When determining your wedding food cost, a big factor will be how you’re planning on serving the meal. There are a few serving style options for weddings:
Plated: Otherwise known as a sit-down meal, your guests will be served their meal at their table by a member of the wait staff. There may be a single entrée option served or several entrée options, which your guests can either order in advance (usually on their RSVP card) or at the event. This is the most formal and traditional of wedding serving styles.
Buffet: For a more casual serving style, guests serve themselves from a buffet station. Fifty percent of couples choose a buffet-style reception.
Family-Style: Servers provide large platters of food to reception tables, and guests pass the trays around and serve themselves.
Cocktail-Style: A more modern service style, food is served via passed hors d’oeuvres and at stations. This allows guests to walk around, and mix and mingle during the reception instead of sitting at their tables.