Brunch Reception, anyone have any experience?

I don't personally have experience with this but a friend of mine is having a brunch wedding next October. The ceremony is at 11:30 am. She and her girls have to get up at 4 to start getting ready. That's a consideration you'll want to factor in.

Also, it's likely that you'll have people here telling you not to do the food for your own wedding. I honestly have to agree. Having to stress about making the food for your guests, even though you have a short list, is NOT something you need on your big day! Explore your options for brunch catering to see if there is something within your price range. I don't think you'll regret spending a little extra money to avoid that stress.

I have been to several and loved them. Ironically, they were all on a Sunday. One served breakfast (pancakes, breakfast meats, juice, coffee, etc.) while the others had a brunch menu. However, hire a caterer. You will not regret it.

We are having a catered brunch buffet for our reception. We chose brunch because it was cheaper than dinner. Look into local restaurants and catering companies and see what prices they can offer you for brunch foods. You might be pleasantly surprised by the cost. You definitely don't want the responsibility of cooking and managing all that food on your own - it's your wedding day!

Definitely agree with MissEtoMrsB. The weddings I don't remember if there was any dancing at the reception, but I do remember it being over in 2 - 3 hours.

I been to a brunch wedding on a Sunday before. I loved it. I wouldn't self cater. You don't want that stress on your wedding day. You might end up spending more to do it yourself instead of having it caterer anyway. Talk to a few caterers and get some pricing before you decide one way or the other.

Thinking of doing this. Also, if you think you can do your own food I say go for it. But, there's always low key options like Hyvee that you can get relatively cheap if you change your mind.

Since nobody else has said it, catering it yourself is a terrible idea and generally frowned upon here. Do you have a way to keep everything at temperature? Who's going to serve it for you? You need to enjoy your day and not worry about the food.

I (and a few others on this site) self-catered and it was fine. So yes, that is an option.

However, I wouldn't self-cater a brunch wedding because of the time restriction. You'll want several hours to focus on getting ready and little things, and without extra time to prep the food, you might feel stressed.

My brother had a sunday brunch wedding, it was fine.

I beleive his ceremony started at 10? I know we were there very early setting everything up. He had a "cocktail hour" before the ceremony, which consisted of bagels/cream cheese, muffins, and cupcakes. Along with juices and coffee

I just had an early afternoon wedding. The ceremony was at 11:30 with the reception to immediately follow. It was at a historical park, with the ceremony in the chapel and the reception in an old house and was for 55 people. I was up at 5:30 out of excitement but didn't start getting ready until 8:00. I had 3 stations. A pasta station, a polish food station and a chicken and waffle station. The food was exceptional and everyone loved it. Don't care it yourself. I pretty much did a DIY wedding all myself and catering it myself would not have worked.

We have plans to talk to a few caterers. I love cook and I'm no stranger to large event cooking. The stress might be enough to just put it in someone else's hands. Or some small part of it. Maybe just the hot dishes. I could probably swing the fruit, breads and etc. We also planned that our ceremony would start at 11:30 and it's going to be a short and sweet ordeal. I never really thought of an end time. Maybe 3 hours? I love the coffee and juice bar idea too. Plus our wedding will be totally dry given it's in a national park

I've never been to one myself, but a close friend attended a sunrise wedding with a breakfast/brunch reception and absolutely raved about it! She said it was one of the most beautiful weddings she'd ever been to, and she loved the food!

I love the idea of a brunch wedding! We had breakfast-for-dinner at our wedding, and everyone loved it. I could eat eggs ANY time of day! I would NOT suggest catering yourself unless you are an experienced caterer... even then though, you would have enough going on with your own wedding. Let someone else handle it so you can focus on other things. We (my family) catered my brother's wedding, and the whole time, people kept saying to me, "Melissa, when you get married, hire a professional!" lol. It was such a big undertaking to make & serve all the food, and it was just a small affair with not many guests!

We had our dinner/breakfast/brunch (dinfast? brunner? dinch?) catered by Machine Shed restaurant. It was awesome.

My brother had a Breakfast wedding... I think the ceremony started at 0530. She wanted to be married under a willow at the crack of dawn. They got a pretty good food truck to come out and do the basic scrambled eggs and muffins, coffee. Sausage and bacon.... if you wanted something besides that, you had to ask, and they'd cook you eggs the way you wanted, or an omelet. It wasn't too bad, just his was early in the morning.

Brunch is fine. Catering it yourself is not.

My friend had a brunch reception and it was AMAZING. Ceremony was at 11:30 reception started at 12. Mimosas, screwdrivers and bloody mary's and breakfast food with a pasta station. We danced our butts off. When it was over at 3 pm we were able to nap off the hangover and go out later that night lol.

We are doing a morning ceremony starting at 11:00. We are doing light finger foods, cake and soda. Everything will be over by 1:30. Just enough time to mingle with a small number of guests, have some cake and enjoy ourselves. FH and are not big into big parties.

Hi @Jamie Rose! Ooo we JUST had a WW bride post her brunch reception BAM ~ you should check it out here: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/holyyyy-sht-bam-pro-sneak-peak-non-pro/7eb94cb26bc5696a.html

WeddingWire also posted an article on the benefits of a brunch wedding that might help inspire you as well: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/etiquette-advice/7-benefits-of-having-a-brunch-wedding

If you are insistent on self-catering, I would get a wholesale membership and prepare and drop off everything (cold items only) the day before. When you get to the week of your wedding, you will find it is incredibly busy no matter how much you downsize. However, there are some great options that will allow you to have catering on a budget. Think outside the box and look at local delis, grocery stores, cafes, and bakery chains such as Panera or Bruegger's. You can always order what you can and hire a chef to do an omelette or crepe station to elevate the event. However, make sure you also look into the venue's catering requirements beforehand. Good luck!