When planning your dream wedding, you have an endless number of decisions to make involving your reception. Decisions like location, music, decorations, and last but not least food. There are several different options you have when it comes to formulating your menu and you’ll want to take both the venue space you are working with and what type of event you would like to host in consideration. For example, if you wish to have a formal seated dinner but you have limited space to work with, you may have to either downsize your guest list or consider having a less involved, and usually less expensive, cocktail reception. In the old days, there was but one wedding reception format. However, you are a lucky bride and now there are a number of different formats to the modern wedding reception. In this article, we’ll examine the benefits and detriments to each type of menu format. Sample menus of all formats can be found on our website at
http://www.nocatering.com/contact.html.
First, we’ll examine the most traditional menu style; the seated dinner. Seated & Served Dinners are usually the most involved and for that reason, the most expensive. Seating is provided for everyone in either 48” tables, which seat six guests, or 60” tables, which seat eight. The table is set for formal dinner and the glass, dinner and flatware can include, water goblet, red wine glass, white wine glass, charger plate, dinner plate, bread & butter plate, bread & butter knife, dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, soup spoon, coffee spoon, and a dessert fork or spoon, depending on your menu. Linen napkins are used, displayed in a variety of ways. It makes for a stunning and elegant appearance. Your guests will normally have a cocktail period, 45 minutes is sufficient, and then after seating, will be served by traditional waiters and butlers. While the seated dinner is the most luxurious option, it can limit the number of choices of food the guests will be eating. No more than three options are given, usually a beef or chicken, a fish, and a vegetarian.
Buffet dinners cut down on service staff and rental equipment needed, so they are typically less expensive.
A long table is set up on one side of the room and guests take a plate and move down the line, serving themselves as they go. Buffet attendants will replace the food as the pans are emptied. A buffet menu looks much the same as the seated dinner menu. But long lines can lead to unhappy guests. Sometimes a double-sided buffet or two identical buffets are needed to relieve the lines. As in the seated dinner, seating must be provided for everyone.
Food stations are similar to buffet diners, except the “line” is split up around the room. You can typically serve your guests a wider variety of food at one of these events because the portions are smaller. The uniformed chef stands behind the station and serves your guests as they walk up on smaller, cocktail size 7” plates. This format is much more efficient at serving your guests and promotes a good flow to the room. After all, no one wants their guests to sit down and stay there all night long. You want them to dance, mingle, and move. We recommend providing seating for about 30% of your total guest numbers. The cocktail tables are smaller 30” cocktail tables with four chairs and guests will sit down to eat, get up, and our butlers will clean off the table for the next round of guests. Food stations can also offer an interactive element with “action stations” like a carving station, omelet station, maybe even an ice cream sundae bar!
Then there is the cocktail reception. These events work best in small lounge settings. You can rent comfortable couches, chaises lounges and overstuffed chairs so guests can relax and mingle. Hors d'oeuvres are cooked onsite and passed around on silver trays. You can offer a couple of signature cocktails at the bar and have them passed also. Choosing to offer a cocktail buffet table with a couple of dips, vegetables, and cheese would be wise. Timing is crucial to this type of event. You don’t want to hold a cocktail reception at dinner hour, have your guests show up expecting dinner and leave early because they are starving. You want your wedding to be memorable and guests to not even think about leaving. You could also offer a dessert reception, with small pastries and hand held desserts featured.
However you choose to serve your food, work with your caterer closely to design the right menu and style for you. Spend some time thinking about what you want before you contact your caterer. Be open and upfront abut what you want to eliminate unnecessary labor on both yours and your caterer’s parts. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations on venues, photographers, florists, etc. Your caterer has their ear to the ground of the wedding industry and can save you tons of time. You want a reception that is unique as you and your fiancé are, and a night that everyone will remember. And with careful planning and communication, you can achieve just that.
When planning your dream wedding, you have an endless number of decisions to make involving your reception. Decisions like location, music, decorations, and last but not least food. There are several different options you have when it comes to formulating your menu and you’ll want to take both the venue space you are working with and what type of event you would like to host in consideration. For example, if you wish to have a formal seated dinner but you have limited space to work with, you may have to either downsize your guest list or consider having a less involved, and usually less expensive, cocktail reception. In the old days, there was but one wedding reception format. However, you are a lucky bride and now there are a number of different formats to the modern wedding reception. In this article, we’ll examine the benefits and detriments to each type of menu format. Sample menus of all formats can be found on our website at http://www.nocatering.com/contact.html.
First, we’ll examine the most traditional menu style; the seated dinner. Seated & Served Dinners are usually the most involved and for that reason, the most expensive. Seating is provided for everyone in either 48” tables, which seat six guests, or 60” tables, which seat eight. The table is set for formal dinner and the glass, dinner and flatware can include, water goblet, red wine glass, white wine glass, charger plate, dinner plate, bread & butter plate, bread & butter knife, dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, soup spoon, coffee spoon, and a dessert fork or spoon, depending on your menu. Linen napkins are used, displayed in a variety of ways. It makes for a stunning and elegant appearance. Your guests will normally have a cocktail period, 45 minutes is sufficient, and then after seating, will be served by traditional waiters and butlers. While the seated dinner is the most luxurious option, it can limit the number of choices of food the guests will be eating. No more than three options are given, usually a beef or chicken, a fish, and a vegetarian.
Buffet dinners cut down on service staff and rental equipment needed, so they are typically less expensive. A long table is set up on one side of the room and guests take a plate and move down the line, serving themselves as they go. Buffet attendants will replace the food as the pans are emptied. A buffet menu looks much the same as the seated dinner menu. But long lines can lead to unhappy guests. Sometimes a double-sided buffet or two identical buffets are needed to relieve the lines. As in the seated dinner, seating must be provided for everyone.
Food stations are similar to buffet diners, except the “line” is split up around the room. You can typically serve your guests a wider variety of food at one of these events because the portions are smaller. The uniformed chef stands behind the station and serves your guests as they walk up on smaller, cocktail size 7” plates. This format is much more efficient at serving your guests and promotes a good flow to the room. After all, no one wants their guests to sit down and stay there all night long. You want them to dance, mingle, and move. We recommend providing seating for about 30% of your total guest numbers. The cocktail tables are smaller 30” cocktail tables with four chairs and guests will sit down to eat, get up, and our butlers will clean off the table for the next round of guests. Food stations can also offer an interactive element with “action stations” like a carving station, omelet station, maybe even an ice cream sundae bar!
However you choose to serve your food, work with your caterer closely to design the right menu and style for you. Spend some time thinking about what you want before you contact your caterer. Be open and upfront abut what you want to eliminate unnecessary labor on both yours and your caterer’s parts. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations on venues, photographers, florists, etc. Your caterer has their ear to the ground of the wedding industry and can save you tons of time. You want a reception that is unique as you and your fiancé are, and a night that everyone will remember. And with careful planning and communication, you can achieve just that.
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