How important is it to have menus detailing what the dinner is?

Do you have a wedding website? I'd detail the entrees on there. Having one at the table setting is nice, but at that point, everyone has already picked what they are getting, so a menu might be moot.

I think it's a good idea to let people know in the invitations what the meals will be that way they can select what they'd like which makes it easier for the caterers. But when they get to the wedding, if you don't have menus, how are they supposed to know what your options are?

I don't think they are necessary. About half of the weddings I've attended have had them.

The waitstaff asks lol

I personally love having a menu. Even if they already picked the beef or the fish, the RSVP likely only listed the protein. I love knowing what the sauce is, etc. And no one will remember if it's just on your website. We're doing printed menus. You can also just do a large sign in the reception space instead.

If they need to choose at the reception, they need a menu. But if they choose beforehand, I don't see why they're necessary.

I think it depends if they can be helpful or not. We're having stations so I did a program that lists the menu choices so people didn't have to stand around trying to figure out what was included at each station.

My details are on the website. I did generic beef, chicken, and crab cake on the RSVPS.

We are having menus printed at each table. Our reception is family style so we want our guest to know what is being passed around the table.

I did not have menus. Like you I had a plated meal and my guests has a choice of chichen, beef or vegetarian. That's all they knew ahead of time.

I don't see a point to the menu. You are getting that food whether you read it ahead of time or not.

For plated meals, ...this is of 0 importance (to me, anyways). people pick their meal ahead of time. and the menu will have no affect on them (ie they can't change their pick on the day of the wedding)

To me it depends. Beef or fish is very general. Is the beef served with a special sauce on it, or the fish seasoned with some combination of spices, or something like that?

What about menu placards next to each plate?

I think we are going to print one or two menu cards per table. Honestly we are just making a couple programs for the reception, so I am going to use the card stock from that to create the menu card.

I am doing it so that A) I don't waste materials and B) I think it stimulates your appetite and gets you excited for dinner when you get to read what's coming. Plus we are having Soup, Salad, Entree, Dessert, and then late night cupcakes. I think letting them know what's ahead of them will allow them to eat accordingly so they aren't over stuffed.

Oh, we have 130 people and seated dinner (with two entree options that they chose from when RSVPing)

We are using the double sided frames from ikea and putting table number on one side, menu on the other. My fh has enjoyed doing this. We just bought card stock and printed them. They turned out beautiful! And costed much less then what our graphic artist quoted!!!

I was wondering the same thing, but I think I will put the details on our website.

I'm doing menus just to add a pop of color on the table since I'm not having chargers and just using the venues white table cloths and napkins. They match the centerpiece decor so it ties it all in.

I originally was very set on menus (we had a formal wedding) and then when I found out the vegetarian option was chef's choice (wouldn't know til they served it) I gave up on the idea and I'm sure no one missed them! We gave guests a choice of entree that had to select on the RSVP card. Then, we indicated each guests' choice with a letter on the back of the escort card (B for filet, C for chicken chesapeake, V for vegetarian). I have 2 close friends with food allergies so I indicated those on their escort cards with an * but my contact at our venue (which we did our catering through) also wanted to know food allergies and what table they would be seated at. We had to give our final numbers about a month ahead of time so I'm not sure how waitstaff just going around asking would work, but you also have a 100 less people than we did lol. You could include a line on the RSVP card asking guests to detail any food allergies or diet restrictions.

I always look for it as a guest!! And when there isn't one, I'm a little uneasy until I find out! lol, I might just be weird!

We had menus, provided by the venue. (There was no extra charge for them.) But then again, people were allowed to order what they wanted on the spot, instead of selecting in advance. They can be similarly helpful if you have a buffet, so that people know what each of the dishes it. (And signs by each item also help.) But if people have already made all the choices they are going to make, menus are unnecessary.