Sonal J. Shah Event Consultants, LLC

Why Is It Less Expensive To Do Plated Dinners versus Buffet?

One of the first things to determine when you are planning your wedding is whether you want a sit down dinner, or a buffet. Both meal options give different feelings to your special day. To make your decision a little easier, we have broken down the different options to give you some pros and cons for each:

Sit Down equals Formal. Plated food is served to each guest. Table cards with meal selections and place cards are needed so that the catering staff knows what to serve to which guest.

The Pros:

- You can serve exactly what your guests want by giving them options for meals. They can get an appetizer to start, then their meal choice, then dessert.

- Food is hot right out of the kitchen.

- This is the more elegant way to present food at a wedding,

- There is portion control so your costs are and should be less than buffet.

The Cons:

- Sit-down service usually takes longer to get everyone fed.

- There is usually a 15-minute window between the first table and the last at a large wedding.

- If you are crunched for time, this might not be your best option as the focus is on the level of service and not on the speed.

Buffet equals Casual. Food is nicely displayed on a long table where guests serve themselves.

The Pros:

- In a less formal environment, this option is great for your guests to socialize and get to know one another.

- Guests can get their food at their leisure- Guests can also keep going back for more.

The Cons:

- Buffets can be hard to get around if they aren’t planned well.

- Sometimes, people and tables get in the way so you need to make sure the caterer plans a good place to set up the table.

- There are long lines for guests to wait for their food.

In the end, even though your pocketbook is important, choose your service by the look and feel you want on your wedding day.