Ok ladies, lay it on me! Thoughts on a buffet?

Buffet and plated have their pluses and minuses. FH and I have our tasting this week and have yet to decide What we'll do for our reception. Our venue doesn't charge differently to serve buffet or plated, because where buffet will require more food, plated will require more servers, so it sort of balances out. I'm leaning towards plated, because it's more formal, but it's definitely more work on the RSVPs and place cards. FH wants buffet, because guests can choose whatever they want. But...we'll also have roughly 200 guests. If we do buffet, we'll definitely need more than one buffet line. Our package also includes an action station. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

@mrssa2b thank you

Buffet is okay my cousin did one at her wedding and the waiters (part of the catering crew) went to each table and had us go up table by table.

I think a lot of older family members are probably imagining the 70s and 80s style family reunion buffet, with loads of subpar food served at lukewarm temps and generally unedible to all... I know it took a while to get it through to my mom that 'buffet' did not need to mean lukewarm chicken breast floating in water in a chafing pan, nor a mountain of potato rolls stuffed with some nondescript mayo based "salad".

Assure them that catering has come a long way since those days, and with chef attended stations and they like they can be really upscale and delicious.

@sugarunicorn---- Yessssss! That's exactly how my family viewed buffet. Highest snub when I mentioned it. My grandma specifically called to yell at me and not in English when she heard I was looking into the possibilities.

It never occurred to me that a buffet can seem tacky. I've seen it done so often that I don't even blink when I find out the wedding has a buffet. So I wouldn't worry.

My wedding has a buffet and I think it's a great idea because guests can choose whatever they want to eat, they can choose their own portions, they can go back for seconds, etc. IMO it's better than a sit-down restaurant setting.

I think buffets are great. As a guest I like having some portion control, i hate throwing away food. Here are some ideas for a smooth flow, consider making the cue for each table a particular song, it's a little more fun to wait for. When your song plays you can dance to the line. And maybe double sided serving (i.e. a line on each side of buffet) would speed up serving times?

I don't prefer buffet, but I don't really mind it either. I have been to several buffet weddings. Waiting for your food is annoying, but you do get to choose what you want so that is nice. One problem I have noticed in the past is if you end up being the last table called the selection is sometimes limited because earlier people take too much. A good caterer should be able to get around this though.

We chose plated for two reasons. The first was simply that we both like it more. We like being served and wanted that feel. The second, and more important reason, is that we both have several older relatives who we invited. Those relatives find it difficult to stand in a buffet line and carry food. Now, others always help them at events, but then it becomes difficult for that person. We decided to avoid this and make the evening worry free for our guests. This wouldn't be a problem with a mainly younger crowd.

Buffets can be done and they can be done well and without a lot of waiting. I'm a catering chef and I would say 85% of our weddings are buffet. It really depends on the catering company you choose and the menu as to how much it can cost.

And I have to add that my company usually has chef attended buffet stations to help serve. That cuts down on ppl taking way more than on one trip. We also designate waiters to take care of the elders and B&G. If you decide to go that route, I would suggest asking for attendants.

We did a buffet at ours. The dj released table by table and kept the music going while doing it. She went table to table and asked if anyone had any songs they'd like to hear through the night and then let them know that they could go up to the buffet. It also kept people from running up to the DJ table all night to put requests in since she already had at least 1 request from people, and she was able to let them know to head to the buffet without stopping the music. As long as you have traffic control it should run smoothly. We had two double sided lines to keep everything moving quickly.

ETA: Our dj was amazingly helpful throughout the night. She saw that my grandma had a cane and read her the menu from the table and got a plate of food ready for her so my grandpa wouldn't have to juggle multiple plates on his way through the line. She also insisted she carry mine since she's said she's seen a few brides trip and ruin their dresses. She was such a doll.

My venue is one where you either get family style or buffet. I personally hate family style so we are going with buffet. Our plates are 44pp( includes open bar) for a two entree buffet. We have about 220 people on our guest list, but the staff at our venue has done enough weddings to move the line quickly.

I actually love the golden coral and I love buffets.

I'm having a buffet with so much food and if someone thinks it's tacky then they can be hungry.

I personally like buffets better than plated food. Just my opinion.

It's also my opinion to hop off Alexis. She wasn't acting childish just expressing how she felt.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a buffet, but personally I wouldn't do one, I prefer a sit down meal for occasions like a wedding.. But each to thier own, as I say there is nothing wrong with it, it's just a personal preference.different styles of service also depends different areas,and the type of Wedding you are having.

That's what I'm having at mine is buffet but we only have 55 people total. There's a choice of 4 entrees, 3 salads, 2 veggies and 2 sides.

We're having it at a nice seafood restaurant in town in one of their private rooms. They have plated options as well but the choices seemed better with buffet PLUS everyone gets to eat as much as they want!

I know I'm late to this party, but I love buffets and had one at my wedding. We also had 200 guests, but had four stations and the waitstaff called each table up individually. It went very smoothly. The biggest reason I love buffets (if done well) is that you get hot food and YOU GET AS MUCH AS YOU WANT! Every plated dinner I've been to seems skimpy and often lukewarm.

Yassss

I like buffets. Gives you time to eat. I feel family style at some places you have to eat your plate quickly in order to get your food hot. Depending on the place they can do it very nicely

Every wedding that I have been to as a guest with a plated dinner has had cold food. The buffet ones on the other hand tend to have warmer food. My wedding had a buffet with three entree choices (one vegetarian), and guests got through it fairly quickly. There wasn't much standing in line because the caterer dismissed each table individually.

We had buffet with 2 lines, one on each side of table for 175 people. It went fine, and the venue staff took care of telling the tables which ones are next, not interrupting the music. I personally like buffets since you can pick and choose what you want to eat, if you hate chicken then get more beef or ham etc.