A buffet at your wedding could be a waste of money

[Kurlee]

Kurlee

That's a good point. At a sit down dinner you very rarely get to know people other than the ones you came with. It can be very clique-y I like the idea of being to mingle with new faces at a buffet.

And even run into to people you haven't seen in ages. Sometimes, with all the formalities and speeches during the reception, by the time you get to the dancing party, many are on the way out. I saw something like this done at an Italian wedding where in between courses, they had like "mingle" time. It was really cool. Sometimes, you don't know/care for the folks at your table and as a foodie, "chicken or fish" seems so drab, especially when whatever you didn't choose comes and it looks better than what you chose.

 

[greenandchic]

Unless I can do it up like the buffet brunches at the The Broadmoor Hotel or The Waldorf=Astoria, I wouldn't be doing no buffets at my wedding unless I have <40 in attendance and its a small, intimate setting.

My first wedding was a buffet and it looked more like:

and less like:

 

[kblc06]

I think I may be the only womna in existence who abhors the idea of a wedding or planning one . Why not just throw a huge reception- that's what most people show up for anway. I just get angry at the thought of spending $10,000-50,000 for a one day affair and having people eat food and drink liquor that I paid for just to wish me a happy marriage and buy me sh*t that I already have . Just send me a damn card with a dollar in it .


But I'm also oen of those people who prefers money as a gift ("It's the thought that counts" yadda yadda yadda). Most people's thoughts are wrong .

 

[tmhuggiebear]

@kblc

You are certainly not the only one. That is exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, other voices come into the picture and change everything.

 

[january noir]

Again, the choice between sit-down and a buffet should depend on the type of wedding (not all weddings are elegant or sophisticated; some brides and grooms like a backyard ***-down bbq theme), the number of guests, wedding & reception budget, etc.

Both have pros and cons.

How the food is served is one thing, but personally, I don't care but for one thing... delicious food. If the food doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how it's served in the end IMO.

You can't dress up bad food with place settings and you can't deny delicious food even if it's served buffet-style.

 

[greenandchic]

kblc06 - I hear you. Fortunately no one but us would be paying for it so we can do what we want. LOL Ideally, a mid day celebration with a light meal/hors d'oeuvres would be perfect.

 

[TayMac]

I have only been to one wedding that wasn't buffet style. I hate waiting in line but beyond that I'm not too bothered by buffet if the food is good.

Running out of food is tacky to me.

 

[MizAvalon]

I don't like buffets at weddings.

 

[curlycrocheter]

I'm a wedding consultant for a catering company & plated meals add up QUICK! It's so much more for labor/service.

Everyone always comes in wanting a plated meal, then their wallet smacks them in the face & they do a buffet.

A good alternative is a plated salad, so you have something to eat while you wait to go to the buffet.

 

[aribell]

 

[ambergirl]

I'm just thrilled when I'm at a wedding and they actually have something I can eat. I think that it's perfectly fine if the wedding isn't very formal.

If someone thought enough of me to invite me to their wedding (you know those lists can get tight) then I'm gracious enough to be grateful for what ever they serve.

I wish the trend of expensive weddings with overpriced served dinner would die a quick death. I've never understood why people would want a new couple to go tens of thousands of dollars into debt to feed and entertainment them.

I prefer weddings with just drinks and hors d'oeuvres

 

[JBJ]

All of the weddings I had ever been to were buffet so I thought that was just how things were done. When I planned my wedding the cost was a lot more for the buffet so we went with the plated. Now that I think back my guests did not have a choice as to what they were served. I guess if they didn't like something they just didn't eat it.

There were two men who felt no shame asking for a second plate .

 

[kikigirl]

All of the weddings I had ever been to were buffet so I thought that was just how things were done. When I planned my wedding the cost was a lot more for the buffet so we went with the plated. Now that I think back my guests did not have a choice as to what they were served. I guess if they didn't like something they just didn't eat it.

There were two men who felt no shame asking for a second plate .

LMBO over asking for a second plate.

We're doing buffet because we didn't want the wedding to be too stuffy. We wanted people to be able to mingle and not feel like they had to be glued to their seats, at the mercy of waiters.

IIRC, the soup and appetizers will be served, and everything else will be buffet-style.
My family is Cameroonian, so a catered wedding reception was already an outrage to begin with, lol . And DF's family are cheerful and rambunctious folks! Not much into protocol and formality! Yup. Buffet works for us.

 

[kikigirl]

ambergirl


Thank you! That the entire industry is set up to highway-rob newlyweds is mind boggling! They think everyone has a rich Daddy to squeeze out one last time???!!!!

 

[ambergirl]

@ambergirl


Thank you! That the entire industry is set up to highway-rob newlyweds is mind boggling! They think everyone has a rich Daddy to squeeze out one last time???!!!!

I thought the purpose of the wedding was to celebrate the union and to offer a new couple some help in setting up their home. Instead people treat it like they're owed a night of pricey food, entertainment, and an open bar because they brought a gift.

And you are right about the industry. And is it true that most vendors jack up prices for things just because it's a wedding? If so that's just shows how ridiculous the industry has become.

 

[Kurlee]

I thought the purpose of the wedding was to celebrate the union and to offer a new couple some help in setting up their home. Instead people treat it like they're owed a night of pricey food, entertainment, and an open bar because they brought a gift.

And you are right about the industry. And is it true that most vendors jack up prices for things just because it's a wedding? If so that's just shows how ridiculous the industry has become.

thanks is not enough

 

[Qualitee]

I thought the purpose of the wedding was to celebrate the union and to offer a new couple some help in setting up their home. Instead people treat it like they're owed a night of pricey food, entertainment, and an open bar because they brought a gift.

And you are right about the industry. And is it true that most vendors jack up prices for things just because it's a wedding? If so that's just shows how ridiculous the industry has become.

ambergirl Nope! Society had become so messed up that weddings aren't about celebrations anymore. Weddings have become a big thing to where ppl go and judge everything at the wedding. People are spending all this money basically trying to impress people they barely know

 

[MsSanz92]

I will probably have a buffet style wedding simply because I'm picky as hell and I want a lot of different kinds/options of food to be served. In addition, I have a lot of family/friends with dietary restrictions so having plated two option dinner is out of the question; I want to be able to cater to everyone's needs! Buffets can be executed well it's all about set up. I would most likely have multiple stations with people at them, and things like appetizers, salads, bread, water, etc. being served at the table.

 

[CandiedLipgloss]

We initially had a buffet in mind, but his cousin who has a catering company and will probably be doing ours, said that buffets cost more. He said the bride and groom usually pay way less when they have a his and hers plated meal. Let guests choose which one they want and they get what they get.

We will probably have three stations during cocktail hour, but that's it.

 

[JudithO]

Double post.

 

[JudithO]

I had a buffet at my wedding.... my wedding wwas very informal.. 80 of our closest friends.... as per it was a naija wedding, we catered for 250 incase everyone brought their cousin... lol... well around 80 pple showed up.... so people ate several rounds.... we had to provide to to go bowls fofr food... everyone left with at least a bottle of wine home too..... everyone that attended my wedding keep raving till today how much food and alcohol they had and how we saved them cookiing for a couple days...

I think it depends on your crowd, and the kind of food you are serving.... as per i served naija food it is impossible to formally serve jollof rice, fried rice, plantain and moi moi, pounded yam, soup, peppersoup, puff puff, meat pie, suya etc people generally want to have a taste everything...

 

[CharlieEcho]

Not a fan of buffets either. I've just never been to a classy buffet style wedding. The queue is always too long.

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

We did a buffet style wedding. It was an early afternoon reception (started around 11:30 AM) and the restaraunt we had it at had so many food choices, we ended up having the buffet and then carving stations and dessert & fruit stations because they offered many choices. It was really nice..they didn't do the whole pan thing, they did it like many of the pictures in previous posts putting the food on big fancy dishes. They had servers to make the line move faster and we had a wedding planner staff of 3 to help get the guests from their tables in an orderly fashion. A Wedding planner worth their salt is ALWAYS thinking of execution. AND I've sat through expensive plated meals that were crap.

For some, having so many food choices can make a buffet very expensive, but most of the time the plated meal can cost you 40.00+ pp where a simple buffet can start at half that. I have seen buffets as much as 60.00 pp but you're talking about 4-5 fancy protein choices, a slew of sides and 4-5 salad types, etc.

One thing a lot of people don't realize is that YOU can sometimes negotiate a deal. For places that only do plated meals you can ask for a simplified menu to cut costs, but sometimes they won't because at some point, the labor of serving outweighs the cost of the food...which vendors get at rock bottom prices in bulk. The restaraunt we had our reception at served steaks at 50.00+/plate to start but their catering costs for customers was as low as 16.95/pp because of the vendor deals they get. So they make A LOT of $$ on the labor....I think only 25% of the costs even went to actual food. The rest was labor and taxes. That included enough food for an extra 10% of the actual # of guests who RSVP's and showed up so there was no running out...food stayed hot, and people enjoyed an extra helping or another plate or choice if they didn't like what they tried initially.

 

[naturalgyrl5199]

Plated meals can be tricky too. My friend had a fancy meal choice of either pork loin or a beef something or other cut. $45.00/plate.

Well I KNOW better being in the nutrition/food industry AND having planned a wedding...we went for the pork. Well low and behold, about 1/2 of everyone who wanted the beef ended up with really rare cuts on their plates. Thats a no-no for black folk!

At MY reception, we offered chicken on the buffet line AND a carving station featuring beef...you could SEE the cut you wanted and simply point if you wanted something more well done or more rare or in-between. More happy people....our per person cost was less than $20.00!

 

[Eiano]

Aw man, I didn't know it was tacky.

I like Buffets!

If I were to have a wedding, (which I don't plan on, never really did), I would want a buffet! I want to be able to bring my culture into the wedding foodwise. Plantain and Beans, Rice and Chicken Stew and Fufu and Peanut Butter Soup aren't really something you portion