When it comes to planning a wedding there is so much to think about that sometimes things like service style can be confusing and forgotten about. Which service style you choose to go with can change the whole dynamic of your big day. Whether you want the laid back, chilled vibe or more of a formal feeling - we can cater for all!
The first option that we can do is a classic buffet style. This is great for a casual feeling reception, a really family-friendly kind of service. It works out, normally, to be one of our cheaper options of service which is always great! You can choose however much food that you want and the chefs will work alongside the waitstaff to make sure that there is always an impressive amount of food displayed for your guests to help themselves to! Whether you choose to have the garlic and thyme lamb rump with a minted lemon marmalade or the orange & vanilla braised duck leg with a rosemary & lemon glaze we will always make it look incredible! Having a buffet option also gives a chance for those greedy guts to go up for the leftovers. There are a few downsides to think about before choosing a buffet. You have to be aware that, although we will do all of the hard work by inviting your guest's table by table to come up and help themselves to the food that we will keep topped up and looking lovely, it does require all of your guests to get up and walk over to the buffet station. This can take up a fair amount of time for your guests to get up, join the queue, get their food, and make their way back to the table to enjoy their delicious meal! If you have got a lot planned and a tight schedule to stick to this wouldn’t be the best option for you! It can be a bit disruptive to your day. Also, with a buffet, you have to think about the space that you have got available. We would need a lot of space to be able to set up a buffet station which could take away valuable room in smaller venues with a lot of guests.
If those downsides are worrying you a bit too much I would definitely suggest having a think about our family-style buffet option. A lot of people aren’t aware of what family-style service is. Personally, it is my favourite kind of service. I think it combines the pros of all types of service with a minimal amount of cons. Family style is basically a buffet that we bring to you! You still get to choose 2 different main options and 3 different side options so the quantity of food definitely won’t be an issue!! However, we display the food amazingly on big platters and take these platters to each table and normally serve around 8 people per platter. We include serving utensils on the tables so guests can dig into the deliciousness that is in front of them! If you choose the grilled beef scotch fillet with black garlic & wild mushroom cream or Smoked salmon with horseradish cream, pea shoots & cherry tomatoes your guests will definitely be tucking back in for seconds. Choosing family-style will mean that you get all the pros of a buffet, but your guests and you can stay seated and comfortable and we will do all the work! It really creates a great atmosphere in the room with the smell of our amazing chefs work roaming through the room. I have found that with this kind of service guests tend to eat more as it is right in front of them so this means there will be less wastage and your guests will be happy and full. I suppose the only downside to family-style service is that it is a tiny bit more expensive than the buffet option. It’s worth it to not have to get up and walk again in those heels though!!
The next option I would like to discuss with you is our most formal type of service. This is the option of plated meals. There are different options to choose within our plated option: whether you choose 1 main meal from our menu that we will serve all of your guests, whether you choose 2 different options that we will serve as “alternative drop”, or whether you choose to put a menu together of 2 different items and let your guests choose what they wish to eat on the night. There are big pros and cons to choosing this option. As I’m guessing you can already tell, there is a lot to think about with our formal plated meals that it can sometimes cause more stress than you already have! It almost always works out as our most expensive option. It also takes the longest so if you are scared that that certain family member will bring out the hour-long speech I would certainly recommend choosing a different style! Serving food this way requires more members of staff to ensure the food is served in a timely fashion which works out more expensive for you and means there are more of our wonderful staff walking around. However, the pros can sometimes be worth it also. You get to offer your guests a choice of what they would like, and there is no moving involved for anyone. The Nosh team are there to do all of the hard work and take away all of the stress! It really creates a formal feeling, almost as if you were in a restaurant! Also, with our incredible menu consisting of things like Free range pork belly with carrot and star anise puree and balsamic glazed vegetables and Beef rump cap served medium rare, chunky crispy potato, black garlic butter, pan-fried seasonal vegetables your friends and family are certain to enjoy whatever you choose.
If after reading all this you still haven’t made a definite decision and nothing has grabbed your heart then there is one more option for you to have a think about. If you want something really casual and you’re more concentrated on your guest's mingling and dancing than you are in having a sit down dinner then this is the way to go! Our canapés and tapas menu is, if I do say so myself, amazing! If you have your heart set on a smaller venue that won’t fit in big tables and chairs this would be an ideal type of service. Our canapés get served on gorgeous platters and our amazing waitstaff will walk around offering them to all of your guests. After an hour or so of canapés, we will then offer tapas dishes around. Our tapas gets served on a variety of small plates and bowls with a tapas fork. It is delicious and bite-sized so is super easy to eat whilst standing talking to that uncle you haven’t seen for months. You can choose from a variety of meals including our homemade gnocchi, roast pumpkin & pea, sage butter sauce or our lamb tagine with date and preserved lemon couscous served with mint & cumin yoghurt and I guarantee everyone will love it! This is one of our mid-range price options with canapés working out more expensive than if you were to have platters to start with, but tapas working out cheaper than any of the other main options. One of the cons of having this service is if you have got guests that tend to be super hungry this runs a risk of not filling everyone up as much as you would like.
Now you have been informed about all the different options of service that are available to you, all you need to do is give Nosh a call and get booked in!
