Serving your family, wedding party and out-of-town guests brunch the morning after your wedding is becoming a common part of a weekend filled with celebrations of your nuptials. If you, your fiancé and your parents would like to treat guests to one last meal before they head home, consider these 7 ideas.
- Sit down brunch: This formal, traditional post-wedding meal is perfect for small groups who aren’t in a big hurry to catch a flight or hit the road.
- Buffet brunch: Keep things more flexible with a buffet of breakfast foods that lasts a few hours.
- Reserved dining area: For hotels with breakfast included in a night’s stay, reserve a section of the dining room for your group.
- Coffee and pastries: If the majority of your guests are at one or two hotels, ask the hotel to set up a selection of coffee and pastries.
- Nearby bagel shop: When your guests are spread out across town, it makes sense to open a tab at a central shop where you can mingle with guests as they stop by.
- Backyard brunch: A local family member with a beautiful patio may just volunteer their house for a simple breakfast of eggs, pancakes and fresh fruit.
- Brunch boxes: Package bagels, donuts or pastries into cute boxes and have them delivered in the morning to your guests’ rooms.
Tips for Your Post-Wedding Brunch
Whether you serve a full brunch buffet or opt to offer guests grab-and-go coffee, keep these tips in mind.
- Keep it simple: You just planned an elaborate event for perhaps hundreds of people. This is just breakfast; it doesn’t need to be complicated!
- Let guests know it’s casual: For almost any brunch venue, jeans are just fine. After a night of dancing and drinking, guests will appreciate the opportunity to keep things casual.
- Don’t make it too early: You and your guests were up late last night, so the opportunity to sleep in a little will be much appreciated.
- Have a flexible time: You’ll be able to spend time with more guests if you give people a general timeframe, such as 10am to 1pm.
- Invite people ahead of time: Whether it’s included in your wedding invitation or goes out as an email, make sure people know what the details are.
- Delegate tasks: While you may have had a hard time letting other people handle wedding details, a friend or family member can definitely take care of breakfast food.
