Perks of a Plated Dinner

Trying to decide if you are doing a plated dinner or buffet or maybe stations or family style! There are so many options now days! Let's focus on the plated dinner perks!

Everyone is Waited On:

This makes it easier on guests. They never have to move from their table, they can get settled, start socializing with others around them, and it is less overall chaos. Food, drinks, coffee, cake, all gets served to guests. This is especially helpful if you have handicapped or elderly guests attending!

Everyone Eats at the Same Time:

This is a major bonus, because planners and couples should plan on average for about 45 minutes minimum for guests to all go through a buffet line (and that does not include seconds)! It helps to keep things moving when everyone is eating at the same time. It also ensures meals are hot, where this is not always the case when couples choose a buffet.

No Wasted Food:

At the end of every wedding if you don't have a plated meal, there will be leftovers and most of the time if you pay for it, it is yours. Therefore tons of parents of the bride and grooms or close family members end up leaving with large buffet quantities of uneaten food. With that being said, most people end up throwing the large quantities of food out because homeless shelters can not always accept food given in that nature due to food safety laws. Nine times out of ten, it just gets tossed unfortunately.

A Level of Sophistication:

There is no doubt, a plated meal is and may always be seen as the highest level of sophistication in how a meal is served at a wedding. If you are having your wedding in an elegant venue or having a Black Tie wedding, guests will almost expect to have their meal plated.

Cheaper (sometimes!):

I always tell my clients to ask their venue or caterer this questions, because plated is not always the most expensive option! Shocking right! But think about it, when a chef knows they are doing a plated meal for 125 people they can portion out the exact amount that is needed. This is not the case, when it comes to buffet. You always have to expect guests to come back for seconds or the servers portion control skills; therefore, they have to order more food than they would for a plated meal.

Well, there you have 5 quick perks to a plated meal! What type of meal do you plan on serving? Comment below!