Are you doing buffet or sit down dinner?

We did a sit down dinner. Every wedding buffet I have eaten from, the food was cold and half the time we were waiting on something to be refilled. It is nice, as a guest, to sit at your table and be served and not have to worry about standing in a line for 15 minutes just to eat cold food.

View Quoted Comment Fantastic!! Thank you. I’m feeling good then about my decision - just needed a little reassurance and you are SO right. Appreciate it

I completely agree with Meghan. A sit down plated meal was my #1 non-negotiable.

We didn't have a choice -- DH can't do buffets because of his health (immunocompromised so we aren't going to risk having a bunch of people breathe on his food). Our county required sit-down, too, when we originally booked our venue in May 2020, so we just kept it even though the restriction was lifted before our wedding.

I completely agree with Meghan. My fiance and I are doing a plated meal for reasons similar to what Meghan mentioned.

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100% why having a plated dinner was absolutely mandatory for me as well. Guests are just that - GUESTS. They shouldn't be made to fend for themselves. Plus you always have the ONE person who doesn't care there are 50 people wanting the same food item - they scoop up a huge helping for themselves with the 'screw them they should have gotten here sooner' attitude. Nope - cold food, balancing a plate while wearing nice clothes/higher heels, feeling like you're in the school cafeteria lunch line .... this does not say "wedding" to me. NOW ... if your event is an outdoor picnic style deal, all bets are off and a buffet is certainly more appropriate!

We are doing buffet

My fiancé and I are doing a buffet for a few reasons. Firstly, in his culture it is not uncommon for people to show up without having been invited or without RSVPing, which makes trying to do a seated dinner nearly impossible. We are also having two separate types of food so we are having each as a buffet to give people more options.

There is definitely no 'best practice' as it all depends on your preference, budget and a few other factors.

For me personally, I feel that sit down dinners are much more formal so I prefer them at weddings. I am a big fan of buffets generally but from what I have read online (haven't been to a buffet wedding myself) the food tends to be more of a let down than sit down dinners (though a sit down dinner doesn't in itself guarantee good food by any means).

For Filipino culture, it is traditional to do buffet style at a wedding to give your guests options. I've enjoyed weddings that did buffet style. So far I haven't been to a wedding where the buffet style food was disappointing. Fingers crossed that it stays that way lol. Although I do feel like I may have jinxed myself now haha.

Our venue is all-inclusive and we had the option of doing either. We went with buffet as it was less expensive per person than a sit-down dinner. I read A LOT of reviews about our venue beforehand, and people raved about the buffet. Someone commented that they had been to 2 separate weddings there and tried both the sit-down and the buffet and the buffet was actually better. Other comments mentioned it was well-staffed (no long lines), and the food was warm and very tasty. I think a good buffet can be really hit or miss though, so I understand where you're coming from. One of the reasons we went with buffet is that we both have family members that are picky when it comes to food, and this way they could choose to eat whatever they liked.

You should go with what you’d like, not what you feel pressured into!
We knew we wanted a high-quality buffet for various reasons—and it was actually pricier than the premiere sit-down option at our venue. There is definitely a way to do a classy buffet!
I think there are pros and cons to both, and I’ve had some baaaad plated meals and not great buffets. Ultimately, it’s up to you and your fiancé and what food and vibe you’re going for!

We did buffet and had 4 lines so no one complained about the wait time. Our menu did a 3 meat, 3 sides Buffet dinner and our guests are STILL talking about how much food there was. We made everyone wear gloves in the line and there were sanitizing stations at each end. I was concerned that guests may have thought us doing buffet was tacky. But i was thrilled to know how excited everyone was because of all the food choices. We not our guests felt like it took away from the night or that it wasn’t very “formal”

View Quoted Comment That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing. My fiancée plays many high profile weddings (bassist) and tells me that buffet is very common and not frowned upon. Having options is welcomed by guests. Happy holidays!

View Quoted Comment So true!! Thank you for the feedback! Our venue also has a pricier buffet vs sit down so I started thinking that’s the way to go. I’m glad to hear the buffet was a hit!! Happy holidays!

We are doing a brunch buffet with a waffle bar! It may be 2008 of me but i love "bars". where you can customize the main dish.

taco bar, potato bar, ect.....

The list could go on and I think they are fun lol

I hope this helps