Everyone likes good food right$%: Well a wedding is certainly not the place to skimp on food quality. This may be one of the most costly and stressful parts of planning any wedding. There are probably dozens of quality catering companies in your town, but that trick is to decide on a menu and budget and stick to it. Like any business they are in it to make money, and sometimes they may try and up sell you to something you may not really want and cannot afford. It's also important to keep all of your guests and wedding party in mind when planning the menu especially the groom.
The first thing you should decide on is if you're having a sit down dinner or a buffet style meal. There is no wrong answer to this, but it will definitely affect many aspects of your reception. Let's look at the pros and cons of each choice.
If your nuptials are going to be a more elegant affair, a sit down dinner is a sensible choice. This allows you to seat your guests at assigned tables more easily and gives you a little more control over the traffic pattern in your reception hall. However, this is easily more complicated and sometimes a much more pricey way to go. You'll need to narrow the choices down to two or three and get with each guest ahead of time to get they're selection. Since there's a lot more room for error with this, I recommend using a wedding planner or entrusting your maid of honor for this task. It can also complicate the seating arrangements as well. This may possibly take away from a casual reception and put undue stress on you and your guests by forcing seating assignments.
The buffet style reception is clearly more laid back, and gives you a little more room to play. You can still limit your choices to two or three, but you can also offer as many as four or five if you like. With this setting, it can be as simple or as complex as you like it. It gives people the freedom to get as much or as little of anything that they like, and they don't feel cornered into making a decision way ahead of the big day. You can get into trouble with this, too, and you'll have to decide how much food you'd like to make available. A buffet style menu gives people the idea that they need to indulge in the "all you can eat" mind set and this will definitely cost you a pretty penny. It makes seating arrangements a little easier on you because you don't have to make place cards and guests are free to wander and socialize as they please.
Whatever route you decide to go, there are some things to always keep in mind. Once you decide on a number of guests, you should stick with it. There is no rule that you have to invite every person you've ever encountered since the second grade. Besides, you will have a budget and the food is where many brides and grooms seem to over spend on. When coming up with the choices though be conscious of anyone's allergies, and try to be accommodating to those who have them. Your friends and family have come to see you get married and celebrate your love, don't sweat the small stuff!
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