I spoke to a guest at dinner tonight about a wedding she went to in New Jersey over the weekend. She said it was very nice but there was so much food at the cocktail hour she didn't realize that there was also going to be a three-course dinner and a buffet of desserts following it.
She's 16 and lives in LA so she doesn't get to attend many New York tri-state Area affairs. But it got me thinking.
Just because your caterer offers you a dozen or more stations and passed hors d'oeuvres doesn't mean you have to serve all of them. It's really a huge waste of food because your guests won't be able to eat an entire dinner after filling up at the cocktail hour.
Now you know how much I love PIBs and I'm not saying that you shouldn't serve a good variety of food but maybe you don't need a pasta, sushi and carving station AND passed items too. Maybe you just do passed items or a few passed items and one station. Or select foods that aren't heavy for the cocktail hour or for the seated meal. You don't have to serve a large steak, you can opt for lighter fare, like fish.
