The guests need to eat. Buffet or plated dinner? Decisions, decisions....

One of the many decisions couples have to face is.........buffet or seated dinner?  Sheesh.  This is a polarizing issue.  Some people are absolutely opposed to having to get up and get their food, and others want more choices and control over how much they get to eat.   Things get interesting when there is one of each in the marrying couple!  One of our last weddings, the bride hated buffets and the groom hated the limitations on plated dinners.

Years ago, the decision was usually a financial one.  Nine times out of ten the buffet was less expensive than the plated service.  Brides and grooms were able to have more guests and feed them all while still staying in their budget.  However, with the amazing buffets and action stations that many couple are opting to make a part of their wedding, often the costs are comparable.

So, what are the factors to consider when making this decision?  It is a big one to be sure.  

Buffet Pros:

1.  Amazing variety of foods and choices.  Gone are the days of plain chicken, grayish brown mystery meat with mystery sauce, and green beans in water.  Today, buffets can be creative, trendy, and fantastic.  Of course, carving stations are always a hit (at least with all the meat eaters).  However, now you can have action stations, where chefs create anything from hand rolled sushi to stir fry to customized pasta.  

2.  It is All You Can Eat!   Your guests can eat as much or as little as they like.  No one will be left wanting more.  If someone is in love with your gratin potatoes, they can sneak more without the embarrassment of asking the server for another plate of potatoes!

3.  More guests in less space.  On a practical note, the dinner tables can be slightly closer together than with a plated service.  If space is a concern, or you want a longer guest list, this can be a consideration.

4.  Your guests will get up, move, and mingle.  Your guests will see more of the other guests, more of the room, and more of you decor and personal touches.  Sometimes, when you have plated service, some guests "take root" in their seats and settle in for the evening.

Buffet Cons:

1.  The long, long, long line.  Please try to avoid this at all costs!  Have the DJ or the band announce tables to go up one at a time for crowd control.  Keep the line so that there is never more than three to five people before your guests reach the plates.

2.  Cold food, or food that runs out.  Make sure as you work with your wedding planner that the caterer is excellent at managing the temperatures (both hot and cold) and amounts needed to keep everyone happy.

3.  Carrying it all - plate, glass, napkin, flatware.  Consider your guests - make sure that getting their food is an easy, relatively effortless endeavor.  Just the plate, thank you.

4.  Mystery foods.  For both your picky eaters AND your foodie friends, make sure that your foods are labeled, or that your program has a detailed menu for them to peruse.

Plated Service Pros:

1.  There is a natural sophistication and elegance to plated service. Your guests feel as if they are being taken care of, and being served.  

2.  Better time management and crowd control.  It is easier to do toasts during dinner after everyone has been served (and are hopefully nibbling happily).  This is tougher with a buffet because people are focused on getting their food.  This can allow for more dancing after dinner!

3.  The Bride and Groom will actually eat!  So often at weddings, the bride and groom do not really eat dinner.  Having a plated service gives the bride a groom a chance to catch their breath and actually eat at their own wedding!

4.  You can express yourself!  You can choose both of your favorite dishes, and make it a part of personalizing your wedding reception.

Plated Service Cons:

1.  More expensive.  Even thought this is a smaller margin than before, the plated service usually still costs a little more than the buffet due to the need for more wait staff.  

2.  Still may not be perfect!  By the time it is served, the food may be cold.  Or vegetarians may accidentally be served meat.   Or, if you have children at your wedding, they may turn up their noses at the beautiful presented masterpiece.

3.  The guests just get what they get.  Their choices are usually more limited.  (I know of one wedding where the guests had nine main entree choices for the plated service!)

4.  Another item to track.  If you are having the guests send in their preference with their RSVP, make sure that your wedding coordinator has simplified how you will track who is eating what and sitting where!

A few more thoughts - if there are children at the wedding, it is easier for the parents to just make a plate from the buffet of food they know their kids will eat.  however, some of your other guests may get nervous about kids being near the food being served!  (Sometimes, it seems like a no win situation!)  Buffets do allow your guests to make their food the way they like it - sauce/no sauce, more veg/no veg, shrimp feast/no seafood.  Plated service adds a touch of elegance to a wedding that is undeniable, and makes crowd control a little bit easier.

One last note about buffets - please still have drink service at the table, and please still set the tables beautifully.  No wedding guest should risk spilling food and drink all over themselves and/or someone else trying to wrangle everything at once to their seat!

Ultimately, working with your wedding planner to make sure that they know what is important to you in terms of food experience, ambiance, spacing, and options is critical.  Then, having a masterful catering company to execute your dreams is crucial.  The reality is that both can be amazing, and both can be horrible.  As for the divided couple that had opposing views?  They ultimately had a fantastic buffet, with a carving station, and gourmet choices with an excellent caterer to pull it off with style!

What do you think is better?  And for those of you that are already married, which did you choose?

Wedding Pitfalls to Avoid

Everyone has such high hopes for a perfect day at their wedding.  However, guests are sometimes left scratching their heads in wonderment at planning pitfalls that make it less than wonderful for them!  Of course, everyone wants the bride and groom to have the day of their dreams, but guests want to have fun too! Oh, you are planning your wedding, and just want it to be perfect.  The perfect time, the perfect place, and perfect experience for your guests.  Here are some common pitfalls in wedding planning that may look good on paper - that usually do not translate well for the attendees of your wedding: 1.  A long gap between the ceremony and the cocktail hour or reception.  This might be convenient for the wedding party, as it gives them time to take photographs, catch their breath now that the "main event" is over, and it is sometimes created in order to meet religious requirements for the time of the wedding and the type of reception desired.  It is hard to match up Roman Catholic Nuptial Masses (usually before noon on Saturdays) and a dance party reception long into the night!  As participants in the wedding, the bride and groom, ushers and bridesmaids, and family really will not plan on doing anything else on the wedding day.  however, most local guests have their regular life going on.  It can be difficult to attend the ceremony and then wait for hours to go to the reception.  Try to avoid this if at all possible. 2.  A long distance between the ceremony location and the reception.  (Especially for Los Angeles weddings!!)  You may have your heart set on the church near the home where you grew up, and the Country Club 50 miles away.  This creates stress for nearly all of your guests!  They will do it because they love you, but believe me, they will be grumbling about it to each other!  If you are in a metropolitan area, such as Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, or New York, this can create a logistical headache with real consequences.  Traffic can tie up guests and cause events to start late, out of town guests can get lost, (sometimes very lost - we had a guest go east when she should have gone west from LAX and she ended up an hour and a half away.  She says Pasadena is lovely!!), and people may leave your event early to get home at a decent hour.  The out of town guests will debate about where to stay - near the ceremony or reception.  You may lose out on the opportunity for visiting with out-of-towners due to running the roads.  Give this serious consideration! 3.  Not enough space during the cocktail hour.  Some brides and grooms, when wedding planning, give short shrift to the cocktail hour.  DON'T!!  Guests love the cocktail hour!  It loosens them up and gets them ready to party and have a good time.  Many times, it seems that venues will try to squish people into a hallway, or a space that is too small without enough seats or tables for people to set down their drinks.  Your guests have gone out of their way to come to your big day - let them relax in comfort after the ceremony! 4.  Long Lines at Cocktail Hour.  We work with our caterers to ensure that there will always be either a signature cocktail, red wine, white wine, and/or champagne passed on trays as guests enter the cocktail hour area.  If someone wants beer or a different drink, they will wait in line at the bar.  This one strategy alleviates so much congestion and makes so many people smile!  Sodas and non alcoholic drinks will be on a table ready to grab and go as well.  Don't make them wait! 5.  Not enough or too much food at the cocktail hour.  Think hors d'oeuvres at the cocktail hour, and make sure that your caterer knows how to gauge for an adequate amount of food for your head count!  By the same token, there has been a trend lately to have food which is more like a dinner at the cocktail hour.  Some guests eat so much then that they are not hungry for your main event!  No one needs two dinners!!  (And the ones that want two dinners will eat so many hors d'oeuvres, you don't need to worry about them!) 6.  Too many speeches at the reception.  We understand that most of the people at your wedding have known you and loved you for a long time, and they want to share their fondest memories of you and wish you well.  Please realize that the amusing family anecdotes which warm your heart can be a giant snooze fest to your guests!  Even other relatives!  I guarantee that someone in your family will roll their eyes and say, "Oh no, Uncle Herbert has the microphone" under their breath at some point.  Work with your wedding coordinator to prevent the talkers from taking over the show.  We have several creative ways to let the talkers talk without putting half of your crowd to sleep.  (On a side note:  sometimes the bride or groom may not want the story shared with the group to begin with....) 7.  An Outdoor Wedding without a Backup Plan.  Trust me - this is best for you too!  If you are planning an outdoor wedding - anywhere - please have a secondary plan in case of inclement weather!  This is one of the many instances where having a wedding planner at your side is invaluable.  Make sure that the Backup Plan will accommodate as many guests as you expect.  There are few things worse when going to a wedding to have bad weather, then no place to sit whilst being crammed against others in a hot room with wet shoes.  Review the wedding insurance options with your wedding planner.  There are many options that can be in place, ready to execute at a moment's notice.  Remember that tents cannot usually be put up in the rain!  Stay one step ahead of the game. There are more pitfalls to avoid, but these are some of the most annoying.  While working with your wedding planner, every once in a while, put yourself in your guests shoes.  See how they fit!