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Wedding Reception Forum
Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner?
Hello ladies! I'm looking for some opinions here. I just started researching venues and my top pick offers a buffet dinner or a plated dinner. Both options are the same price per person. With the buffet option, there would be a few more entrees to choose from, but I'm not sure how I would feel about guests (and myself) carrying plates of food back to our tables. (Risk of spills, etc.)
Which option would or have you gone with?
Which option would or have you gone with?
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Re: Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner?
How many choices would guests have for the plated dinner? I looked at one place that would literally only let me choose one option and a vegetarian dish for the plated menus, which I thought was ludicrous. If there are at least 2 choices + a vegetarian option I'd do the plated.
The buffet comes with sliced sirloin, a chicken option, baked ham with pineapple glaze, salmon, and baked ziti
[QUOTE]I voted for the plated dinner... The way I see it, if you go with the buffet option, guests will be eating at all different times due to standing in line. You'll have some guests who get their food and finish while other guests are still in line getting their food. I also think that having a plated dinner is a nicer, more formal option that the buffet. Just my opinion.
Posted by Ashleigh828[/QUOTE]
Very good point about people waiting for food. I didn't even think of that.
Your buffet sounds HUGE and would definitely accommodate picky eaters. Plus, you don't have to worry about including meal orders on your RSVP card.
i'm not a fan of buffets at all. carrying my own plate of food and serving myself reminds me of my high school cafeteria-but in a gown, and in heels. eek! no offense meant-just my opinion.
[QUOTE]Personally, I always prefer buffet. I am a very picky eater, partially due to dietary needs and restrictions, and partially because I'm just picky. While I never expect anyone to cater to me specifically, I hate sitting at a reception with a plated meal that I won't or can't eat half of. It makes me feel incredibly self-conscious. If the dinner is buffet, I am able to get what I want and can eat, in poritons I can actually eat, and not worry about looking like a two year old or a snob sitting with a plate of perfectly good food in front of me. It also makes me feel better that I'm not wasting food, especially food someone else paid for.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]
This. (and I'm starting to believe that Stage and I might be the same person...)
It might be where I live, or it's just the way things roll in my circle, but I've never been to a wedding with a plated dinner. They're always buffet, regardless of how fancy the wedding.
[QUOTE]is it table side waiter order or rsvp order for the sit down? i'm not a fan of the rsvp card one because there's never enough info on exactly what the meal is! if it's table side order and tehre are good choices go for it. i'm not a fan of buffets at all. carrying my own plate of food and serving myself reminds me of my high school cafeteria-but in a gown, and in heels. eek! no offense meant-just my opinion.
Posted by alithebride[/QUOTE]
it would be an rsvp order for dinner.
and no offense taken lol. i was picturing prom myself, rather than the cafeteria vision
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner? : it would be an rsvp order for dinner. and no offense taken lol. i was picturing prom myself, rather than the cafeteria vision
Posted by amp23[/QUOTE]
FWIW, I used to work in the catering industry and every single prom we did was plated. This was chosen by the schools because the students would all eat at the same time and because no one wanted to walk around with plates of food in their nice clothes.
Plated dinners also helps the pacing of the party. Dinner could be served faster and students could dance, instead of people standing in lines waiting for food.
I like this because it eliminates having people waiting in the buffet, but also offers more choices. You may choose the beef on your reception card, but are feeling more like chicken the day of the wedding. With a family style plated dinner, it allows each guest to still have choices, without having to get up.
[QUOTE]Would the plated dinner be served per person or family style? We are doing a plated, but family style dinner. Instead of having to find out meal options for each person, each table will be served 3 meats, 2 starches, 2 sides and 1 salad. The servings are large, so there is enough at each table in case someone wants seconds. I like this because it eliminates having people waiting in the buffet, but also offers more choices. You may choose the beef on your reception card, but are feeling more like chicken the day of the wedding. With a family style plated dinner, it allows each guest to still have choices, without having to get up.
Posted by futuremrsbruno[/QUOTE]
it would be served per person
If you go with the buffet, make sure you have enough room for people to manuever around tables while carrying food. I would also see if it is possible to do a line on each side so it moves faster. I think buffets can work better when you have less guests (under 100).
We decided on a plated dinner because of the layout of our room and my concern for people having to walk by tables carrying food. Also with the amount of guests we are planning for (170), it seemed the quickest way to get everyone served and make sure dinner didn't drag and there was plenty of time for dancing.
As far as having enough food, I think even with plated dinner, you have plenty. We had passed appetizers, a salad, the entree and cake, and many people were stuffed by the time dessert came around. I just like the idea of being served at a formal/nice affair rather than having to get my own food, I suppose, although I don't side-eye or judge buffets either.
Another option I saw at one wedding was serving food family-style. Large bowls of pasta, potatoes, meat, etc. were placed on the table with serving spoons and you passed the bowls around the table to serve yourself, like you would do at home. Perhaps that's a middle ground of both options?
ETA: Also consider the logistics of your venue. If we did buffet at my venue, it would have had to be in a totally separate room because our room didn't have enough space to facilitate that. I thought it would have been a huge PITA for our guests to have to go to a different area to get food, so that helped us decide to do plated.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner? : FWIW, I used to work in the catering industry and every single prom we did was plated. This was chosen by the schools because the students would all eat at the same time and because no one wanted to walk around with plates of food in their nice clothes. Plated dinners also helps the pacing of the party. Dinner could be served faster and students could dance, instead of people standing in lines waiting for food.
Posted by Simply Fated[/QUOTE]
They serve dinner at prom? Mind blown!
I think you will have to look at it from the logistics of the hall. Where will the buffet be stationed? Is it in a place easily accessable to every table, or are some guests going to have to walk clear across the room? Is it in a completely different room? Will there be servers helping at the buffet line, or do the guests just fend for themselves?
Also, you know your guests. If they would rather have the plated dinner, go with that, if they would rather have the buffet, there you go.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner? : FWIW, I used to work in the catering industry and every single prom we did was plated. This was chosen by the schools because the students would all eat at the same time and because no one wanted to walk around with plates of food in their nice clothes. Plated dinners also helps the pacing of the party. Dinner could be served faster and students could dance, instead of people standing in lines waiting for food.
Posted by Simply Fated[/QUOTE]
maybe it's just something local to my area to have buffet style proms. but i have been to a buffet dinner prom and also a plated dinner prom. not sure..
I am leaning towards the plated dinner though, especially after reading everyone's helpful comments =)
We may not be as classy but we will be married and well fed.
I'm leaning towards a buffet for my own wedding for a couple reasons. For one, I love buffets. I like being able to get a little bit of everything. I guess I like the variety! For two, I think it's the best way to make sure people get whatever kind of food they would like. The buffet I'm looking at is an Asian buffet, with sweet and sour chicken, beef and broccoli, rice, etc. My vegetarian guests will be fine because there will be rice and stir fry veggies. If someone wants chicken AND beef, they can have it. If they don't like salad (I usually eat a few bites of salad depending on how good it is), they don't have to have it.
But at the same time, it's nice to let my guests sit at their tables and let the food come to them, and not have to worry about spilling, slow lines, etc. Something we'll eventually decide, haha.
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That being said, I prefer a buffet. I love picking my own food and having more options. I always hope for a buffet.
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[QUOTE]Personally, I always prefer buffet. I am a very picky eater, partially due to dietary needs and restrictions, and partially because I'm just picky. While I never expect anyone to cater to me specifically, I hate sitting at a reception with a plated meal that I won't or can't eat half of. It makes me feel incredibly self-conscious. If the dinner is buffet, I am able to get what I want and can eat, in poritons I can actually eat, and not worry about looking like a two year old or a snob sitting with a plate of perfectly good food in front of me. <strong> It also makes me feel better that I'm not wasting food, especially food someone else paid for.</strong>
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]
They waste WAY more food doing buffets than doing plated dinners. You need more labor for sit-downs that's why they cost more, but waste wise buffets cause more waste. You might not being the wasting, but it's true.
Anyway I'm prefer sit-down, but don't mind buffets. I'm not a fan of carrying my food across a room. I alway seem to be as far from the buffet you can get so it's a long trek. DH refuses to eat off a buffet , so there's that.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Buffet dinner vs Plated Sit-Down Dinner? : <strong>They waste WAY more food doing buffets than doing plated dinners. </strong> You need more labor for sit-downs that's why they cost more, but waste wise buffets cause more waste. You might not being the wasting, but it's true. Anyway I'm prefer sit-down, but don't mind buffets. I'm not a fan of carrying my food across a room. I alway seem to be as far from the buffet you can get so it's a long trek. DH refuses to eat off a buffet , so there's that.
Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]
You can take the leftovers home with you though, so it doesn't actually get wasted. We ate ours the day after our wedding.
Buffet style tends to be more wasteful if there is food left over in the chafing dishes and no one takes it home with them.
And, yes, they served dinner at the proms lol.
Oh, and another reason the school usually goes for plated, they can ensure that each child has a plate of food set in front of them, as opposed to buffet style where the students tend to ignore the food.