Plated vs. Buffet

This seems to be a real preference question; I don't believe that one is 'better' than the other, just different. I would personally go for a buffet over plated every time, but it is true that some will associate plated as feeling fancier.

My concern is that your venue does buffet 98% of the time - this raises a red flag. If they aren't accustomed to plated for large groups they may not be very efficient at getting the plates out which could lead to cold food.

@kLo - That's kinda what I thought, too, but she made it seem like there was no difference in temperature or quality on either option. I've read hundreds of reviews on them, and everyone raves about their food regardless of plated or buffet.

As a guest, either is fine; as far as taste goes. As a person with some very serve food allergies, buffets are scary. Cross contamination is almost always an issue. I also hate being the last table to go up, and everything I could have safely eaten is gone. I'm trying to do similar to a cafeteria. You can have whatever you want, but you get one portion until everyone has had a chance.

We're leaning towards buffet to give people more freedom. Plus, it's less work all around.

We're doing plated. It's fancier, no waiting in lines, no concerns about people with mobility issues and we found it was easier to cater to our guests with dietary restrictions. Our dinner comes with soup, salad and dessert. We are along offering a large gourmet pizza table for cocktail hour along with other appetizers, so I don't feel like people will go hungry even if they don't like the meal choice they picked.

I'm going plated because the thought of a buffet line talking too long would bother me. I also feel like it does step up the elegance a bit (not saying buffets can't be elegant) and it makes dinner take less time which means more dancing! It's totally a preference thing though, especially if cost is not an issue.

Haha. Neither side is making it any easier to choose. It seems as though its a pretty even-sided debate. I'm going to draft an email to my coordinator asking some more questions on the details of both before I start leaning more toward one side or the other.

Both sides are making very good points and it's not making it any clearer as to which would be better.

We are haven a buffet I think it would be better

Just remember, if you do buffet, have someone make plates up for you and FH before people start going up!

Good luck!

My social circle almost always goes with plated.

I've only been to 4 buffet weddings, in my life, and I remember them because they had some of the most non-inspiring food I've been served. Maybe it was the venue, maybe it was my bad luck?

I.e. two cousins had basically the same type of buffets, but different choices: 2 meats, 1 starch, 1 vegetable, roll, and salad. I don't eat meat. At neither could we take as much as we wanted - they had servers to give you one portion. Even after I pleaded with a server about being a vegetarian. At neither could you really go up for seconds. When the last table was served, whatever was left in the pans was available, but that was it. At one, the vegetable chosen was squash - BTW, that's the only wedding I've attended that had hired a planner- and they had squash leftover, but I didn't like it enough for a 2nd serving.

We had buffet and passed food, for our cocktail hour and after dinner, mini-desserts and wedding cake served buffet style. We also had plated service for soup, salad, main entrée ( 2 duets and 1 vegetarian were offered), and a dessert trio. The hotel did what I think is called French service (some country in Europe?) They had teams of 2 to serve 2 tables - so a total of 16 or 20 people. Everyone was served at once. Soup came out in big pots and was ladled out at the table. The salad delivery was caught on our video tape. They brought the greens out on a cold cart, a mixture of toppings was put on, and then dressing, followed by a crispy pancetta on top at tableside, so nothing got soggy.

We had buffet for the hors d'oeuvres and dessert, but plated for the dinner. We offered 3 different options for the plated entrees, and every guest was able to find something to eat. I felt strongly about plated because I like the idea of guests being served, and it was more orderly. Our guests included children and senior citizens so it was definitely easier for them. And after a long day, guests were more than happy just to sit. I feel like buffet is a good idea in theory, but from my experience, guests do not get up and get more and more, so it's not really all you can eat.

So, I emailed my coordinator with some more detailed questions about the buffet and she sent me photos of what it looks like set up... I hate it. I know it's the best way to go portion and option-wise, and FH REALLY wants the carving station, but I hate the way it looks.

I see where you're coming from with plated as it's your big day and that probably is more elegant. But as a guest I always love buffets. It seems silly but I want what I want, and I eat better when I make my plate myself. Also, I worked for a catering company for a while. We mostly did graduation, retirement, birthday parties, etc., but I did do one wedding with them. It was VERY classy in every way and they did a buffet that was fully served by us, even as far as handing people the rolls and butter. We worked with the couple and completely did what they wanted. It was probably the nicest wedding I've ever been to!