Food question for the ladies who are already married

We had a 3 course plated meal (with 1st course already on the table when guests entered) and didn't have problems eating. Our table was served first, and guests for the most part left us alone to eat, as they were also eating. We would get up and mingle between courses and then to back to our table when we saw them bringing out the next course. We also had a sweetheart table. I think the separation/plated meal definitely helped with us having no issue enjoying our meal together.

We had a plated meal and had no trouble eating.

I got to enjoy some of my meal but didn’t get to finish it. We had a sweetheart table and had plated meals brought out to us. I did get to eat but I didn’t get to finish because besides the fact I’m a slow eater, I left for an outfit change at the beginning of the meal and mingled with some guests.

We served a family style meal, but H and I were served plated versions since we sat at a sweetheart table. We had no issues eating any of our courses. We were served first and then ate as all the tables were being served. If we finished a course early, we did a few table visits before the next course.


I also ate at my first wedding, and every wedding I’ve been to, the bride and groom have had plenty of time to eat.

We had a 3-course plated meal and we ate every last bite of our dinner. We sat at a sweetheart table and all guests were served at the same time.

My husband and I were able to eat with no problem. We had a buffet style wedding and the servers bought the food to us at our sweetheart table. I will say we didn't get to really eat any of our cake, but our venue was nice enough to box up two pieces for us.

Plated, ate uninterrupted. After the meal we had 2 pais of chairs put at the ends of our 6' table so people couple pull up a chair and talk a few minutes on their way from dance or bar area. Neither of us danced then for an hour. later we did table visits, and we were there in the cocktail area for cocktails.

We had a buffet but our caterers made up plates for my husband and I (LOL honestly they checked in and asked if we wanted that and I was like “nah” and my husband was like “wait yes please!” And I’m so glad he did , haha, we ate great!)

Buffet or plated has nothing to do with it. The couple is always served first so they can eat before doing table visits.


If you have a lot of activities in your reception, or a bigger guest count, chances are you'll keep getting interrupted one way or the other.
My friend had plated. Her and the groom got maybe 2 bites. She had 200 guests, a slideshow, speeches, and 2 dress changes. They also had each table go up to them for group photos before food was served. They probably should have served everyone, let the couple eat, then have the couple visit tables while guests were eating or waiting to be served.
My other friend had buffet, they ate first, did table visits while guests were eating, had a dance and a speech. They maybe had 80 guests
I think timeline matters more than buffet vs plated

I agree the type of meal shouldn’t matter.
We had a buffet, were first to go through, and we got to finish our meals. We had a sweetheart table and only got interrupted once by people leaving before they even ate 🤬
Our dads carried on a conversation in front of us but not with us. Other than that it was fine. I didn’t get to finish my cake as I kept getting interrupted and after it was cut, we weren’t fast enough to grab a slice so neither of us got the flavor we wanted, Unless the baker messed up and did all vanilla 🤷‍♀️

We had a buffet meal but were served while our guests were in line getting food. We got to eat while our guests were finishing up-that allowed us to mingle with our guests that have finished eating.

I definitely ate at mine. mine was served family style in courses.

i feel the reason why i didn't eat as much at mine was because i went to every table to greet and i literally had 25 tables. and then i was busy interacting with guests a lot. so in between i was trying to eat during those times i wasn't busy with guests. but i also had guests come up to me too!

Ahh I'd be so sad if I didn't get to eat the food! That's what I'm most excited about for my wedding. What a huge bummer to pay all that money and not get to enjoy your own wedding.

For my first wedding we had a buffet and had no issues with finishing our meal or being interrupted

So I’m one of those brides who had two bites of dinner. As to why—I have no idea! We attended our cocktail our save the first 15 minutes. I didn’t eat anything until the end, when one of the groomsmen made me a plate from our mashed potato station after he noticed I hadn’t had a bite. At the beginning of our reception, before speeches, one of our personal servers asked if there was anything I missed from the cocktail hour, and subsequently brought me a crab cake and a few beef Wellington bites (my absolute fav —SO amazing!)


That same sweet woman made me a plate from the buffet...and I proceeded to have two bites before being swept up by guests and visiting and partying that I didn’t eat anything else until my new husband brought me a chocolate covered strawberry from our dessert buffet.
It’s hard for me to pinpoint why I didn’t eat. But I do know that I got to try all of our delicious food at our tasting and I didn’t regret a moment of my reception I spent interacting with my favorite people!

We had a buffet and had no problems eating.

Honestly, if you don't eat, it's because the timetable was built around not letting you eat and/or your DOC didn't do their job.

Even with a buffet, people do get their food and sit to eat fairly quickly.

Thanks so much for all the replies ladies! It looks like, across-the-board, anyone with a plated meal had no issues with eating or getting interrupted by guests. Which, in hindsight, totally makes sense. I did a little digging into old posts and saw that nearly every bride who complained about not getting to eat or being interrupted frequently by guests, all had buffet style meals. Not to say it cannot be accomplished with a buffet, it just seems to require a lot more planning and coordination. I think this is a super helpful aspect to consider for brides trying to decide whether to have buffet or plated!

We did a buffet and yes absolutely had time to eat and did not get interrupted by guests. We had 2 tables of food and people went on both sides so 200 people got through in about 15 minutes. Pretty similar to how long it takes to serve that many people a plated a dinner with a few servers. We did not do table visits when we were finished because I hate interrupting peoples dinner. There was mingling at cocktail hour and after dinner.

View Quoted Comment I’m totally with you on the table visits! We will not be interrupting our guests while they eat.

We had a plated meal and had no problem eating it haha. We had a sweetheart table so when everyone was served food and returned to their tables, we did the same! A few people came over and talked to us while we were eating, but we talked while we ate. My husband even had a chance for seconds hahaha.