later than 1--- but that might just be around here. I would do buffet though- so people know that it is there, feel free to indulge, but if your guests dont like everything or are only a little bit hungry they dont feel as if they are obligated to eat something put in front of them.

MeaghanandMichael

Either can be fine if done right. I prefer sit down. Too many times I have seen the faux pas of not enough seating, grandmas balancing plates, women in heels teetering, and cold/not replenished buffet food. Just keep these things in mind.

Lasairiona

Either is fine. It boils down to personal preference. With a buffet, guests can pick and choose what they want and how much, and leave behind what they don't want or can't eat. With a sitdown, people are stuck with what they get but they don't have to get up at all.

ldcf11206

I appreciate everyone's response! One person mentioned considering elderly guests at a buffet.  That is something I had not thought of before, and that is a good point.  I will have several elderly guests, so perhaps out of consideration for them and for the people who would have to get their food, it would be easier to do a sit-down dinner.  Thanks!!!

lbarcomb

I think either is fine. I have been to weddings that had buffets and weddings where it was a sit down and I enjoyed both. I guess it depends on personal preference.

JaimeeP

Either is fine for a wedding. If you have a lot of elderly guests, the sit down meal may be easier for everyone.

alithebride

you didn't say if the sit-down was rsvp entree choice or table side. that's important. i HATE having to choose my dinner 2 months in advance (or late lunch in this case) because the explinations of the meals are generally so short. i choose sit-down table side order over all choices. as for buffets-the last thing i want to do is stand around in a gown and spoon out my own food, it's a hassle, it's messy and i don't like carrying plates in heels. it feels like a high school cafeteria to me-in heels.  it also does NOT encourage mingling-merely people who are waiting on line chatting. i'd rather be at my seat chatting with those around me and, since i'm an adult, i'm perfectly capable of getting myself up and makign the rounds after lunch to mingle. i dont' need a buffet line to push me into it.

Lasairiona

Keep in mind that with sitdown service, tableside ordering is not practical in many areas for various reasons and many caterers do not use it. That doesn't make them incompetent.

ldcf11206

Table-side ordering is not an option here.  It's strictly sit-down or buffet.  With the buffet, the guests won't have to spoon out their own food because there will be servers there to dish it out.  I'm leaning more towards a sit-down meal now, just because of the fact that I'll have several elderly guests and it will be easier on them to just stay seated and be served.  Thanks ladies!!

rubber_chicken

most weddings i've been to have been plated. it is a bit more formal. it does suck having to order your meal 2 months in advance, but my fiance and i usually pick one of each and then fight over the plates when we get there. however, i would recommend you would stick to familiar food if you're going this route. my friend chose lamb and sea bass for her wedding, and both options were AMAZING, but for 2 months all she heard was complaints from family members about how they didn't like lamb, they didn't like fish, what are they going to eat blahblahblah. she's a better person than i am, i would've cracked under that kind of nonsense. we went with buffet for our wedding (in 2 days!) for 2 reasons. first, we have people coming from very VERY different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, so we wanted to offer the greatest amount of variety in the cuisine as possible. with our buffet we're able to offer a very spicy dish, a very bland dish, a rice dish, a potato dish and a seafood dish no one's familiar with. everyone should be able to find something they're familiar with as well as branch out and try something new. i know i'm looking forward to eating a little of everything! and the second reason is our reception site doesn't have a full catering kitchen (it's an art center) so the best way to keep the food warm was to serve it buffet style. so that's something to keep in mind for you off-site brides.

Calypso1977

we did a buffet.  it was awesome!  price played a  big part in it, tho.  if the price for sit down was the same, we probbably would have done that.

buttrfly168

Both are nice...I personally did a buffet because I like to choose what I am eating myself. I went to a wedding where the sit down took two hours of the reception!!!!

ldcf11206

Two hours?!  Holy crap!  I'll see to it that we don't have that problem at my reception :-)

hillaryeggert

Hubby and I had this same predicament (thought for us, buffet would have slightly less cost).  We ended up surveying family to see what they thought.  Almost unanimously, our generation voted buffet, and the parental generation voted sit-down.We decided to go with our parents and did a sit-down dinner.  We tried very hard to make our small wedding (30 people) as elegant as possible, and I think it's a given that - all other things equal - having your dinner brought to you is nicer than going through a buffet line.Either are appropriate, though.  It's just about your vision for the big day.

blondie82784

Im a buffet girl for the simple fact that you get more for your money and you dont have to deal with keeping track of what people want to eat. Our wedding were doin a buffet style and its only a few dollars more than sit down but you get twice the food. We got 4 entrees instead of 2 entree choices.  By doing this we were able to eliminate  the food during cocktail hr. and it saved us a few thousand. Our package included fruit, vegs, & crackers and I think thats plenty to hold them up until dinner

krayzmelmel

I've never been to a wedding with table side ordering... I guess it would have to be a restaurant atmosphere and not somehwere that the caterer has to move all of their stuff around.  We're doing a salad/roll, a carving station, a pasta station and a mashed potato bar.  This is for our party of almost 400 people though and I don't really like sit down with that many people because once the last tables have gotten their food, the people that were served first are already done!  that happens with buffet as well, but we're having 4 different lines so it should be quick

vicymar

I personally don't like buffets, having to wait in line in heels I don't like.

nannewmur

My husband has been in hotel management for 25 years and his hotel hosts a lot of wedding receptions, luncheon meetings, etc.  When food is served buffett style, there is often a lot of wasted food.  Three years ago we hosted a luncheon for our daughter and served it buffet  style.  There were 45 people(we had rsvps for 50)  there and there was so much food wasted!   We gave it away to the employees.  So if you have the option of sit down or buffet be watchful of the prices because it usually ends up costing more for buffet.  Also, a lot of women and elderly don't like buffet style because they don't like the idea of balancing plate, going through line, etc.  If you choose buffet, pay close attention to how the line forms so it is a smooth traffic flow.  Good luck!