Before I Do Podcast
Welcome to Before I Do, a podcast guiding you through the exciting journey from proposal to wedding day, and beyond. Here, you will not only learn how to plan for a wedding, but how to plan for marriage. We’ll tackle everything from hiring a caterer, to merging your finances, to hosting your first holiday together! We’ll cover the good, the bad, and the joyful of this season of engagement. So grab your fiance and a notebook and let’s get started.
Before I Do Podcast
8. Dining Decisions: Buffet, Seated, or Stations—What's Best for Your Wedding?
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:
- Buffet
- Stations
- Served Meal
- Heavy hors d'oeuvres
- 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.
- 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)
- What we love:
- 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)
- What we love:
- 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
- What we love:
- 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
- What we love
- 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
- What we love:
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