What's on you wedding menu?

[Chili1113]

Hello! We are in the process of choosing our menu for the wedding. Till now we are still torn whether to do sit-down or buffet. Please feel free to share you menus and share your thoughts!! =)

[Chili1113]

Ill get the ball rolling. Here are the menus we are choosing from.

SET MENU - 6 Courses
1. SALAD- Mandarin, Pear, Grapes on Mesclun Greens and Arugula with Shitake and Sesame Walnuts and laced with Strawberry Vinaigrette.
2. SOUP - Cream of Asparagus, Dinner Rolls and Butter
3. ENTREE 1- Seafood and Wild Mushroom Ragout in Cream Sauce and infused with Truffle Oil in Puff Pastry
4. SORBET - Fruit Medley on Tropical Sorbet
5. ENTREE 2- Fillet Mignon in Cabernet Sauvigon Reduction, Linguini Aglio Olio, Melange of Baked Vegetables
6. DESSERT- Stewed Green Apple in Phylo pastry on Caramel Mousse

-----OR-----

BUFFET - Additional 70k for 250 guests VS sit-down menu above
SALAD and APPETIZERS
Parma Ham with Melon
Shrimp and Avocado Cocktail
Cheese Platter
Assorted Sushi and Sashimi
Catfish Salad
Assorted Salad Greens
(Dressing: Ranch, Honey Mustard, Caesar, Thousand Island, Vinaigrette)

CARVING #1
Roast Beef Tenderloin Au Jus and Mashed Potato

CARVING #2
Cuchinillo

CARVING #3
Baked Ham with Condiments

TEMPURA STATION

HOT ITEMS:
Garlic Grilled Chicken with Red Wine Sauce
Fish Fillet in Lemon Caper Sauce
Penne Arrabiata
Steamed Rice
Baked Vegetables
Assorted Bread and Butter

DESSERTS
Fresh Fruits
Chocolate Cake
Baked Cheese Cake
Mango Pandan Jade

-----------------------------

Don't know what to pick! H2B wants the buffet. But I want the sit-down menu. I wonder which guests will be more pleased with, and which one has better value for money spent. Please help! Thanks!

[corpse_bride]

Ugh, darn.. Had a long reply but got deleted somehow..

Anyways..

Hi, Chili! Couple of things to consider when choosing sit down vs. buffet
• budget - are they priced the same? Will your budget allow sit down since it might cost more? If you go with sit down, do they have menu options for kids & guests with dietary restrictions?
• crowd - are they "used" to fine dining or they'd rather be stuffed? Though your sit down menu looks filling enough. Who needs chicken anyway?
• dress code - this is just me, but when you send me an invite & it says strictly formal, I expect to be served. Medyo "wa-poise" to be balancing your bowl of soup, sometimes there's a bowl of salad pa, plate of food & plate of dessert back to my seat in a long gown.
• caterer - do they have enough trained staff for sit down service? Not all caterers are competent enough in that aspect. Yes, they might have the manpower but not all of them are trained properly.
• portion size - this is when you go for sit down. Medyo natakot ako kasi with this one with my caterer. Parang pang-degustation yung sit down nila for 1 event I saw. Yikes.

As for your menu, both options sound yummy. Any naman would be good. Hope this helps!

[mimai1122]

For a wedding I helped coordinate:

Cocktails:

Coffee (can't be missing!)
Teas
Juices
Softdrinks
Wine
Crackers cut into squares
4 types of cheese
cocktail hotdogs
cube sandwiches

Dinner:

Soup
3 kinds of salad with 3 dressing choices (honey mustard, ceasar's, vinaigrette)
Pasta (spag for the kids, baked macaroni)
sweet & sour fish
BBQ skewers
beefsteak
chicken BBQ (we love BBQs!)
lechon baboy
lechon baka
Peppered Shrimps

And a dessert buffet, around three small long tables. There were cupcakes, small cakes, French macarons, and a chocolate fondue, among others.

Dinner drinks:

Wine
Softdrinks (in can)
Del Monte canned juices (a family favorite)
Iced tea

[Chili1113]

corpse_bride: WOW!!! Super insightful post. Thanks for all your tips!!!!

Budget:  I'll save about 70k if I choose the sit down. The buffet is 15% more expensive than the sit-down menu. Budget wise we can adjust and make any of the two options work.

If I could have it my way I would do the sit-down. BUT my fiance really wants to have a buffet! =( =(
He thinks it is more of a crowd pleaser and a safer way to cater to guests with dietary restrictions, or personal preferences, and food allergies.

But you know, your post just got  me thinking. We have a lot of things to consider! I have to consider pa pala my elderly guests!!  I cannot imagine them standing in line and balancing their plates.

Thanks so much corpse_bride!! Will discuss this further with my fiance.

mimai1122: Thanks for sharing the menu of the wedding you helped with!

[corpse_bride]

You're welcome, Chili. Those are the "reasons" I used on my fiancé kasi haha! Add to that the table layout I had in mind. With dietary restrictions naman, we requested for vegetarian & kids menu as well. Any experienced caterer could accomodate that naman.  Waaay cheaper than our regular 5 course mebu. Also, about 25-35% of our guests are over 50.

You can also consider your program flow. Some people kasi just leave after they're done eating. Unlike when it's served, you can ask the caterer to synch it with your reception program.

I'd love to share the menu choices I'm keen on here but can't seem to copy it when using mobile haha!

[meixin]

In my opinion, better din ang sit down. Sa mga napuntahan ko din kasi I find yung buffet style medyo magulo. Normally ginagawa di ba photo op with the couple sa harap bago magline sa buffet table para supposed to be mas organized. Kaso as I've observed sa ibang naattendan ko, some guests tend to just go directly dun sa buffet table once dinner service starts, so ang nangyayari nakatayo agad majority ng guest tapos nawawala din yung attention sa program nyo. Though this one depends naman on your type of guest. And like yung sinabi ni corpse_bride, may point nga yung medyo wa-poise when you're balancing stuff. And sa dami nung menu choices pag buffet parang feel ko na madaming malleft over din unlike pag sit down

[lourd3ss]

I've never been a fan of buffets at weddings especially if it's a formal one. So it was out of the question when I started planning my own. I feel like guests should be served their food instead of lining up to get it. My sister had buffet at her wedding and my cousin complained about the wait time lining up to get the food because her table was the last one to be called. I think regardless whether you pick sit down or buffet, people are gonna find something to complain about- whether it be food, service, set up, etc. So I'm just going with sit-down because that's what I want (even though my mom, FMIL, caterer have tried to persuade me with buffet lol). Haven't decided on the menu yet though.

[corpse_bride]

I think regardless whether you pick sit down or buffet, people are gonna find something to complain about- whether it be food, service, set up, etc.

Couldn't agree more!!!

[InquisitorLavellan]

That's true,  attended a sit down lauriat style Chinese wedding and someone complained walang kanin tsaka ang konti daw.  Attended a buffet later one,  some person from  complained na magugulo yung mga tao and walang class daw ang buffet. 

But I'd rather stress over other things thn what people might think.  Tayo naman ikakasal,  hindi sila

[whutup]

^First time ko ata makarinig na nakontian ng pagkain sa lauriat. Actually, never pa ata ako nakakain sa lauriat na walang natirang pagkain sa table!

For our wedding, lauriat kami since ~80% of our guests are Chinese. Between buffet and sit down, I think depende na sa kind ng wedding yan. Kung formal na naka gown lahat ng female guests, di talaga maganda buffet. Mahirap mag maintain ng poise habang bahay mo yung Plato hahaha! Kung di naman super formal, I think mas popular talaga sa atin ang buffet.

Side note: My sister got married earlier this year and my mother (na talagang super strict sa mga formality and etiquette) insisted na sit down talaga. So my sister and BIL paid extra for Russian service. Pag dating sa reception, super lala! Wala man lang effort na ayusin yung plating; parang sa cafeteria lang yung paglagay ng waiters sa food. Super bagal din ng pagserve sa food, considering one waiter per two tables ata yung ratio nila.

I guess my point is to make sure that if you're not having a buffet, make sure na kaya talaga ng caterer niyo since sanay talaga sila sa buffet lang. Sayang din kung mag sit down kayo tapos di pala nila kaya so papangit lang din. Although kung hotel naman yung venue niyo, I don't think it's going to be an issue since sanay na dapat sila sa ganun and their servers are really trained for that.

[Missus O]

^^@lourdes and @corpsebride That's the reason why we're having a buffet  service naman hehe. Whatever we do, people will always find fault hehe. We think that a buffet service will cater to different guests palate plus we have guests with different dietary restrictions and preferences. So instead of dealing with individual's choices we'll just lump them all together and hope for the best and pray that they will love what we had opted for.

@chili1113 - I've attended formal weddings wherein guests had buffet service, and yes at times it is a pain to balance food while wearing long gowns but it didn't really tone down the formality of the event. As a guest, I loved showing off my dress hahaha... I've also attended 6- course sitdown dinners, and as a food lover, I can't help but wish that I had more to choose from.

[rightback]

Hi sis Chili, I think it depends nga on your preference. In our case I honestly wanted sit down since its more formal and more friendly for the senior citizens Since we ended up with buffet, we opted for a more chill and semi formal vibe instead. For guys of course the would really want buffet especially if they have big appetites. I attended a wedding in your venue with sit down dinner and overall service was not so bad. I couldn't finish the food as well. Consider majority of your guests na lang. Are they the buffet type or the sit down type? Based on your chosen menu for either sounds delish naman.

[Chili1113]

wow!! Thank you so much for all your input meixin, corpse_bride, lourd3ss, MissusO, and rightback!! =)

rightback: I haven't attened a wedding in my venue i a long time haha! BTW how was the food presentation with the sit-down dinner you attended there? Glad to know their sit-down service wasn't bad!

[rightback]

food presentation was ok. Not too creative and not too shabby. But it was from the old caterer. not sure how the new one will perform. I hope they still have the same service staff though.

[Chili1113]

Thanks rightback!! I think they have their in-house staff working side by side with new caterer's staff. Thanks for the feedback!

[reese17]

Chili, your sit-down menu sounds yummy! I'd go for that one over buffet because it's harder to manage the line (and people's stomachs haha) when you do the latter.

I also agree that you can control the service and time it to your program I really wanted sit-down for my wedding but Enderun's menu was limited (though in hindsight, hmm, maybe I could have customized the way I did with my buffet...) and buffet was cheaper. My husband also said it was more festive -- true BUT a lot of people had to wait kasi nga we did the photos with each table having to come up on stage. It was really hard having to choose pa who'll go first! Hehe.

This was our menu pala:

SALAD & APPETIZER
Marinated Salmon with Cucumber Crème Fraiche
Chicken Liver Pâté with Shallot Confit and Melba Toast
Penne Pasta with Artichoke and Red Pepper, Rocket Pesto
Salad of Grilled Vegetables and Mozzarella Cheese in Basil Vinaigrette
Mesclun Salad Greens, with Dressings and Condiments

SOUP
Lemongrass-scented Pumpkin Cream Soup with Coconut Milk
 
MAIN COURSE
Cajun-spiced Chicken Roulade with Forest Mushroom Ragout
Pasta Vongole
Grilled Beef with Three Pepper Sauce
Grilled Tanigue Fillet (Piccata Style)
Seasonal Vegetables
Roast Potato Wedges with Caramelized Onions
Steamed Rice

CARVING STATION
Crisp Kurobota Pork Belly

DESSERT
Exotic Fruit Platter
Coffee Éclair
Assorted Fruit Tartlet
Baked Mango Cheesecake
Chocolate Brownie with Cream Cheese Icing
Vanilla Panna Cotta

[Chili1113]

Reese17: Your menu sounds so delish! It is making me really excited for this wedding I am attending in your venue at the end of the month. Heard they got buffet also!! =) =) Hahah I am hoping the have the pork belly carving station you had  at your wedding, because that sounds really good!

H2B and I really don't know what menu to choose and we need to make up our minds before our food tasting scheduled early January. So we decided to observe the weddings we will be attending this December, and make a decision based on our experience.

[charmed30]

Ours is this. Plus 3 types of cocktail food. I ordered kid's meal din.

Cold Items
Assorted Smoked and Marinated Seafood
Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast
with Cumberland Sauce
Grilled and Marinated Vegetable Combination
Steamed Baby Shrimps with Cognac Cocktail Sauce
Spanish Tapa Platter
 
Salads
Assorted Mesclun Greens,
Tomato Caprese
Cucumber
Potato
Waldorf

Dressings & Condiments
Thousand Island, French, Caesar,
Balsamic Vinaigrette Garlic Croutons,
Grated Parmesan Cheese, Bacon Bits

Bread & Rolls
Freshly-Baked Bread and Rolls served with Butter

Soup
Ox-tail Consommé with a Dash of Vintage Port and Cheese Straw

Carving
Baked Norwegian Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Show Cooking
Assorted Maki, Sushi and Sashimi selection
 
Hot Dishes
Australian Lamb Rack “Provencal”
BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Sunflower Seed Breaded Chicken Supreme with Mango Salsa
Monterey Jack Cheese-baked Prawns and Cream Dory
Belgian Carbonade of Beef with Crispy Onion
Beef Lasagna
Fresh Market Vegetables
Steamed Rice
 
Desserts
Assorted Fresh Fruit Platter
Mini- French pastries
Black Forest Cake
Marble Cheesecake
Crepe Samurai
Ice Cream Station with Toppings
 
Freshly Brewed Coffee or Tea

[reese17]

charmed30, who was your caterer? What a spread Haha, this thread is making me hungry.