When planning your wedding, you have to ask yourself and your soon to be spouse, whether you plan to have a buffet or a plated dinner. There are of course pros and cons to each choice. Buffet style allows guests to go up on their own, typically table by table to retrieve their food from the caterers who serve it. Unless the buffet is self served. Which sometimes it can be. Plated allows the guests to stay seated at their tables and the caterers will serve the food to them, much like a restaurant would. When deciding which way to go for your food, keep in mind the following pros and cons to each serving type. 

Buffet

Again, buffet style is when guests get up and go to the buffet tables to get their food. Whether self served or served by the caterers. Having buffet style can sometimes lead to running out of certain foods. As guests have the choice to pick whichever food they’d like. If self served, they may run out of certain items even faster if they over serve themselves. Although, buffet style is also typically much cheaper than plated, as caterers don’t have to plate all the food and serve it to each guest. Another benefit of choosing to do a buffet style, is that the food is in chafing dishes, so will stay warm from the first to the last guest served. 

Plated

Plated style is again, when the catering staff goes around the room and serves each individual guest their food already on a plate. Often this is a much more formal look to any event. Going with this style will make certain that every guest receives food and is not over served. It also ensures that if someone has a food allergy, they are served a meal specific to their dietary needs. The food is also often portioned out for every guest beforehand. Although, as caterers are plating every dish, the food has a much higher chance of becoming cold before being served to the guests. A plated option does also allow the chance for the bride and groom to let them decide their meal from a few set options months beforehand on the invitations. Then your guests will get what they asked for.

Both serving styles differ greatly but have benefits and downfalls of each. If you want a cheaper option where your guests pick what they want and are guaranteed a warm meal, a buffet may be the choice for you. But if you want a more formal look where guests are getting the same portions and served exactly what they asked for, plated might be the way to go.