There are many factors that go into choosing what type of food service appears at your wedding. We have put together a description for each style of meal to help you better understand the options!
Plated Dinner
With a plated dinner, there must be seating for 100% of your guest count with assigned seats. Things to note for the caterers: where children are seated or any allergies people may have! Should you choose to offer a plated dinner with guests to pre-select their entree, you must provide a seating chart for guests to find their seat, along with place cards denoting each entree selection at each seat with a significant indicator visible to serving staff. You can also opt for a duo entree, where all guests are served the same meal, typically a land and sea protein which eliminates the need for additional stationary.
Family Style
Family style food service has a full place setting and a seat for each guest, but seats do not have to be assigned (only tables)! At a family style dinner, each dish is passed around the table to every person so they may take what they would like. If you imagine Thanksgiving, that’s what family style is! Keep in mind for this style of meal, there needs to be room on the center of the tables and more minimal decor to create enough room for the serving platters
Stations
Stations only require partial seating and offer the biggest variety of food options which are served as a small plate or tapas style. Stations allow you to have a diverse menu, since they are spaced throughout the reception you can mix and match styles of food. For example, you can have tacos, southern bbq, and pasta, the options are endless and can reflect the bride and grooms favorite cuisine! No seating chart or place cards are needed.
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