One of the most anticipated elements of any wedding is undoubtedly the culinary experience, and when it comes to wedding catering, you’ve got choices. Gone are the days of the traditional plated dinner being the only option for your wedding reception. From themed stations to family-style experiences, here are four popular wedding catering styles and everything you need to know about them.
Plated Dinner
The go-to traditional option. For plated dinners, meals are individually plated and served to each guest at your reception. This option requires some advanced planning. Your RSVP cards will need to include a space for guests to choose their dinner selection (based on what you’ve curated with your caterer, of course). Their option will then need to be noted on their place card, so the caterer knows which entrée to serve them during your wedding reception.
Buffet
Why do guests love buffets at weddings? They can fill their plates with exactly what they’d like to eat! Buffets are meals that are served from a single spot in the venue – usually a line of long tables. “Chafing dishes” keep each entrée and side warm throughout the duration of service. Your guests are dismissed from their tables (one or two tables at a time) and invited to enter the food line, where they’ll choose the delicious bites they’d like to have for dinner. Buffets can either be served by the catering staff or set up to be self-serve.
Family Style
This is best of both worlds…and one of our personal favorites! Large portions of entrees and sides are served on platters to each table for guests to pass around and take as much or as little as they’d like. Family-style dinners provides an intimate dining experience for guests, as if you were welcoming them into your home. Not every caterer offers this option, so if you have your heart set on it, ask your caterer before you sign a contract with them.
Stations
Similar to a buffet, dinner stations allow guests to choose the entrees and sides they’d like to have for dinner. However, instead of having one main food line, “stations” are scattered around the reception space. These stations could be themed – a pasta bar, taco bar, or meat carving station are just a few examples! This dinner style offers a unique experience for guests, but can be difficult to manage without the proper space. Check in with your venue before making an official decision to ensure there’s enough room to successfully dine with stations.
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