A buffet-style dinner is when all the food is displayed on a central table and dinner is served all at once. Guests serve themselves or with an attended buffet, servers plate the meal for the guest as they travel through the buffet line.
Pros:
- Buffet-style dinners are really great for feeding guests efficiently all at the same time.
- Food selections are typically more familiar and crowd-pleasing.
- Menu selections contribute to a well rounded meal usually including a salad, bread, protein, and side dishes.
- Guests are able to select items and quantities to their liking. A great option when accommodating a variety of tastes and dietary preferences.
- Buffet-style dinners offer a variety of choices and a lower price per person.
Cons:
- Depending on the guest count, dinner service can take more time.
- Food presentation is limited and often not as creative or impressive.
Do’s:
- Guests should be released by table for the buffet controlling lines and allowing catering staff time to manage replenishing food trays.
- Consider adding a second buffet or making a single buffet dual-sided when guest counts exceed 100.
- Table numbers should be visible and easy to read.
Don’ts:
- Don’t wait to send your vendors through the buffet line. It is a good idea to have vendors make their plates as soon as the wedding party, and parents of the wedding couple, have gone through the buffet. Vendors will need to break and eat, and be back in the dining room ready for toasts, speeches, and other timeline events by the time dinner service has wrapped up. No one wants action shots of them eating dinner anyway 🙂
Floor Plan Notes:
With a buffet-style dinner it is important to make sure there is a place setting for each guest, and adequate spacing in-between tables and chairs.
Guest seating:
With a buffet-style dinner all of your guests will dine at the same time. It is important that guest movement into the dining room is organized and efficient. You will want to make sure that you have assigned each guest in attendance to a table. This way, you can ensure that there is a seat for everyone and that available space on the floor plan is being used as effectively as possible.
It is important to organize your seating chart alphabetically, and have it displayed during cocktail hour so that guests have enough time to find their assignment. By organizing your chart alphabetically, guests can easily scan to find their name in less time. When you organize a seating chart by table, guests have to read the entire chart to find their name, and usually, overlook their name on their first pass. It can take 3-5 min. per guest which can really cause a line, deterring guests from reading the chart and further delaying the process of getting everyone seated.
Assigning guests to a particular chair is not necessary.
