A plated dinner is an elegant style of dinner service where guests remain seated and servers bring dinner plates to guests at their tables. Think “restaurant-style.” Guests will either return their meal selection ahead of time with their RSVP, or all guests are served the same pre-selected plate. With a plated dinner, guests enjoy dinner all at the same time and a formal place setting is needed for each person.
Pros:
- Plated dinner service feels formal, elevated, and allows guests to remain comfortably at their seat to be served, no moving or waiting in lines.
- Service can be very impressive and place settings can be highlighted through specialty china, flatware, or glassware.
Cons:
- Plated dinners usually come with a higher price tag as more staff is required and presentation is key!
- Guests have less control over food choice and quantity; they can’t mix and match according to their preferences like they can with one of the other styles.
- When guests return a meal selection, the menu and RSVP system will need to be set up well ahead of time. Organizing a seating chart with a variety of entrees requires great attention to detail to yield an efficient dinner service.
- Guests’ often change their mind on the day of the wedding, switch seats, or move meal identifiers around making service a challenge.
Dos:
- Assign guests to both a table and a particular seat. Catering will need an organized floor plan showing exactly which chair gets which plate. Coordinating place cards with a menu identifier are needed.
- Make sure table numbers and place cards are visible and easy to read. Place cards should display the guest’s name as well as their meal selection, if applicable.
- Do consider a single or dual-entree rather than guest selection. A single entree would be the same pre-determined plate for each guest, much like a buffet that is brought to you! Dual-entree is where there are half portions of two-proteins, think surf and turf, with the same side dishes. In these scenarios, guests do not necessarily need to be assigned to a particular seat, just a table. There is less room for any mixups in delivering the wrong dish, guests changing their minds, or moving seats. Service is faster, more efficient, and there is more time and flexibility in determining a menu. It also saves the couple an incredible amount of time in organizing meal responses, coordinating place cards, and designing floor plan keys for catering.
Don’ts:
- Don’t select food options that can’t “walk” well. Example: mashed potatoes “stick” to the plate, whereas round roasted potatoes will roll around when the dish is being carried and will look messy when placed in front of the guest.
Floor Plan Notes:
It is important to leave enough room around the tables and chairs for servers to be able to pass through. Typically, there is a more formal place setting with plated meals, and a little extra room is needed at each seat.
Guest Seating:
With a plated-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, then a particular chair at that 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.
