Hosting A Post-Wedding Brunch Like A Pro

Click to listen

The day after the wedding, the hair is down, the wedding dress is off, and that beautiful makeup is definitely smudged. Depending on what your wedding looked like and the venue, your guests may be appreciative of some post-wedding festivities, especially your bridesmaids. The following morning presents a great opportunity to keep the celebrations going, show your appreciation, and possibly cure some hangovers. When considering what a post-wedding brunch should resemble, you only need four words. The four words to keep in mind are accessible, flexible, refreshing, and delicious.

Accessible

Depending on where your wedding was, you need to make sure your post-wedding brunch venue is accessible to all of your guests. You may consider having it at the banquet hall or hotel where your marriage ceremony was conducted. Perhaps a nearby restaurant would both accommodate your guests as well as provide the perfect meals. If you’re keeping this event small, consider holding it at your or your parents’ home.

Flexible

There are two aspects for which your post-wedding brunch needs to be flexible, time and size. When considering time, take into account how late you imagine your wedding will run into the night. Typically, brunches run from 11 – 3 pm, but if you and your guests intend on partying like night owls, you may want to consider a later start time such as 1 pm. Having a range such as 11-3 makes it easier for guests to drop in at their convenience versus a limiting, structured start and end time. The goal is to enjoy each other’s presence while recovering from last night’s festivities, so be flexible with time to allow guests ample opportunity.

You should also be flexible with party size. To make this easier to keep track of, consider including an RSVP line on the invites for the brunch specifically. Numbers can also be managed by containing who invites are sent to; you could opt for e-vites and only send them out to the wedding party, immediate family, and your grandparents. Also, take into consideration out of towners that would greatly benefit from a post-wedding brunch before they set off on their journeys back home. The final reason to be flexible with the size is that even when you only expect 50, you may be faced with 80 guests to feed, so try to be as flexible as possible with how many you can host.

Refreshing

When you enter the venue, you should immediately start to get a refreshing vibe from the atmosphere. Remember it is an extension of your wedding, so don’t forget to decorate. Include light background music, and arrange the room pleasantly. Feel free to repurpose wedding décor from the day before. You can use it for centerpieces, to decorate the buffet table, and even the entryway. One other necessary element to include at your brunch is coffee; coffee is as refreshing as it gets and will help your guests to wake up.

Delicious

The final and most important part of the post-wedding brunch is the food, and the food needs to be delicious. Have an array of options, but keep in mind who you and your guests are. If you’re going to have a standard breakfast spread, you could include waffles, pancakes, crepes, eggs, bacon, pastries, fruit, hash browns, yogurt parfait, and mimosas. This could also mean having a buffet at your home or having guests order meals at a restaurant. It may actually call for a more culturally based menu that you know your guests would thoroughly enjoy. If you opt for a buffet-style brunch, don’t forget you can make things elegant and luxurious, or fun and exciting. Think about whether having a make-your-own omelet station, or an actual barista to craft specialty beverages is possible.

A post-wedding brunch can be just as special as the wedding itself. Make sure you include it in your planning to show your wedding party appreciation for all their hard work. Want to know everything the bridesmaids do for you throughout the wedding, check out The Ultimate Guide for Choosing the Perfect Bridesmaid.

 

 

Header Image Credit: @karol_makula_photography