Unpopular Opinions- Buffets !

Nope, I love a buffet. Get to choose what and how much I eat

It sounds lovely. I think many people's buffet gripes stem from having to queue up for tired food and finding all the good stuff has already gone, you won't have that problem with the style of service you describe. Remember, the people on the unpopular thread aren't coming to your wedding, your friends and family are! They will just be happy to share the day with you and grateful for a feed whatever form it will take so try not to worry Make sure you double up the amount for veggies though as the meat eaters will eat all the veggie stuff too.

May not be helpful, but if I was going to an evening reception I'd go to see the couple on their special day, as long as the food was nice and of good quality (yours sounds like it would definitely be) then what it was wouldn't matter.

Some people are always going to be fussy ( one of our guests is coming to our meal but not having any food as he's openly admitted that he wouldn't eat any of it!), but as long as you're happy and it fits the season, time of day etc, I don't think you can go wrong with the menu you've chosen!

This would be absolutely fine at an evening reception. I think people were less convinced about buffets replacing a full wedding breakfast, but yours is an entirely different day.

I would wholeheartedly expect a buffet at an evening event.

No, I'd be fine with this. Love pastry.

I think the hatred for buffets doesn't apply to evening dos.

This. I have no problem with buffets. Wouldn't be too keen on one that sounded like a kids party e.g. cheese and pineapple hedgehog! but yours sounds lovely.

I don't have a problem with a buffet. When we were looking at venues we decided we'd rather have a buffet than pick for our guests and lump them with something we like but they might not. (Irrelevant decision in the end).

Most buffets at events we've been to have been lovely & we could eat as much as we wanted and could avoid foods we didn't enjoy.

Oh good,thanks for your replies- I was getting a little worried ! Vivipru- good point but we only have 1 vegetarian guest coming,the wife of a friend so I'm hoping she'll be ok with the quiche,salad,cheeses & breads. I'm not a fan of hot buffets myself,it reminds me of dinnertime at primary school !

Oh you're sorted then! It sounds lovely.

Exactly what Kharvo said.

I love food so it wouldn't bother me.

A friend of mine wouldn't touch them unless she's first up. She doesn't like the idea of other people possibly handling the food and putting it back.

Can I come? That sounds lovely!

I love buffets (but I'd only have it for evening do, birthday party etc), I'm a picker and prefer lots of bits of food on my plate rather than one big portion of a couple of items.

I would agree with the dislike of buffets when they are stodgy sausage rolls, curly sandwiches and chicken drumsticks. A friend had this at her wedding and I barely ate anything.

When I was including a day part to the wedding I was going to have a buffet with cold cuts of meat, salmon, cous cous etc. I had a fabulous buffet at another wedding and much prefered it to many sit down meals. When everything is 'good' you don't have the problem of rubbish stuff being left for later people. You can have a wide choice (4 desserts, yes please!) and it is relaxed if you want that sort of tone.

I am now having a BBQ so there will be a buffet element with sandwiches and dessert. I want to have a large cheese and biscuit buffet later in the evening, just cause I love cheese!

So, your buffet sounds excellent as you are avoiding the pitfalls of a buffet.

Im having a traditional buffet minus the pineapple hedgehog (wrong on too many levels lol). People can be so fussy and when we looked at a sit down meal that would cost us alot more there seemed t be no way of pleasing everyone, so and so doesn't like that and he doesn't like this. So in the end I said stuff it and we went for a buffet. Our buffet starts from 5pm and then is being refreshed at 7:30pm when our evening guests arrive.

? There will be no hint of hairy moggie in our buffet ! I know what you mean- I went to a party with a humungous buffet once and all the mums and nanas and aunties had made their bits & bobs. The majority of it was cold rock hard sausage rolls and soggy vol-au-vents with fillings that looked like sick-plus the ubiquitous curly sandwiches . Most of it got binned and I called for pizza when I got home !

With ours I was adamant I didn't want it on a table festering for hours-I wanted people to eat,then get on with enjoying the evening so I asked if it could be served to us at the tables,which they thought was a great idea-nothing worse than tables covered in plates of leftovers and cutlery on the floor all night !

I agree with what most people have said. I wouldn't have had a buffet to replace my wedding breakfast, but had one for my evening meal. Although at someone elses wedding I would be going to see them get married - being fed is a bonus so I wouldn't judge them for having a buffet as their main meal.

I don't mind buffets if they fit to the overall feel of the day as long as it is not the standard 'brown food' that is usually on offer.

My hatred for buffets doesn't apply do evening do's. Just when they are in place of a sit down meal at a full wedding. Queueing up for your dinner in all your finery is just not elegant.

I can't think of anybody who hasn't had an evening buffet. If you have a late meal then maybe just some bacon rolls or something later on, but you have to feed people or they'd just leave to go and get pizza or something. Sounds like my kind of food, too.

I wouldnt replace my wedding breakfast with a buffet because I am the kind of person that enjoys a sit down meal being served to me. I am however having a buffet for the evening so people can pick at it. As a day guest I view the evening buffet as the chance to nibble if I am peckish after the meal, as an evening guest I hope there will be nice food but it isnt really a concern, I wouldnt turn down an evening invite because I hated their choice of food. I would eat before I went or when I came back, no big deal to me. The last evening reception I went to I forgot we had food until I started getting peckish and remembered we were being fed.

Buffets for the day time are fine, as long as there are staff to serve any "tricky" bits, like a whole cooked salmon or something. Otherwise people move too slowly and it feels like you're back in the school canteen. I do like it when the groom goes and gets food for the bride aswell as himself, my friends hubby did this for her, so she wouldn't have to queue herself and it was soo sweet!!

I LOVE evening buffets though!! I'm usually a bit tipsy by this point and I love having a range of nibbly bits...saying this though I can't stand sandwiches in an evening buffet, the bread dries out really quickly and they looked tired and unappetising once the plate is about half empty. My new favourite (after attending 5 weddings this year) is cheese boards! About 4 or 5 different cheeses with crackers and a chutney or something...heaven!!

I agree with this-queuing up and then having to navigate back to your table with a full plate of food is not ideal- I wonder how many people have ended up dropping their plates or slipping over in those new heels *shudder*- this is the sort of thing that would happen to me !

I agree with everyone else - buffet for evening is expected.

Good selection of food covering all basis (good you only have one vegi)

Soggy sarnies are the norm; although up north we go for meat and potato pie and red cabbage nom nom.

i always head for the stodgy food to soak up the alcohol lol and avoid foods that aren't easy to scoff in case I plop it into my lap.

You've covered everything - I will pm my address for the invite lol

xx

? as long as I get an invite for the meat & potato pie and red cabbagefest! Sounds yum and just what i need right now instead of the salad Im about to eat...

I usually like something hot in the evening, so would like a few hot things rather than everything being cold. Thats just me though.

Buffets work fine but the following things I can't stand:

-Paper plates than bend when you put the food on, get soggy & spill food everywhere

-Plastic cutlery. I always end up snapping a fork prong off on something hard on the plate

-People letting their kids run aroud the room while guests are trying to get back to their seats. Also kids fingering the food on the buffet or even tasting it & putting it back

Well, there will be proper plates and cutlery and no children,so hopefully no half-chewed soggy bits of food left on the platters !