Ghetto Weddings, II

[alphaiota]

agreed. i went to one wedding that at first i thought was a buffet, but come to find the buffet part was just the appetizers. we ended up having a nice sit down meal with filet mignon and chicken (yeah, two meats , but very good). then the dessert bar was a buffet style as well. they had cake on the buffet, but also had cookie, eclairs, etc. it was very fun and very nice.

shelley j
sigma k

[lil_sunshine]

I like buffets- maybe b/c I come from a family that looooooves to eat. I plan to have a buffet at my wedding when I get married (at least five years down the line), but I would prefer that my wedding guests be served by a waiter staff than go up and get their own food. The idea about the appetizer and dessert buffet sounds great, with the sit down dinner in between. To me, that would be classier than a buffet style dinner where it's every man/woman for himself/herself. JMHO....

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally posted by alphaiota
agreed. i went to one wedding that at first i thought was a buffet, but come to find the buffet part was just the appetizers. we ended up having a nice sit down meal with filet mignon and chicken (yeah, two meats , but very good). then the dessert bar was a buffet style as well. they had cake on the buffet, but also had cookie, eclairs, etc. it was very fun and very nice.

shelley j
sigma k

See, thats ok and how it should be for a more formal affair.

[Shelacious]

Originally posted by Exquisite5

What do you think-honestly? What is your perception of buffet/wait staff wedding? Do buffets say I'm trying to cut costs and I can't really afford this place?

I help folks with basic wedding planning, and while it is true that buffet receptions often do not have the same "elegance" as sit-down/wait staffed recpetions, I do think it can be done well.

From my experience, the real key to succeful buffets is three fold:
1. multiple stations
2. variety grouping
3. passed hors d'oeuvres if possible

1. The biggest challenge I have found with buffets are the lines--people standing in 3" heels and their Sunday best while the wedding party and lil' Leroy gets his plate is no one's idea of a good time. This problem can be minimized by having multiple "stations" scattered around the room. You can do this two ways--having the same food duplicated at each station, or, even better, to do variety groupings.

2. While multiple stations with duplicated food minimizes the line issue, it doesn't really address the issue of "elegance." So I like use the buffet to it's one main advantage over seated meals--the fact you can have a variety of foods/cuisines. So at one station, do a variety of cheese/crackers/fruits. At another, do Chinese. Another do Southern cuisine. Another could be the dessert bar or Italian foods. Dress up the stations/staff for the station in the colors/images of that cuisine. It's a lot of fun, and it really makes the buffet look purposeful rather than economical.

3. If you can hire a few folks to do passed hors d'oeurves between the wedding and reception (and/or a hosted bar) that lends an air of richness to the affair without actually having a seat dinner.

Just some thoughts about how to execute a more elegant buffet.

[alphaiota]

great suggestions. i'll have to remember all of that for when i get married (also about 5yrs from now probably)

shelley j
sigma k

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by Shelacious
I help folks with basic wedding planning, and while it is true that buffet receptions often do not have the same "elegance" as sit-down/wait staffed recpetions, I do think it can be done well.

From my experience, the real key to succeful buffets is three fold:
1. multiple stations
2. variety grouping
3. passed hors d'oeuvres if possible

1. The biggest challenge I have found with buffets are the lines--people standing in 3" heels and their Sunday best while the wedding party and lil' Leroy gets his plate is no one's idea of a good time. This problem can be minimized by having multiple "stations" scattered around the room. You can do this two ways--having the same food duplicated at each station, or, even better, to do variety groupings.

2. While multiple stations with duplicated food minimizes the line issue, it doesn't really address the issue of "elegance." So I like use the buffet to it's one main advantage over seated meals--the fact you can have a variety of foods/cuisines. So at one station, do a variety of cheese/crackers/fruits. At another, do Chinese. Another do Southern cuisine. Another could be the dessert bar or Italian foods. Dress up the stations/staff for the station in the colors/images of that cuisine. It's a lot of fun, and it really makes the buffet look purposeful rather than economical.

3. If you can hire a few folks to do passed hors d'oeurves between the wedding and reception (and/or a hosted bar) that lends an air of richness to the affair without actually having a seat dinner.

Just some thoughts about how to execute a more elegant buffet.

I got knocked off, but you posted exactly what I would have posted!!

One thing to add...

Presentation is a big thing with buffets. If you just have the cafeteria line looking silver chafing dishing lined up, it is not visually appealling. Use risers to vary the height of things, extra table linen draped artistically, food interspersed with pottery, flowers, etc. adds an air of elegance as well. The food should become a part of the display.

Regarding the costs, some buffets are more expensive than sit down dinners because of the variety and the fact that you usually have to have more food. With a plated dinner you have 1 chicken breast, scoop of rice and a scoop of beans; the caterer regulates the portion sizes. With a buffet, portion sizes are not regulated, so you have to get more.

[Shelacious]

Originally posted by Eclipse
I got knocked off, but you posted exactly what I would have posted!!

One thing to add...

Presentation is a big thing with buffets. If you just have the cafeteria line looking silver chafing dishing lined up, it is not visually appealling. Use risers to vary the height of things, extra table linen draped artistically, food interspersed with pottery, flowers, etc. adds an air of elegance as well. The food should become a part of the display.

Regarding the costs, some buffets are more expensive than sit down dinners because of the variety and the fact that you usually have to have more food. With a plated dinner you have 1 chicken breast, scoop of rice and a scoop of beans; the caterer regulates the portion sizes. With a buffet, portion sizes are not regulated, so you have to get more.

I agree w/you 100% Eclipse on both points above. Presentatin is key, and budget your $ accordingly--what you save in catering staff costs, you might spend for extra portions/food (especially if you do the variety option).

[Exquisite5]

WOW! Thank you guys so much! I greatly appreciate all of this info and will forward it on to my mom. I am still in law school at Howard in DC and the wedding will be in Houston where I am from so my mom is taking care of most of the stuff.

Thanks again!

[NinjaPoodle]

Ok, we are at the end of the summer. SOMEBODY had to have gone to a broom-jumping ceremony...

[DC_Zeta1920]

My wedding is in April 2007

I want a buffet because I like to eat...but I want a sit down because its seems more elegant. But I think I may make the appetizers and desserts buffet style.

[lostnfound117]

Originally posted by DC_Zeta1920
My wedding is in April 2007

I want a buffet because I like to eat...but I want a sit down because its seems more elegant. But I think I may make the appetizers and desserts buffet style.

Congratulations!!

[nikki1920]

One of the neatest things I saw at a wedding I went to last year was a mashed potato bar. You got a scoop of potatoes in a wine glass, and then had a selection of every topping imaginable (bacon, broccoli, cheese, gravy, etc.) I thought it was cute.

[alphaiota]

my friend did the buffet style appetizers and desserts but had a sit down meal. it was incredible. i was very very impressed.

shelley j
sigma k

[KSUViolet06]

Hi ladies,

I just attended a wedding in which the reception was held at the one and only Golden Corral.

[lostnfound117]

Wedding vision realized

By BILL OSINSKI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/31/05

The pastor's wedding party was bigger than most people's entire guest list.

Still, the marriage ceremony Saturday of the Rev. William Sheals, senior pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Norcross, and Patricia Kim was elegant, exuberant, and — despite several breakouts of spontaneous cheers from people in the nearly-packed, 2,500-seat sanctuary — traditionally reverent.

The wedding of William L. Sheals, pastor of Hopewell Baptist, and Patricia Kim featured 106 bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Sheals had seen it all before, in a vision, that is About two years ago, Sheals, 58, envisioned his second wedding as a time when all his assistant pastors, deacons and their spouses of the 18,000-member church congregation would stand up with him. Yesterday, 106 of them did.

The procession of 53 bridesmaids, dressed in gowns of old gold and holding bouquets of coral roses, and 53 groomsmen took nearly 15 minutes, even though they processed simultaneously down all three aisles of the church. The panoramic wedding party filled the steps to the altar on both sides of the wedding arch placed in the center.

Then Kim was escorted down the central aisle, which had been turned into a gauntlet of gauzy tuille cloth stetched between stanchions topped with candles and green-and-white floral arrangements. She wore an off-white strapless satin gown beaded with rhinestones. A diamond-and- gold headpiece came to a point at the center of her forehead.

A 40-year-old accountant, Kim had become the woman in Sheals' vision. He could not see her face when he first experienced his vision, but he saw Kim in the flesh for the first time last October. She had just joined the church, at the invitation of a friend and co-worker, who is also the wife of an assistant pastor at Hopewell.

He had just returned from a preaching tour of Korea, Kim's native country. They met, learned they shared the same birthday, and two months later they were engaged. This is the second wedding for both; Sheals has been divorced about eight years.

As Kim approached the altar, both she and Sheals were wiping tears from their eyes. Both appeared deeply touched by the power of the moment, amplified by a standing ovation and cheers from the entire audience.

As they joined each other under the arch, a profession of love pre-recorded by Sheals was played throughout the church.

"We were given a meant-to-be moment," Sheals said in his statement. "You lift my spirits, take my thoughts up to places where my troubles seem so far away. I know you're my soulmate."

The vows went swiftly, as pronounced by Bishop Paul Morton, senior pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Church of New Orleans.

His standard lines, "Whatever God has joined together, let no man break apart" and "I now pronounce you man and wife," were augmented by alternating jazz riffs from the keyboard. This is, after all, Hopewell, where there's soul in every service.

After rushing through the crowd of cheering congregants, the Rev. and Mrs. Sheals proclaimed themselves overwhelmed by the love shown them by their people.

"It was more than I ever expected," Pattie Sheals said.

And as for the pastor, his dream had come true. "The reality was greater than the vision," he said.