Have you ever been to a reception with family style catering?

[sunnygirl]

Hi everyone

I think this is a record number of posts for me today! I am on vacation and have basically enjoyed sitting on my butt, watching TV, and surfing the internet all day. This is the life.

So I was originally planning on doing a buffet reception, mostly because we decided to go with Persian food (I''m Persian, FI is Greek but there is a lot of overlap and we were going to have Greek-style stuff in there too.) But the more I think about it, the more I think our reception site might not be big enough for buffet tables and I like the feel of sit down better. And I worry about people waiting in lines etc. Unfortunately, Persian food really can''t be done plated because of the way it is and also because I want to make sure people have choices. My mom heard about a Persian wedding that was done family style and I thought this sounded cool. Have any of you been to a wedding like this? I am not sure how the logistics of it would work...where do the dishes go? Is it too disorganized? etc

Thanks in advance!

 

[laine]

My mom went to a wedding where the food was served family style, and she said it was great. Can''t offer much advice on the logistics, since I wasn''t there, but
I would think it work work best with round tables of 8 or 10 (not too big, not too small), and that you can''t have too much centerpiece, since all the platters will go in the middle.

 

[Gypsy]

Hi Sunny, I'm persian too. I think that with a persian greek wedding family style would be a good option, personally. I'd just make sure to keep my centerpieces and table decorations in such a way as too allow for the family style. And I'd make sure to have A TON of food on each table.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Hi Sunnygirl! I''ve been a guest at a wedding where pakistani cuisine was served, family-style, to tables of 10. It worked out fairly well, but to tell the complete truth I think everyone took much smaller portions of each item out of courtesy to the remaining guests at the table. Inevitably, people politely decided to not take "the last piece" as well as not taking a second serving, and I think a many people were still mildly hungry (yet full of decorum!) at the end of the meal.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 12/17/2007 9:10:14 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
Hi Sunnygirl! I''ve been a guest at a wedding where pakistani cuisine was served, family-style, to tables of 10. It worked out fairly well, but to tell the complete truth I think everyone took much smaller portions of each item out of courtesy to the remaining guests at the table. Inevitably, people politely decided to not take ''the last piece'' as well as not taking a second serving, and I think a many people were still mildly hungry (yet full of decorum!) at the end of the meal.

I was thinking this might be the case. That''s why I suggested a TON of food on each table. So that people can fill up... AND leave left overs to be polite.

 

[FacetFire]

I haven''t been to one, but I think it sounds like a great idea. I read in some magazine that it is a good way to encourage conversation between guests, because the food passing and sharing acts like an icebreaker for folks who don''t know each other well. I would love to go to a reception like that!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

We did this for our wedding, and it worked like a charm! Our guests raved about the food and the unique presentation of it.

Our cuisine was Italian, and it fit the whole feel of our winery wedding.

We had a pretty simple centerpiece (hurricane candle & votives), and didn''t have much more going on with the table- no favors, individual menus, etc... The servers kept an eye on the platters, and quickly whisked them away once they were empty. They also helped serve some of the dishes in order to keep things moving along.

I would really recommend going this route!

 

[eks6426]

The family style wedding is fairly common in my area. It''s done with Polish food but the same sort of idea...platters of food passed around at each table of about 10 people. I agree that people tend to be polite and only take small amounts. If you have your servers replenish the empty platters at the tables, people will be more likely to take 2nds because they''ll know that a 2nd platter will arrive.

By the way, what is Persian food? I love ethnic food but I don''t think I''ve ever had Persian?

 

[musey]

I''ve never been to a reception with "family style" presentation, but it sounds really fun! A great compromise between buffet and plated.

And with persian/greek food?? YUM!

 

[sunnygirl]

Thanks for the replies! I think it sounds fun and now I just have to find a caterer with good food who is willing to do this (and do it well). I haven''t hired my florist yet but with the two we have met with, we discussed one large centerpiece so I dont know if this will work. Although the tables at my site are actually kind of oval-ish so there might be more room in the middle. I just think the servers would have to bring out more small dishes instead of huge platters.

And I hope people won''t be too polite! I''ll have to spread the word that there is plenty of food!

Island Dreams - Persian food is yummy if I do say so myself. Kababs, different types of rice dishes, different types of stew-type stuff to go on top of the rice. Flavors/ingredients include eggplant, walnut/pomegranate, and other delicious things that are hard to describe but taste great! If you have a Persian restaurant where you live, I highly recommend checking it out!

 

[ladypirate]

This wasn''t a wedding, but I just helped plan my company Christmas party, which was a sit down dinner for ~150. We did it family style and had lazy susans in the middle of each table, which helped a TON, since they could be spun rather than people trying to pass the food around. If you can find them where they''re fixed in the middle and only the outside spins, you shouldn''t have an issue with centerpieces either.

Good luck finding a caterer--I love Persian food!

 

[Pandora II]

I do them a lot for work events.

The important thing is to make sure there is enough of EVERY dish for all the people on the table to have a good amount and some left over. It''s a nightmare if everyone likes a certain dish and there is only enough for half the table.

 

[goldenstar]

FI''s sister had a family style dinner at her wedding at a winery in CA. It was fun! I think the menu was chicken, tri tip, and pasta. Then there was bread, vegetables, and potatoes. If I remember correctly there was 10 people at each table with a big plate of each item in the middle. The centerpieces were fairly small.

There was definitely enough for everyone to be totally stuffed. There were a lot of leftovers.