Wedding Food: Buffet or Plated Menu, and What the Kitchen Needs for Allergies and Vegan Guests
The question sounds like a matter of taste, but it has consequences for the whole evening: how long the meal takes, whether you need a fixed seating chart and how well allergies are accommodated.
The plated menu
Three or four courses, served at the seat. It feels festive, everyone eats at the same time, and between courses there is time for speeches. You need a fixed seating chart because the service staff must know who gets what, especially when guests choose between meat, fish and vegetarian in advance.
For three courses with speeches, plan a good two to two and a half hours.
The buffet
Everyone takes what they like and as much as they like. It is more casual, guests get up and mingle. It is harder for people with allergies, because labels are missing or spoons end up in the wrong bowl. Label every dish with the main allergens.
One drawback: lines. With more than 80 guests you need two sides or several stations. Call the tables up one after another.
Starter served at the seat, main course as a buffet, dessert as a station. That combines a festive start with casual continued eating.
Flying dinner
Small portions are passed around by service staff over hours. Very sociable, because nobody is tied to a seat. However, you need enough places to sit, or older guests stand all evening. And it is often not cheaper, because a lot of staff is needed.
What is cheaper?
You can't say across the board. With a buffet, more food is usually planned, with a plated menu more staff. Get a quote for both options and compare the prices per person including service. Tips on this in the article Cost per guest.
At a buffet the guests serve themselves. Have every dish labeled with the main allergens. For guests with severe allergies, a separate plate served at the seat is safer.
Allergies and vegan guests: what the kitchen really needs
At almost every wedding there are guests who eat vegetarian or vegan, have an allergy or must avoid gluten. For the kitchen that is no problem, as long as they know in good time exactly who gets what and where that person sits.
Ask early and with fixed options
Ask about allergies and diets right with the RSVP, not just two weeks before the celebration. Ideally with fixed choices (meat, fish, vegetarian, vegan) and a free field for allergies. Free text like "eats little meat" doesn't help the kitchen. For allergies, also ask how serious it is. A lactose intolerance is something different from a nut allergy where even traces are dangerous.
Hand it over seat by seat
"There are four guests with celiac disease" is not enough. The service staff must know: table 3, seat 2, Anna Meier, gluten-free. Only then does the right plate arrive at the right seat without questions. A small symbol on the place card, such as a leaf for vegan, helps with serving and bothers nobody as long as it stays discreet.
A few portions in reserve
Plan two or three more vegetarian portions than registered. Almost always someone changes their mind on the spot. Children often get a menu of their own, and pregnant guests who avoid unpasteurized cheese or raw fish belong on the list too.
The kitchen list for the catering should include in the end:
- Total number of meals by type (meat, fish, vegetarian, vegan, kids)
- Breakdown per table
- Allergies with name, table and seat
- Contact person on the evening (a witness) with a mobile number
In FloraWed, food preferences and allergies are attached directly to the guest. The export center turns them into a kitchen list per table, with allergies marked in red.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a seating chart with a buffet?
Not necessarily, but it is often more relaxed. More in the article on open seating.
What if guests haven't pre-ordered anything for the menu?
Then they get the standard dish. So ask for the meal choice with the RSVP.
Do you have to list allergens on the menu card?
For the menu card it is voluntary, but for the catering it is essential information. Ask your caterer how they label allergens.
Meal choice per guest
Record meal and allergies for each guest, and the kitchen list per table is created automatically.