Buffet dinner: one trip or unlimited?

I had a buffet and of course some people didn't show so they said that if its extra food people can go up for a second plate!

The way I and everyone I know eats at buffets is to take a little bit and come back for more. I would be really put off by a once and done buffet. I also think it would cause people to take a lot more than they normally would, even with multiple trips.

I agree. I'm not accustomed to buffet weddings, but I do think people will overtake if it is made known they have 1 chance to eat that night. This can shortchange those waiting, and you don't want to be known for running out of food in a venue that has an unlimited time frame. I don't see a polite way of communicating and enforcing single trips that does not reflect on you as the host either. Don't worry about not providing leftovers as they are not expected at weddings. Edible favors or a late night meal are considerate, but not expected either. Good luck! Sorry your first caterer fell through.

Especially if the caterer has some way of imposing a "one trip only" rule, I'd check to see: how they do that (are they going to give guests tickets/tokens, only have the exact number of plates, or what), and what a portion will consist of. Daughter attended a wedding with a buffet served by the staff and the EXACT portion allocated was one chicken tender and a small scoop of some type of pre-sauced pasta. Daughter knew she wouldn't eat the pasta and asked if she could have two chicken tenders instead. The servers refused as there were "exactly the right number of chicken tenders...." Daughter and SIL left early because she was starving and they still joke about the "wedding with the 1 chicken tender rule." I'd be cautious about a caterer who doesn't plan for some overage.

The one-trip buffet option just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen no matter what. If guests are told up front that they only get one pass at food, you'll get those at the beginning taking more to ensure they have enough to hold them over for the night, and the guests at the end of the line might end up with little to nothing left for them. If guests aren't told about the one-trip rule, you'll get people who treat it like you would a regular buffet where they'll take less than a full meals' worth of food because they have the intention of going back up, and they'll end up hungry (or hangry) after a short time. Then with either option, if there's food left over people are going to be irked that they only were permitted one trip even though there was enough food for multiple trips.

It sounds like your guests would be expecting to be permitted to have multiple trips to the buffet, so I'd say either spring for the unlimited option or just do a plated dinner.

We put out the exact number of plates for each guest....when we replenish plates they are counted and then we charge accordingly....Noone should ever assume you have unlimited food because it just isnt going to happen . We calculate the number of covers by 30 % for every buffet so we do prepare 30% over but thats it.

Entitled wont get past the Health Department....Many do not understand that the Health Department or our Lawyers will not allow you to take-home any food. If you insist we have many forms for you to fill out and then we have to temp , weigh and document all the leftovers leaving to cover ourselves by not getting sued for food poisonings. Please don't think we are just keeping your food out of spite.