Is everyone have a sit down meal?

We're having a sit down meal purely because is was included in our package

however a buffet of hog roast in the summer would of been something we

would of looked into,

at oh sister's wedding she had a cold buffet and it was yummy and nobody complained

it's also easier too i suppose in some ways!

don't feel tight there's nothing wrong with a buffet x

Were having a 6 course sit down meal & my wedding is July .... thats the tradition in my family & to be honest I want it - I love my food & think its one of the very very rare times of the day the bride gets to sit on her bum!

We are because it is included.

Like Rebecca, if it was summer we would have looked more towards buffet/hog roast.

Been to weddings with several options and it hasn't mattered either way - all have been as good as each other!

Yes ours was in the package with the hotel. I quite like a sit down meal with everyone, feels a bit more "weddingy" to me, dont ask me why.?

As we'll be at the beach, we're having a BBQ. Both of us much prefer things to be fun and relaxed then anything too formal.

WSS!!!ours was included also

Hello

We are also getting married in August (2012) We havent yet booked a venue yet, but have decided that if the venue we like offers it we are going to go for a Hog Roast with crackling, stuffing, baps, salads, pasta's etc. We would both love it - and generally it works out cheaper (we have 80 people to feed) However, the venue we like only give the option of a three course meal so that is something we are going to discuss with them this week.

Ive also decided (to save money) rather than doing evening buffet, we are just going to get a top of the range chocolate fountain with loads of fruits & cakes - I worked out it will save us over £1000

Personally I think the guests should apprichiate whatever you choose to feed them, and they need to understand you have a lot of people to feed and it can get expensive and if they dont like it, I would make a suggestion to them to go elsewhere for their dinner (obviously in a more polite way)

Katie x

That's so fab!!

Can't wait to see the pictures from the day !

We are August and also having a buffet - OH is plumping for a cold finger buffet, I am pushing for a hot carvery style buffet. I can see your point about wanting hot food when we are praying for a hot day - I usually plump for a sandwich for tea when it's hot. Haha.

We are having a buffet as we have 150 guests and to serve a 3 course meal to them would have taken 3-4 hours - well, we get married 3-4pm, then photos, and expected arrival at venue is 6pm. 4 hours takes me to 10pm and then we only get 2 hours to party?! It just wasn't going to work for us!

I don't feel stingy (now) as if we go for the cold buffet we will provide an afternoon tea on arrival (our fave cakes, little sandwiches, scones, teacakes, tea, coffee, OJ etc)

It is going to be formal in the manner of sitting at your designated table, "proper cutlery and crockery" etc rather than walking around with paper plates in ones hand as used to be the norm in years gone by... lol

Yep, we too are having about 100 guests and not getting married until 2.30 but a part of me thinks that a sit down meal is the "done thing" to do...?

I think it's all down to personal preference, KBS.

I'm not a huge fan of buffets for the same reason as Trickers. It works well for some people though and you should do what's right for you both.

Also agree with KBS and Trickers re: Queuing being like school - to avoid this we are having 2 buffet tables with exactly the same food but on different sides of the room and a seperate one for kids too as they can take forever and get really messy.

My mom's pulled a face and offered to pay the "extra" to have a sit down meal, but the buffet + afternoon tea costs the same as a sit down choice, it's more of a personal choice then a budget choice for us IYSWIM, so I don't feel bad.

Plus - most of my family's wedding are home catered cold beige buffets - some of the family think I am being a snob just having caters. ?

We're having a formal sit down meal, it was included in the venue price, but also I like the traditional feel of it.

However, my brother and SIL had a sit down buffet like you're describing and it was lovely (well I say lovely, I was a wee bit past tipsy to really know what I was eating lol) but it went down well with everyone.

They got married on a ridiculously hot July day, we're getting married late August but hoping for nice hot weather! We're having a bbq in the evening

I dont like the thought of buffets with food thats been sat there for hours and people breathing over it so i would always go for a sit down meal.

We are having a sit down meal because there was very little difference in price between the two & it will also be easier to keep my FFIL & FMIL at opposite ends of the room so there won't be any punch ups until all the speeches are out of the way! I think a sit down meal does 'feel more weddingy' but I think a lot depends on your venue, the sort of people you are inviting & also the personalities of the B&G. Some people can really pull off a more informal buffet whereas others would be better off sticking to the traditional sit down meal IMO ?

We're having a sit down for close family in the afternoon but for the evening (which is when the party with everyone is) we're having a BBQ. Can't wait. Go with whatever you preferm, there is no right or wrong. We're giving a few options for our sit down as I agree a full meal in summer (which is when we're getting married) can be a bit much for some. At the moment I'm thinking of having the lighter salad option for me, although I'll probably end up being the only one with it! :-)

Hi

We are hoping for an afternoon tea with an evening bbq. My OH is a bit fussy. ?

The venue I am considering does a cold meats and salad which I also fancy......they put salad bowls on the table and the meat is waitress serverd.

Do what suits you.x

Maybe I didn't put it across well (I am crap with words) - I tend to agree with you and CB TBH if it was viable I would much prefer it served (be it hot or cold food). I work at a wedding venue and the venue staff serve me everyday and are Silver service trained, so I going to get a shock on the wedding day when I have to get up and do my own! haha. (We're not getting married where I work btw).

To all the OMs (well Trickers since you are here!) can I be nosey and ask, how long did the food take to come out in terms of what was the time from the first meal coming out to the last meal coming out for say starter and then main course? Our work balls cater for about 150 and by the time we get our food and tuck it (and do the whole ettiqute of waiting for everyone on the table, who have 4 different meals) we are talking 10-15 mins - our Xmas venue was awful as we had tressle tables of 14 to wait for and my turkey was nearly back to being frozen again! haha.

@ Mrs A to B - Generally food should never be left sitting anywhere on a buffet as under H&S laws cold food can only be left uncovered for 90mins and hot food for 30 (I think, it may be less, certainly at my friends wedding it was rotated every 15mins).

I guess it depends on the venue and 'feel' of the wedding - our venue is by the sea and a sit down meal isn't an option but they do various types of BBQ buffet which really suits both the venue and the laid back feel we want to create, but if it wasa more formal venue this might not work!

You just have to consider what type of atmosphere you want to create and what you want to eat too!

We are having a buffet as we wanted the informality of it - people are able to choose where to sit and who they would like to talk to. Being stared at on a "top table" while we eat is our idea of hell!

We are having a sit down meal at a nice quiet pub for family, witnesses and best friends. Then a buffet on the night time. xx

If we do go for the buffet then we will still have the table plans etc and the guests will know where they are sitting, having the top table etc..

I would prefer to have a traditional sit down meal to make it easier for some of our guests who have young children/mobility problems, but because we've having a village hall reception where we have to hire all the crockery, cutlery etc in, plus the food costs on top, it's far too expensive for our budget. So we've compromised on a served BBQ and will send the tables up one by one to get their food. We still plan on having a seating plan, proper table settings etc. Dessert will be served to the tables though. It's not ideal but I figure we can get away with it as it'll be August, we'll have an informal feel to the day anyway and only have around 80 guests.

Now here's an idea and I don't know if it could actually work but it was something they used in an Asian Fusion restaurant in Bahrain (not - not deliberately dropping names of exotic locations lol) They had a sort of 'sit down buffet'. Each table had a menu of the items on offer and you picked x amount of appetisers, x of main courses, x of rice/noodles, x of veg and shared them round the table. Part of the fun of course was actually trying to decide what to have.

Ok, second thoughts now I've seen it written it might not be such a good idea. I still think a buffet would work. Though not weddingy, have been to some amazing buffets that worked well because the layout meant there were 2 lots of everything in different places and the way the room was set up prevented the 'school dinner hall' feeling.

I don't mind buffets at smallish weddings. My friend had 150 guests at her wedding last year and had a cold buffet. The food was quite nice, but we were the last table to go up and we were waiting for AGES!! Also, I desperately wanted cheese cake for dessert, but by the time we were allowed up they only had fruit gateau (which I don't really like). Logistically, it didn't work with that many people up and out of their seats.

This can happen at small weddings too though, if you have 25 people at your wedding then your still going to have a queue and the last person invariably won't get what they wanted because of the "not catering for everyone" rule.

My friend had 60 people to his wedding and catered for 80% as advised by his venue, as 40 had been Day guests to the sit down breakfast. I was an evening guest and go no food - literally none by the time I got to the front of the queue, not even the cheese board was left! I wasn't impressed as I'd driven from Southend to Milton Keynes so had no dinner, and it meant guests got even more drunkened.

I have also been to the other extreme where people have catered for 100% & there has been so much food left at the end which the B&G had paid for that guests were taking it home in doggy bags. Felt so sorry for the B&G as it was quite embarrasing how much food was left.

I have chosen a proper sit down meal just as that is what I personally prefer. OH would have loved a hog roast served buffet style, but I just like the thought of everyone coming together in posh outfits and being served a bit of luxury food. And me presiding over everyone like a queen of course! lol OH gets his way for the evening food later on, bacon and sausage sarnies all the way! I am not keen on the idea (the thought of greasy food near people's clothes - no!) but it makes OH very happy and a few people have told me they would much prefer a bit of stodge for drinking on rather than boring old butties and salads.... again it is what you and your hubby to be decide makes you happiest on your budget!!