8. Dining Decisions: Buffet, Seated, or Stations—What's Best for Your Wedding?

Before I Do Podcast

It’s DINNER TIME! We’re talking all about wedding dinner service today! Food is our favorite and we have a LOT of opinions here, so let’s jump right in.

Types of dinner service options at weddings:

1. Buffet
2. Stations
3. Served Meal
4. Heavy hors d'oeuvres
5. Food trucks

We are going to talk through what we love, what we don't, and what we’ve seen work well for each of these service types.

1. Buffet:
   • What we love:
     • The pre-work for a buffet is super simple
     • It gives guests straight forward options
   • What we don’t love:
     • If your guest count is over 200 people it takes FOREVER
     • If your reception space is already tight, it is SO uncomfortable
     • Guests give us mean looks when we’re dismissing tables
   • What we’ve seen work well:
     • They are great for groups less than 200 guests
     • They are great in LARGE spaces
     • Double sided/served!
     • Have a preset salad, water, and table wine (caution if outside)
2. Stations:
   • What we love:
     • You get some creative food options
   • What we don’t love:
     • Guests are so LOST
     • It makes the reception space feel really chaotic
     • It takes away from the structure of party flow
     • So many plates
     • No way to dismiss tables
   • What we’ve seen work well:
     • Make a map of the room to tell guests what food is where
     • Have a preset salad, water, and table wine (caution if outside)
3. Served Meal:
   • What we love:
     • It’s so organized
     • It is quicker if scheduled correctly
     • Guests don’t have to get up as much!
   • What we don’t love:
     • There is a lot more prep work
     • It does come with some extra staffing costs, but we think it’s worth it
   • What we’ve seen work well:
     • Table assignments with meal indicators on place cards picked up as guests enter reception and give caterer a count of each meal per table.
     • Preset salads, water, and table wine to cut down on service time
4. Heavy hors d'oeuvres:
   • What we love
     • It’s super budget friendly
     • Great for a relaxed, day time wedding
   • What we don’t love:
     • People are hungry
     • Same unstructured feel as stations
5. Food Trucks:
   • What we love:
     • Yummy food
     • Creates a fun and relaxed atmosphere
     • Folks can keep coming back throughout the night
     • Can be very budget friendly
   • What we don’t love:
     • Lots of guest movement
     • Can be chaotic
     • Lacks a little bit of structure
   • What we’ve seen work well
     • You have to have the right venue space for it
     • Start at cocktail hour
     • Customizable food options

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