Wedding buffet - the most complete guide

Buffet or banquet?

When champagne and canapés are served upon guests' arrival, followed by a traditional dinner, there is no question. But what if you are thinking about replacing the banquet with a buffet? This is worth doing if:

you want guests to socialize and have fun rather than sit at tables
There is no kitchen on site and you will have to order catering
you plan to serve unusual dishes that the site chefs do not offer
most of the guests are young people

Sometimes, on the contrary, a banquet will be the best choice - for example, if many older guests are invited or the venue has a kitchen where they prepare decent food.

Apron Catering

Appetizing menu for a buffet table

The menu for such a “modest” feast does not contain dishes with complex preparation. Often these are light canapes, airy tartlets, berry and fruit desserts. Any girl can create easy masterpieces; to implement curly or more complex recipes, you can resort to the help of specialists.

Depending on the number of guests, a tentative menu is drawn up. The bride begins to look for delicious recipes that are relevant to the time of year and the preferences of those around her. The buffet table, in essence, is an opportunity for a light snack until it’s time for the festive feast. To do this, you can treat your guests to the following cuts:

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– meat, it uses sausage or meat products of any kind;

– cheese, its shape is more like a triangular one, or balls are cut out and put on a skewer;

– fruit, apples, kiwi, bananas, oranges, peaches – cut into slices;

– light sandwiches made from crackers or toast, spread with butter, garnished with red caviar.

If the buffet table is held at home, you can prepare simple snacks that do not take much time to prepare and satisfy your appetite well. Some ideas for such dishes:

Mini pies with various fillings will appeal to adults and children; everyone will want to try the delicious pastry.
Unusual sandwiches with chips. To do this, put a salad of tomato, herbs and mayonnaise on a large chip. It is not forbidden to decorate such a masterpiece with red or black caviar.
80 grams of Roquefort cheese mixed with tsp. lemon juice, garlic and herbs. The resulting greens fill the tartlets. For additional product, you can use green cucumber.

In addition to what you cook, it is important what guests will drink. There should be 2 tables on one with alcoholic drinks (wine, cocktails, champagne), on the other with non-alcoholic drinks (juices, compotes, milkshakes or mousses).

What should a wedding buffet look like?

Delicious. Despite the fact that the focus on food in this case is less, this format is unusual and will therefore attract more attention.
Unusual. Professional catering will offer interesting combinations of products.
Aesthetic. Serving and presentation are no less important than the taste and freshness of the food, so choose only those catering companies whose portfolio seems attractive to you.
Reflecting the couple's preferences and wedding style. You can put together a menu for any wedding style and preferences: from boho to classic, from vegan to low-calorie.

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Decor

The buffet area also needs to be beautifully decorated. And it’s better to start with candles, light bulbs or chandeliers that will decorate the space during the evening. Place an awning or tent nearby on the site so that there is somewhere to hide from possible rain. And also make a wedding altar with an arch and a white path to it.

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Hang garlands of light bulbs and green, ribbon or floral chandeliers above the guests' heads. This will add new colors to the decor and create a cozy atmosphere.

Decorate and serve the tables beautifully – they will attract the most attention. Use interesting unusual dishes and other decorative elements to match the overall style of the wedding.

Wedding buffet menu examples

Although the format of the event suggests that anything can be placed on the tables, there are categories of dishes that appear at weddings most often:

Mini bruschettas (toasted bread with toppings - e.g. prosciutto with cream cheese), mini sandwiches and mini burgers
Canapes
Mini salads
Unsweetened profiteroles (for example, with salmon or roast beef)
Other snacks (cheeses, meats, vegetables, etc.)
Hot food - often these are mini-kebabs or julienne, but there can also be full-fledged hot dishes
Desserts in shots (mousse, panna cotta) or in the form of mini-cakes
Fruits
Beverages

There is a reason

Example of a basic menu per person:

Canapes 4-5 pcs
Cold appetizers 3-4 pcs.
Mini salad – 2 pcs
Hot snacks 1-2 pcs
Beverages

If a banquet is not provided, hot dishes are added and the number of servings per person is often increased.

You can also arrange an unusual buffet to complement the banquet, focusing on a specific type of dish. Most often they make sweet tables, but you can create a table with farm cheeses, vegetables and even oysters.

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Innovations in the wedding feast

Compared to a classic wedding feast, the buffet is a mini celebration. Its duration is no more than 3 – 4 hours. After a stormy morning ransom and exhausting photo shoots, everyone needs to refresh themselves. For this purpose, guests are offered different food options. In a short time, guests will chat, discuss and dance a little.

The main advantages of a couple of hour celebration include:

A wedding buffet will be much more economical than an ordinary feast. With such a menu there are no hot dishes, which already reduces the total amount quite well.
You don’t have to rely on a strictly defined number of people. In this case there are no seats.
You don’t have to make place cards and decorate each individual table and chair.
Guests have the right to be anywhere throughout the holiday and sit wherever they wish. Chat with whoever you want. No one has their own specific place.
A wide variety of all kinds of dishes and snacks.
For this celebration, the presence of a host is not entirely necessary. You can divide the entire area into several zones - relaxation, dancing, photos with the newlyweds.

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With the help of a photo you can understand. What is a buffet table, and how profitable and interesting is it?

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Secrets of the organization

Even if you have invited only young guests, keep in mind that you need space so that everyone can sit down. Both regular tables with chairs and lounge areas with armchairs and sofas are suitable. If the wedding buffet replaces the banquet, give preference to tables - holding plates in your hands for several hours is very inconvenient.

Make different zones, for example, one table with appetizers, another with hot food, and a third with desserts. This way, guests will not crowd in line at one table, but will be evenly distributed at each table. Remember what buffet breakfasts look like at chain hotels? It should be the same for you.

Young Catering

To serve the event, waiters will be needed to replenish food supplies and clear plates. Typically, catering companies offer one waiter per 20 guests. He does not deliver food, but takes care of the tables on which the food is placed.

You will need dishes, tablecloths and napkins - usually the catering company brings everything for an additional fee. If you buy dishes yourself, take a lot in reserve, because people tend to put dishes anywhere and then forget about them. As a result, guests will take clean plates almost every time.

Allow time for serving and arranging dishes - this takes up to 2 hours.

Choosing a wedding

The wedding celebration takes place outdoors. This is a great option for a summer celebration. The fresh air improves your appetite, so it’s worth choosing the right snacks and drinks when planning your menu. Every couple who decides to sit outside closed walls should know a few rules:

Any flat surface, not necessarily a table, is perfect for an outdoor buffet. The main thing is that the item on which the dishes were placed fits perfectly into the wedding decor.
To save space, experts recommend using the layering method, several tiers. To decorate each floor, you can use lace fabric, colored paper or satin ribbons.
Any buffet includes mini snacks that are easy to eat without the use of cutlery.
To make snacks not only tasty, but interesting, the cuts are created in different shapes. This applies to both vegetables and fruits.
You shouldn’t stock up on forks and knives; holiday skewers or toothpicks are appropriate for this occasion. Such dishes are usually placed on trays, which greatly simplifies their use.

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Entertainment at the buffet table

Since the host, as a rule, is absent from such events, its main organizers - the newlyweds - are responsible for entertaining the guests. Most often, the time allotted for a feast does not allow for a large-scale entertainment event. Therefore, guests calmly communicate with each other and congratulate the newlyweds. One of the most popular and successful entertainment options is the installation of a photo zone. It is better if there are several sites for an impromptu photo shoot, and a separate photographer should be invited to each. Board games or sports games can be offered as additional entertainment.

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Appetizers and salads for a summer wedding

First of all, the holiday table should look beautiful and varied. Therefore, the main part of the feast is a variety of cuts, appetizers and festive salads.

A wedding is a fairly expensive event, especially if you are creating a menu for a wedding of over 70 people in the summer. Let's look at a few tricks that will allow you to create a delicious, satisfying table without spending too much.

You shouldn’t make several dishes in huge salad bowls; it’s better to divide them into several parts and place them around the table. This way, it will be more comfortable for the guests and the table will look richer.

Various cuts can be served as appetizers:

vegetable;
cheese plates;
meat;
seafood or fish slices.

The emphasis should be on meat and vegetable snacks and cuts, as they will turn out to be more budget-friendly.

Chopped vegetables should be decorated with herbs and sauce can be served with them.

Cold cuts are most often made from boiled pork and several types of sausage. Such dishes can also be decorated with olives, cherry tomatoes of different colors and a variety of seasonings.

Seafood is a must on the table.

If the wedding is in a traditional style, then it could be herring and onions.

But still, salted fish (possibly of different varieties), sprinkled with lemon juice and sprinkled with herbs, is most often used.

You can also add shrimp, mussels or squid to your fish plate

It is important to note that you should not mix smoked and salted fish on one dish.

But in general, fish can be served in another form, for example, as a hot dish.

Cheese plates combine several types of cheese: soft (mozzarella, feta or goat), with mold (cheaper analogues can be used), hard varieties (suluguni, parmesan, gouda or cheddar).

Semi-hard cheeses can be cut into thin slices, while soft and hard varieties should be cut into small triangles or cubes.

Additional ingredients laid out along with the cheeses are considered mandatory; grapes, crackers, olives, dried fruits, various sauces or jams are suitable for this.

The cheese can be served in another form, for example, by cutting mozzarella and tomatoes into large slices, pouring oil over them and placing them on a dish. Elegant and simple, and, as they say, simplicity is the key to success.

They are easy to prepare, and the likelihood that guests will like them is much higher.

Light salads are perfect for a summer holiday:

carrots or cucumber with garlic;
apples with carrots (not everyone will like it);
white cabbage with sour cream and salt;
eggs with rice;
marinated Brussels sprouts with mushrooms (a treat for true gourmets).

But you can’t do without traditional recipes, because everyone will be happy to see Olivier, herring under a fur coat, crab salad, salad with mushrooms and chicken or mimosa on the table.

In addition, a menu for a summer wedding for 50 people cannot be complete without canapés and tartlets. Guests can make canapes themselves if they add a large variety of other ingredients to the cuts (meat and cheese) and place skewers on the side.

Tartlets will really become a tasty and more than satisfying treat. They can be made with caviar, mushrooms (or julienne), pate, mixed vegetables dressed with mayonnaise, crab salad, and in general with anything. With their help, the question of what to cook for a wedding in the summer is resolved quite simply.

How to make beautiful tartlets, detailed in the video;

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