Plated vs Buffet Dinner.

View quoted message That’s crazy! That much food waste isn’t ok. You’re right, I would much rather staff take the food home and enjoy then it just getting tossed out. It was stressing me out trying to pick one soup for 100 people to eat, or one salad, or one protein. It’s not cheaper for buffet at my venue, but still overall a better idea. Thank you!

We opted for buffet service for our dinner as it was a more casual wedding and we figured it was easier for everyone to be able to eat as much or as little as they wanted. It is also generally less expensive than a plated dinner.

The first venue when venue hunting offered a buffet and/ or plated service. Buffet is definitely cheaper than plated service. I was a mix up between both either. I am not a huge fan of buffets but I also feel that plated service is kind of boring. Either way... someone will have to be the last person served or be served... that’s just what I was thinking about.

So the solution to this that satisfied both options was:
1) starters- plated service
2) entree - buffet
3) dessert- plated service

this way it a) mixed both types of service and b) it allows those people who want seconds to get it, or people that just realllllly don’t want those broccoli and vegetables have the option to get another scoop of potatoes or mash with their protein.

We prefer buffet because it’s more dynamic! Imagine having a pasta bar where you can customize your meal, a grill where you choose what you want... We don’t have assigned seating either so it’ll allow everyone to go around and talk and eat with who they want and change whenever.

I personally really dont like buffet weddings at all. I dont like the idea of having to get up and get my own food in a formal setting.
Ask your hall if they do something called family/country style serving. Its REALLY popular in my area. They serve platters to the tables. So people can pick and choose or eat more or less. Usually we get an antipasto platter, salad, pasta, chicken and a beef, veggies and potatoes.

It gives you the options food wise. But doesnt take forever to be served like a plated meal (if you have a lot of guests).

We chose buffet. There were more food options and we wouldn't have to pay as many servers (our venue didn't have servers included in the cost, so we have to pay an hourly rate for servers).

As a guest, I like buffets! I have food allergies and so I like that I can avoid foods I can't eat and eat more of the ones I can. I do like that I have the option of going up for more (although I rarely do!)

I chose buffet for a number of reasons:

1) I’m a super picky eater so if I did plated there’d potentially be a lot of waste
2) it was $4 a head cheaper and included dessert which the plated did not
3) the buffets have so many options!

I chose plated mainly b/c my catering company said it would cost more in terms of serving utensils, chafing dishes etc.

I chose plated.

I've been two 2 weddings where one had plated and the other buffet. I prefer plated as it makes it easier to organize and split up your speeches in between courses. I think it looks fancier. We have the option of chicken or steak, we chose steak for everyone (less for us to worry about and for the venue to worry about).

The wedding with the buffet had 1-2 speeches before dinner was served and 2-3 after as well. Most of the speeches if I remember correctly happened after dinner.

I'm a clutz in heels so walking with a plate full of food made me nervous.

View quoted message That was my biggest thing with the plated dinner as well, it’s so formal. I envision an elegant wedding, so a plated dinner seemed right. We were going to go with a chicken dish too, but there are at least 10 people who won’t eat it

Also, contrary to popular belief, unless you have a small guest list, you don't all eat together with a plated meal. Usually one half of the room is served before the other and sometimes, the one side is done eating before the other even gets their plate. If you have over 200 people that may be the case.

I totally get the luxury of not getting up in heels! Lol. For me, my two big reasons for choosing a buffet were 1) Cheaper than plated because they can have less staff working that event, and 2) It reduces food waste BIG time.

I used to work in a banquet hall, and whenever there were plated meals, most of the time we would be throwing away 40-50% of the food we served, because once it was placed in front of someone, it was potentially contaminated, and lots of people only ate half their meat, or didn't eat the veggies, or didn't eat any of it! No matter what we had to throw it out.

When buffet events, because the food wasn't contaminated and people only took what they wanted, once the guests were done with the food, the service staff had the opportunity to take food home to their families and grab a bite themselves. This significantly reduced the amount we threw away. Most places allow the staff to do this. You want to know that the food YOU paid for, doesn't end up in the trash.

I've been a guest to both types of dinners, which has helped us decide what we wanted for our wedding. We ended up picked a buffet, here's why:

- Buffet = more options, without added costs. We have a vegetarian option already included in the menu. Whereas a plated dinner, I'd have to pay extra for 1-2 people.

- Plated dinners are long. We were fortunate enough to be part of our friends' wedding a couple of years ago and they had a full plated dinner service (4-5 course meal). We were seated for HOURS. Sure, they had speeches and a couple of games, but it felt like a while between the ceremony and the dancing portion. People were getting antsy near the end of the dinner service.

- Some of the plates were cold. I didn't sit there for a couple of hours to have my food served to me cold. Sure, I didn't pay for it, but I wouldn't want that for anyone regardless of who's paying.

- Buffet = The bride/groom got to eat first..undisturbed, while everybody else was getting their food! Plus they got to walk around to see everyone, during the speeches and everybody else was eating!

View quoted message Yeah! Also I saw a mention here of food waste, wasting food drives me NUTS! if rather people have more options than seeing a full steak get put in the trash because it wasn't cooked to their liking (places usually serve med-rare which isn't everyone's preference) also a note on allergies/preferences I have a few of those too so a few gluten free and a few vegetarian dishes hoping to keep everyone happy!!

View quoted message Great point about food allergies and intolerances! It’s very true that a lot would go to waste! See, I need people like you to bring out the logical points! Thank you!

View quoted message I never thought of the cold food thing! Great point! That would be terrible, I have been to a few plated dinner weddings where the food was amazing, but there definitely some that weren’t great!

We went with buffet so that people can get their choice on what they want and how much they want to eat (a couple of the men in our family are HUGE eaters and love their meat and potatoes and bread, whereas my mom will only eat meat, fish and veggies, and the two kids invited are very picky about what they'll eat) - plated dinners were too restrictive for us.

We have chosen to do a plated dinner for a guest list of 85 people. I just like the formality of the plated dinner, we chose chicken, but some of our guest our vegetarian, so are venue has allowed us to make a vegetarian selection for the 5 guest that are vegetarian. But its definitely up to you, I like the buffet idea because everyone gets to choose their favourites!

We are doing buffet. The only time I ever had a good plated dinner was at a resort in Mexico for my cousin's wedding, and there were only 32 people....

Nowadays with allergies, food intolerance, vegetarians, people on diets, etc.... buffets are a great way for people to get exactly what they want, and how much they want. My fiance would easily eat 2 to 3 times as much as my mom... where half of her plated dinner could go to waste, and a bigger guy will still be hungry.

It's totally up to you, but generally buffet food is actually better... it's warmer, and even plated dinner, people don't all eat at the same time (unless the venue has a massive wait staff), it still takes time to bring out trays, hand out plates, refill trays, etc...

We are doing a buffet!! In all honesty I have never been to a plated wedding where the food was GREAT! it was also good? But kinda boring and normally cold which i can't stand. My fiancé's family is from India and typically Indian weddings are always buffet! I have been to a few and I have enjoyed it so much more! We are doing a mix of Indian and Western dishes to cater to both sides of the family and buffet allows for that so much easier! So much more food and then people can pick and choose exactly what they want!

We’re doing a buffet but it’s an outdoor farm wedding so we wanted it to be like a more laid back bbq feel

We went with the buffet dinner with 2 entre options. I loved the idea of a plated dinner for the same reasons as you and it was my first choice. A buffet just seems so informal and plaine for a wedding. But for us the big benefit was much more food with a buffet. This was important for my fiancé as a lot of his family are farmers and have good appetites. We don’t want people to feel hungry.

But it our venue will also include plated meals for the head table and for guests with dietary restrictions (vegetarian, allergies, gluten free, etc) so long as we let them know ahead of time.