Food Stations

Ideas & Inspiration

D'Amico Catering's seared tuna with preserved lemon and ponzu sauce.

Food Stations

We’ve all got a horror story about a wedding we attended where things didn’t quite go our way. Maybe it was the one where the bride and groom’s seating chart stuck you next to an obnoxious uncle who talked your ear off all night. Or was it the time you arrived at the reception absolutely famished only to discover an hour-long buffet line? No, wait—it was the time you had to endure a two-hour plated meal featuring a desiccated hunk of chicken breast, and by the time it was over, you never got to have a word with the bride and groom.

All of the above are possible results of the traditional wedding-meal format. Sit-down dinners often mean seating charts probably won’t please everyone. Guests are obliged to stay in one spot for long periods whether they’re hungry or not, and the set menus may leave vegetarians or anyone with an aversion to beef or chicken feeling slighted. On the other hand, go with one long buffet line and your guests may spend more time queuing up than mingling and enjoying themselves.

To avoid these potential drawbacks, many wedding couples are doing away with the traditional wedding meal and opting for food stations, a concept best described as a group of mini-buffets placed throughout the reception area, each offering a unique kind of fare and often manned by an actual chef.

When Jeremy Johnson and Julie Peterson agreed on St. Paul’s James J. Hill Library for their Valentine’s Day wedding, they went with more casual food stations to contrast the formality of the venue. “We wanted to take out any of the impediments to people doing what they wanted to do,” says Johnson.

Since the wedding was scheduled for later in the evening, Johnson and his bride-to-be knew that guests probably wouldn’t be interested in sitting down to a full meal. The food station concept is a popular choice for evening weddings, especially Friday-night receptions, according to Nicole Aronson, an event consultant for Mintáhoe Hospitality Group, which catered Johnson and Peterson’s reception.

Johnson was pleased with the stations that Mintáhoe put together, which included a grilled Portobello mushroom station, salmon with a variety of cheeses and salad greens, and marinated beef tenderloin. He says the mashed potato martini bar drew the most response by far, with mashed potatoes served in a martini glass with a variety of toppings like mushroom ragout or velvety poulet. As for the overall dining experience, he says guests appreciated being able to eat whenever they wanted. The food was ready when everyone arrived and there was never a line. 

Mike Sneen, executive catering chef at D’Amico Catering, had a bit of a dilemma on his hands when he discovered that his wedding date fell on Super Bowl Sunday; food stations were an obvious choice. One of the rooms at the Calhoun Beach Club in Minneapolis was transformed into a makeshift Super Bowl party, with a full bar and large TVs so guests could keep up with the game if they didn’t want to rush home too quickly.