Dinner is Served!
Happy Monday everyone! Last week and over the weekend I am sure you took the time to come together to spend time with family and friends. Eating a ton of home cooked food and enjoying each other’s time. Food is a thread that not only unites people, but even brings forth the commonalities between Thanksgiving and weddings. A time to share memories and good times together, what better way to unite people than through food? With so many options for the way you and your guests enjoy a meal together, today I’d like to explore the four main dinner services for your wedding reception and help you choose the one that is right for you.
Plated: The most traditional meal option for weddings, dinner is served to each guest by the venue’s staff, just like at a restaurant. Courses will be served one at a time and can range anywhere from a few courses to a full out multi-course meal. A big perk of this form of dinner service is that each plate is laid out by the chefs, so the design of the food on the plate will be beautiful (as well as delicious, of course).
Buffet: Most of us have been to summer camp, but in case you haven’t, at a buffet your guests serve themselves from warming dishes containing large batches of each course of the meal. Buffets are usually considered a more causal option for dinner service, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place at formal affairs as well. The great thing about buffets is that they give guests the opportunity to wander the venue and converse with others as they serve themselves.
Family style: Taking a page from the Thanksgiving handbook, platters of each course are displayed at the individual tables for guests to serve themselves from. A very social option for dinner, family style is reminiscent of an intimate family dinner where everyone shares from the main dishes.
Stations: Similar to buffet style, stations are established throughout the reception site and allow for guests to move around freely and make selections. Each station usually has its own theme and allows for couples to explore a lot of different cuisines and styles of meals. Great for individual foods like tacos or sushi, or even sides like macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes, stations allow for variety and creativity.
Sharing food is a bond that is extremely important when celebrating special occasions and a wedding is no different. Your first meal with your family and friends as a married couple is certainly a rite of passage and choosing the type of dinner service that will fit with your wedding is a big part in the planning process.