The wedding meal: sit-down, buffet or cocktail dinner

A seated meal is the most comfortable and the longest; a buffet offers choice and shortens the service; a standing cocktail dinner encourages mingling but needs a lot of pieces and seating. The right choice depends on your guests, the room and the space you want to leave for the evening.

The seated meal

Everyone is seated, served, and nobody queues. It's the format that suits older guests and large family tables best. It needs the most staff and requires a seating plan. Allow three hours with the speeches.

The buffet

Guests choose what they eat, which simplifies dietary requirements. The service is shorter, but you need room for the buffet tables and smooth circulation. Have tables called one by one, otherwise the queue grows and the last people find dishes that have been picked over.

The cocktail dinner

Very sociable, it removes the seating plan and lets everyone move around. On the other hand, it needs far more pieces than a drinks reception, hot food stations so that people leave full, and enough seating that some guests can sit down at any time.

How to choose

• Your guests' ages: the older they are, the more a seated service is called for.
• The room: a buffet or food stations take up space.
• The evening: if dancing matters to you, avoid a four-hour dinner.
• The budget: compare complete quotes, staff and equipment included.

Mixed formats

Starter at food stations during an extended drinks reception, main course served at the table, desserts as a buffet: many weddings mix formats. Talk to your caterer about it, it's often the best answer.

The detailed figures and their sources: What a caterer costs.