Wedding catering is known to be the part of a wedding that stays in the memory the longest. Every wedding guest can remember the confit cod with lardo or the successful dessert with a taste explosion on the palate. Choosing your caterer is therefore one of the most important decisions you should make. However, the question now arises as to whether the catering should be served as a buffet or as a menu in several courses. Is a buffet really cheaper? Is a served dinner not enough? Many bridal couples who are undecided often opt for a combination of both options.
In the following article, we will show you what options you have for the catering at your wedding. We’ll discuss the pros and cons to make your decision a little easier in the end.
Served menu
A course menu, also known as a “seated dinner”, is a wedding catering service. Here, the food is served directly to the table by service staff. As a rule, the wedding guests sit down at their assigned seats after entering the room. As soon as the catering is opened, trained service staff serve the wedding guests between three and seven courses. For example, starting with a cold starter, followed by the classic wedding soup, an intermediate course with fish and a light sorbet. This is followed by the main course with meat, some cheese and fruit, and finally a dessert.
A menu is usually determined in advance and discussed in detail as to which guest gets which dishes. With such a fixed menu, it is very important to take into account eating habits, allergies and intolerances. To avoid surprises on the wedding day, you can ask in advance. The easiest way is to specify an additional field when sending the invitation cards , in which your guests can indicate their preferences. This way you can pass this information on to the chef.
We can say goodbye to the myth that guests don’t get enough to eat at a menu. So don’t worry that the small portions might not be enough for some guests. Discuss this with your wedding caterer in advance. They will be happy to prepare several portions. A second helping is then no problem.
If you are dreaming of a traditional wedding with a bow tie and gala dresses, we recommend that you choose the served menu. This is more formal and in keeping with the style. It is also more pleasant for the guests not to have to queue in high heels in front of the buffet and wait their turn.
Another advantage of the wedding menu is that program items such as speeches, the stage show and your wedding dance can take place during the meal. All the wedding guests are already seated and don’t have to be rounded up first.
Wedding buffet
This is a very popular option and gives your guests a lot of flexibility. They can choose what and how much they want to eat. This option can be a self-service buffet. Alternatively, there is a buffet served by chefs, as you would find in canteens or on a club vacation.
Although the served course menu is traditionally more popular, nowadays more and more wedding couples opt for the buffet. Wedding guests with food preferences have a free choice and can decide for themselves which dishes they want to eat. This saves the wedding couple the preparatory work and queries before the wedding. The buffet is also less formal and brings more movement and interaction between guests to the wedding party. If it is also a simple self-service buffet, fewer service staff are needed.
LIVE cooking stations are one way to spice up the buffet. Here, for example, the meat can be freshly cut with a Berkel machine. Pasta is freshly prepared, the meat freshly grilled and the dessert freshly flambéed.
Family dinner
Wedding buffets or served course menus are the most popular, but not the only wedding catering options for your wedding. The so-called “family-style dinner” is a new trend that has only been around for a few years at German weddings. You can think of it as the classic Christmas dinner with the whole family. In this case, the tables are already set with dishes. The service staff serve the food on platters and in large bowls. The wedding guests can help themselves at the table. However, this requires a lot of space on the tables. If there is not enough space, you can also work with tiered tables.
This type of catering gives you all the advantages of a menu and buffet. The only downside is that the tables will be very full. Nevertheless, like the buffet, it gives the wedding guests great flexibility. Guests can choose and look up the dishes they like. What’s more, guests don’t have to queue.
Buffet of appetizers at the table and served menu
The last wedding catering option is a combination of the family dinner (family style) and a course menu. This involves a starter buffet that has already been placed on the tables, a served main course and a served dessert. It is usually the case that the starters or salads have already been placed on the tables before the guests take their seats. This gives guests the opportunity to nibble on a little something as soon as they take their seats. The starters alone don’t require as much space on the tables. For the main course, however, as mentioned in the course menu section, the choice of dishes should be requested before the wedding.
We see this variant very often at international weddings, for example. They offer their typical national dishes as a starter. Their personal favorite dishes are served as the main course. This gives the catering an individual touch and stands out enormously from traditional buffets.
Whichever wedding catering you ultimately decide on, it is important that the guests leave the party with a good gut feeling. Look out for caterers with plenty of experience and good reviews. If the research, food selection and coordination overwhelm you, it’s best to talk to your wedding planner. They usually already have experience with good caterers and will also take care of smooth coordination on the wedding day.
