Posted by Jordan Kelly, Event Coordinator
Probably the biggest and first decision you have to make when it comes to catering for your wedding is whether to have your food on a buffet display or served to your guests at their seat. Today we’re going to break down the pros and cons of each option.
Let’s start with the sit down dinner.
Pros of a Sit Down Dinner:
It’s classic.
This traditional option is where guests are seated and served a formal dinner, that is presented elegantly on the plate.
Your guests have something to eat while they wait for dinner.
In a sit down dinner arrangement, bread rolls and salad are already plated on the table when the guests enter the reception area.
Cons of a Sit Down Dinner:
You’ll pay more.
Sit down dinners come at a slightly higher price, because they require more waiters, who need to be paid.
Your guests have less food options.
One con of sit down dinners to consider is if you have a lot of picky eaters in attendance, there’s a chance they may not eat everything on their plate. Take a look at the Renaissance Catering packages. The only packages conducive to sit downs are the Pearl Package or Diamond Package. This is because these packages include one entree, one side and one vegetable which is about all that will fit and present on the china plate. When you opt for the sit down dinner, your guests have less control over the food on their plate. Having one plate of food means that your guests get small portions of the selected menu items, without the option of getting seconds.
It requires more organization on your part.
If you want two entree options for your guests, you need to provide a place on your RSVP cards for the guests to mark which entree they would like. The caterer will want to know how many of each entree you need ahead of time, so add another column to your RSVP spreadsheet. Plus, if you want to make the serving of the food day of more efficient (you know your Aunt Betty hates waiting on her food), make sure to get place cards or some other table decoration to demarcate the guests’ preferences.
Alright, now that we’ve gone over the ins and outs of sit down dinners, lets talk about buffets.
Pros of a Buffet:
It’s more affordable.
By cutting down on the necessary number of servers, you’ll save money that you can then reallocate to other sections of your wedding budget. (There will still be servers behind the buffet serving each dish to the guests, but not as many as it takes to serve tables in a sit down event.)
Your guests have lots of food options.
On the buffet, your guests are in control of what and how much goes on their plates. With the buffet you can also provide multiple salad, side and vegetable options. And they always have the chance to get up and get seconds if they still have room!
Cons of a Buffet:
It’s not as fancy.
Guests have to serve themselves and carry their own plates, which may not be as elegant as you would like.
Your guests will have to wait in line.
Since each table will have to wait their turn to head to the buffet, it may take a while for all tables to be called and guests to work their way through the line.
We hope this post was helpful to you as you plan your wedding. If you have any questions, give us a call at 321-504-0641 or email us at info@renaissanceofcfl.com.
