Buffet vs. Plated Dinner

KplusA

I'm meeting with a caterer this Saturday to go over prices and food options for my wedding.  I told my mom about it, and both she and my dad think that I shouldn't do a buffet dinner.  She said that the food always gets cold before you get back to your seat, and it's annoying to wait in line.  I agree with her and really don't want a buffet, but it's definitely cheaper.  My parents and his parents are helping us out with catering, but I still want to save money if possible!  Are any of you guys doing a buffet?  Have you been to a wedding with a buffet and hated it?  Thanks!

FutureMrsPrice2013

I'm doing a buffet. My cousin had a buffet at her wedding and I liked it. We are paying for everything ourselves and buffet is a great option! My opinion is if people have a complaint that their FREE food is not worth waiting in line for then they can eat before they come. We are cutting costs on our reception since we want a nice honeymoon

blferguson1s

We'll definitely be doing a buffet style dinner. We're trying to save money everywhere, and this helps out a lot. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to keep it from being too chaotic.

ashlidie

Buffet for us, and the last two weddings I went to were buffets.  My mom is fancy schmancy, works as a director of catering for a hotel so she doesn't like it one bit, BUT she's not paying for it and Im not the classy little princess she wanted lol.

leed0019

We are definitly doing plated! 200 ppl in one line is a spacial planning nightmare I so not want to deal with.  Plus etiquette rule is that if someone else is paying (or helping financially)for it they get a say.  If your parents want to pay the extra for a plated dinner it is up to them.  They know it costs more and it is their decision to make.

lodonnell616

We're paying ourselves and doing seated dinner (2 course) with a dessert buffet.  I just find a seated dinner a little bit more elegant.  I think if your parents are paying and they want seated dinner, go for it. 

sssdee

We're doing a 5 course plated meal for 200+. It would be too chaotic and whatnot to do a buffet (as much as saving money would be great!)

Personally, I am not a fan of buffet because the weddings that I have been to. Our table is either called relatively soon after the head table so we eat first and wait around for a while or we eat dead last (the food doesnt look as appitizing as it did when freshly brought out 30+ mins ago) and half the room is already finished and waiting for us to finish (I'm a slow eater as well).
These were also 150+ weddings so I assume in a smaller setting it would go a heck of a lot smoother.

It's just something that doesn't appeal to me so it wasnt even an option for our wedding. (And we're paying for the wedding ourselves)

Klyn1983

We are having a buffet dinner. We are paying for it ourselves and the money we can save on that is crazy! The last wedding i went to was a plated dinner and the food was horrible. It was cold and we didn't have any options, every single person had the same meal. (The Vegans were flipping out.) 

So this way we can be sure to have everyone happy. We can have vegetarian options along with 3 different entrees. 

vineheart137

FH WANTS plated, because he thinks it's nicer and he doesn't want guests to be waiting in line, but with our budget it's looking like we'll have to go with buffet. I personally don't think it's the end of the world- Plated is more formal and I don't want my wedding to be TOO formal. I'm more of a "get up and mingle" type of gal. ;-) We'll be talking to a caterer next week so we'll see what he can offer us!

sparkles776

We are going with a plated duet. I really dont like buffets, the last wedding I was at most people were done eating by the time we even got in line.  One thing to keep in mind with a buffet that my coordinator at my venue reminded me of: A buffet dinner takes about 45-1 hour longer than a plated dinner. I really didnt want that to cut into my reception time that much. Our venue prices the buffet at only about 4 or 5 dollars cheaper per person, which definitely adds up but it just wasnt worth it enough to me. We are paying for a good chunk of the wedding ourselves, but do have help from both sets of parents.

Cass04eb

The buffet dinner at our venue is actually more expensive than chosing two plated dinners! We're doing the plated dinner, partly because the couple of weddings Ive been to with buffets stick out because it was somewhat frustrating having to wait in line and then table #1-5 are done eating before table 10-15 have even gotten up for their food and yada yada yada... They can certainly be very nice and work out well!
On the other side, if its cheaper and yummy then go for it!!!

lauraprevost

We are having a buffet dinner. The price was incredibly different than the plated but I figured a few dollars off of each person would add up. The nice thing about my venue is that we will have 2 buffet tables set up, one on each side of the room. So hopefully you won't have to wait as long and double the amount of people will be able to get their food at the same time!

renoclaf

I'm going with a plated dinner but choosing to have smaller cakes on each table.  It will save money on the cake, centerpieces and takes a course out of the served dinner so cheaper for caterers too.

Chels&Jimmy

I've attended two weddings recently and both served buffet dinners. I didn't have any problems with my food getting cold, but that could be because I was part of the WP and got to stand in the food line first! I'm also a really slow eater so I never worry about when I'm going to finish eating compared to everyone else - I know I will always finish last. Hehe. 

We have not met with any caterers yet, but after pricing some out it looks like we'll be going with a buffet dinner. The price is simply better for us. We would like to have BBQ (ribs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, etc.) and I think that lends itself better to buffet rather than plated.