Plated vs Buffet

Buffet here.
I like it so guests dont have to immediately choose what they want based on a piece of paper. I'd hate for somebody to come...see the beef when they ordered chicken and be left unsatisfied that they didnt get ti try what looked better.

We did plated because our wedding was pretty formal and we had a multi course meal. I’ve been to good and bad of both kinds. If you do buffet just make sure there are people serving the portions, because I’ve been to a few weddings where people take too much and then there’s hardly any food for the last tables called up.

My fiance and I decided on doing plated dinner by our caterer. We decided on this mainly because both of our parents wanted a bit more of a formal dinner for the wedding, since we're having a more laid back on outside/tented.

I also read that with plated there is no risk of running out of on entree or having extra food that you've paid for left over.

The cons I have read so far is that some guest may get to eat before others and some food might be cold? I do not see how the cold con is really possible since my caterer says its a server for every 25 people. A con that I have come across is just having anxiety and hoping guest will keep their name card in front of them and not hide it so servers can bring out the appropriate plate for the guest.

I have attended both types of wedding and I enjoyed both! Either way it will be perfect! Some pick buffet because depending on the food you pick and the caterer sometimes buffets are cheaper

We are doing a buffet. We are having DW wedding in Cancun and our choice was to either have Mexican buffet or we could have a plated dinner but the only option was Chicken or Fish.

I thought a buffet offered way more choices so that's why we opted for it.

Buffet for us. I never know what I want to eat until I’m in the moment, and I tend to eat with my eyes. I want people to be able to change their mind on what they want to eat and not have to decide a month before.

Our wedding is also fairly laid back, so i don’t mind not having a plated dish.

Buffet. My fiancé wants to be able to get seconds 😂😂 I really wanted plated but it’s the only thing he asked for. After our tasting though I’m really happy with the buffet choice. We have so many options and I know everyone will find something they like. We also added a plated salad and bread baskets to the table so guests aren’t waiting to eat something.

We were originally going to do stationed but since we have so many people coming, we switched to plated. I liked the stationed idea because it splits up the lines and people can go back for more. I feel like plated is better when there’s a lot of people though. It keeps things moving and it has more of that classier feel

Buffet.

I've never liked plated dinners at weddings, the food never seems as tasty to me. It's going to be half vegan, half bbq. Our families are an interesting mix of eaters. Also , we tend to be a bit more laid back. Plated meals at weddings always feel a bit stuffy to me.

We chose buffet (with a carving station) because that is what the norm is for our area and that is our personal preference. It was actually more expensive to have a buffet at our venue but we got more options with a buffet than with plated so we felt it was the best option for us.

For our DW (15 guests), we chose family style because that fit our pirate reception theme best.

For our local reception (50 guests), we chose plated to fit the formality and era of our 50’s/60’s “Rat Pack” theme.

I chose plated. I personally hate buffets.

First reason being that I have food allergies, so even though I know our caterer is making sure everything is safe for me, I don't want someone else to have to worry about their food being cross contaminated with allergens. Second reason is I hate having to walk across the reception space in nice clothes with a plate full of food; I am always nervous I will spill it. Also, buffets make me feel like I'm in a lunch line, not a nice event. Third reason is that the presentation isn't nearly as nice in a buffet as with plated. Lastly, it is not fun waiting for your table to be called up when some people have already finished eating.

We were concerned that the food would be cold with a plated meal being served, but our caterer has assured us that they will provide more than enough servers for our size event (100 guests) and everything will be served promptly.

We considered family style, but after recently attending a wedding where they did this, we decided against it. Everyone was afraid to eat the last of any of the plates because they didn't want to be rude, but the bride told me the next week that there were second plates for each table in the back to replace empty serving plates, so all that food was thrown away.

All that being said, if you are doing a buffet, that's totally fine. When I say I hate them, I meant that we don't want to do one, but I would never think less of someone who chose to have a buffet. We all have different opinions and different things that matter to us, so to each their own.

Buffet. I dislike plated meals at weddings because I like to choose how much of something I want. Pros of having a buffet is that you don't need to ask your guests to make a meal choice, and you also wouldn't need menus on the tables. I too agree that I wanted buffet to leave it open for people to get seconds if they want! Nothing kills me more when a buffet is only open for one round for everyone. I told my venue multiple times I want everyone to be able to go through once then leave it up for seconds. Especially if you have stations, everyone might not fit everything or can carry everything in one time.

We are doing a buffet, but I prefer plated. I think it's nicer & takes less time. The only way I was okay with buffet is that there is way more food per guest, everyone gets each protein and we added an extra side.

We're going with buffet or food stations. Plated was more expensive for us and we also like the idea of being able to pick what you want to eat when it's right in front of you instead of picking months in advance.

We prefer buffet, so that is what we did. We did have it served by the caterer, to ensure portion control. I am a picky eater and I hate to waste food, so buffet always works a bit better for me.

Initially we planned to host a buffet because we wanted our guests to have options. Now that we are closer to the date, we plan to have stations. We are expecting about 100 guests so we figured it would make folks mingle and move out of their seats for food. We didn't want the plated dinner because it gave our guests an excuse to stay seated for the majority of night.

We flip flopped on this a few times, but landed on plated. I was freaked out at first that our plated meal came with a "duo" of proteins (pork and chicken) and thought it was too weird. But after kicking around different menus for the buffet, I realized that the elevated menu we wanted might look weird in a buffet. Plus the wedding is in vegas so buffet seemed a little obvious. Buffet was also more expensive. After our tasting we're super pumped for the plated meal! Yea, the duo of proteins still seems unnecessary to me but it's really great to not have to collect any meal preferences outside of dietary restrictions. I'm pretty bummed to not have any stations for our cocktail hour, since they only allow passed apps outdoors, but that's another problem.

It was explained to me best by the caterer: If you have a large party its best to have plated so everyone is not up and out of their seats for the duration of the dinner (it can get messy). She said the plated it more formal, keeps it classy, and ensures everyone is seated, eating, and enjoying each other's company. That also gives time for speeches, or for the band to play some nice music for people to enjoy during dinner. I can see a lot going wrong with a buffet personally but find it more suitable for a big cocktail hour