Planning A Wedding: Station Style, Tips And Tricks

Planning a wedding can be a daunting task, but one of the most fun parts is choosing a menu that fits your personality as a couple. Station-style catering is a great option for foodies, as it allows for creativity and unique menu items that you may not get with a plated menu. It's similar to a buffet setup but with mini buffets set up all around the room, encouraging guests to move around and mingle. You can mix and match different flavours and select a theme based on the vibe you're trying to capture for your wedding. Stations also help to spread guests around the venue, reducing congestion.

Choosing a menu that fits your personality as a couple

Planning a wedding menu that reflects your personality as a couple is one of the most fun parts of wedding planning. Station-style catering is perfect for foodies and offers a lot of creativity and unique menu items. It's similar to a buffet but with more movement and mini buffets set up around the room. This style of catering also encourages mingling and movement, creating a casual and social atmosphere.

When choosing a menu, consider selecting a theme that reflects the vibe of your wedding. For example, if you want a fun and interactive experience for your guests, you could offer a variety of toppings and flavours for them to mix and match. A pasta station or carving station are also specialised options that can be offered at food stations.

If you want to reduce congestion, ensure you have enough stations spread around the venue. A good rule of thumb is to have one station for every 50 guests, with a mix of self-service and staffed stations. Self-service stations can include items such as cheese, fruit, and cold appetisers.

To create a fluid dining experience, consider having guests enter, eat, and dance before the speeches and toasts. This way, guests can enjoy the food and socialise without feeling rushed.

Selecting a theme

When it comes to selecting a theme for your wedding, it's important to choose something that reflects your personality and interests as a couple. Think about the type of experience you want to create for your guests. For example, a classic wedding tends to be more formal, while a boho wedding is usually less traditional.

If you're unsure where to start, try picturing your perfect wedding day. Where are you? What is the guest experience like? How does the day feel? You could also think about the season and your venue for inspiration. For instance, if you're getting married in autumn, you might want to go for a spooky autumn aesthetic.

A defined wedding aesthetic will help you make important planning decisions, such as what colour palette to follow, how to decorate your ceremony and reception, and what type of food to serve. For example, if you choose a rustic theme, you might want to include lots of natural elements like wood and greenery in your decor, and serve comfort food like roast chicken or mac and cheese.

Don't be afraid to get creative and coin your own theme, like "beach meets desert" or "laid-back garden party." This will create a tailor-made, one-of-a-kind experience that truly reflects who you are as a couple.

Creating a dining experience for your guests

Station-style catering is a great way to create a unique dining experience for your wedding guests. It's an interactive way of serving food, similar to a buffet but with more movement and variety.

When planning your wedding, one of the most fun parts is choosing a menu that reflects your personality as a couple. With station-style catering, you can get creative and offer your guests a range of unique menu items that they might not expect at a wedding. For example, you could have a pasta station or a carving station, or even a hot dog station with gourmet toppings like ale mustard, kimchee, and pulled pork.

To ensure a smooth dining experience, it's important to have enough stations to avoid congestion. A good rule of thumb is to have one station for every 50 guests, and to include some self-service stations for items like cheese, fruit, and cold appetisers. This will reduce the amount of time guests spend waiting for service.

The timing of when you 'open' the stations is also important. Rather than having a formal cocktail hour followed by dances and toasts, and then opening the stations, it's better to have a more fluid timeline where guests can enter, eat, and dance at their leisure, with speeches and dances interspersed throughout the evening.

Reducing congestion

Station-style catering is a fun and creative way to serve food at your wedding. It's similar to a buffet but with more movement and variety. To reduce congestion, you can try the following:

Firstly, ensure you have enough stations. A good rule of thumb is to have one station for every 50 guests. This will help to spread people out and reduce crowding. You can also make some of the stations self-service, such as a cheese or fruit platter, to reduce the need for constant service.

Secondly, consider the flow of your event. Instead of having a formal cocktail hour followed by all the dances and toasts, and then opening the food stations, try a more fluid approach. For example, guests can enter, eat, and dance, and then you can have the speeches and more dancing later on. This will help to avoid a bottleneck situation where everyone is trying to access the food at once.

Thirdly, choose a variety of food options that will appeal to different tastes and dietary preferences. This will help to ensure that guests aren't all congregating at one particular station. For example, you could have a pasta station, a carving station, a salad bar, and a dessert station.

Finally, if your venue allows, consider spreading the stations out across the room or even in different areas of the venue. This will encourage guests to move around and explore, reducing congestion in any one area. By following these tips, you can ensure that your station-style wedding catering is a success and that your guests have a pleasant and enjoyable dining experience.

Phrasing your invite so people are not confused

Station-style catering is a fun and creative way to feed your wedding guests. It's similar to a buffet but with more movement and interaction, and it allows you to mix and match different flavours and foods that you love.

To phrase your invite so people aren't confused, you could say something like: "Join us for a strolling dinner and cocktail reception immediately following the ceremony." This makes it clear that food will be available right away and that it won't be a formal, sit-down meal.

You should also ensure you have enough stations—one for every 50 or so people—and that some of them are self-service to avoid a long wait for guests. The food served at each station should be based on the number of guests, so there's enough for everyone.

The timing of the stations is important, too. It's best to have a fluid schedule where guests can enter, eat, dance, and then enjoy speeches and more dancing later on, rather than having a formal cocktail hour and all the dances and toasts before opening the food stations.

Frequently asked questions