We think we speak unanimously when we say everybody loves a good brunch. The wedding day is busy, exciting, and goes by quickly. You’re focused on getting down the aisle, getting your photos taken, and (hopefully) getting some dinner & dancing in – so it’s usually difficult to *actually* talk to every single person at your wedding. Post-wedding day brunches are a great opportunity to get quality time with your guests who’ve traveled near and far to celebrate with you. Especially if your wedding is a destination for all or a lot of guests, a day-after brunch is the perfect addition to the wedding weekend for one last chance to get showered with love and eat more delicious food, of course. Keep reading for some tips and inspo to help you plan your wedding weekend brunch!
Your brunch date and time will heavily depend on what day of the week your wedding is. If your wedding is a Friday or Saturday, you can easily host a brunch the morning (or afternoon – if your guests need a little more time to rest and rehydrate) after. If your wedding is on a Sunday, and guests are planning on traveling back the day after, you could also consider a welcome brunch rather than a post-wedding brunch. Whenever you decide to host your brunch, you’ll have to book a brunchin’ spot. We recommend booking a private space in a local restaurant with set catering menus you can choose from, similar to how you would for a rehearsal dinner, to make the process easier for you or whoever is hosting. We’ve also seen some lovely outdoor brunches at parks or on private land, if you’re wanting to keep it more casual while showing off the views of the Rockies to your guests. We have recommendations for cities all over the Rocky Mountains region, so check out our online guides here to help you find restaurants and intimate event spaces in your wedding city that are ideal for hosting wedding weekend events.
Once you know where you’re hosting your brunch, you can choose the type of food you’d like to serve. We recommend choosing something quite different than what you’ll be eating at your wedding, and while traditional brunch food is a great idea – we also recommend incorporating local dishes into the menu. Some cities and states have their own take on tradition brunch foods, and this gives your out of town guests a chance to experience what the city has to offer culinary-wise! If you don’t want to have a sit down meal for your brunch, and want it to be more of a come-and-go event for guests to grab a bite and walk around with, then we love a good grazing board and mimosa bar for brunch! Speaking of mimosas, check out our blog on different champagne cocktails for some boozy brunch inspo.
Make your guest list and add it to their schedules.
If your wedding is a destination for most, it would be ideal to invite all of your guests to a wedding weekend brunch for one more chance to see them, thank them, and give them a great meal. However, we know that wedding expenses add up quickly, so if you don’t have it in the budget for a big brunch – consider keeping it small and inviting your wedding party and families for some quality time with the cute couple. A brunch could even be in place of a traditional rehearsal dinner, allowing you to have a fun meal with your favorite people without any of the pre-wedding stress & jitters getting in the way! Once you have your guest list set for the wedding weekend brunch, you’ll need to adjust your invitation suites accordingly. Invitation suites should be sent out about 8-10 weeks before the wedding, so you’ll want to have your brunch booked by then. If you are planning on inviting all of your guests to the brunch, then you can include the brunch schedule and any dress code preferences on your wedding website. If you’re wanting to keep this a more intimate event, then slip a a VIP invite into the envelopes of your chosen guests and include a special itinerary in their welcome bags, too!
Talk with your wedding vendors about repurposing items/decor.
We LOVE weddings, but one thing we don’t love so much is how wasteful weddings can be. Post-wedding brunches are a great opportunity to reuse some of your wedding day items that you worked so hard to bring to life! We recommend keeping your welcome sign for the brunch, saving any custom cups/koozies/cocktail napkins that weren’t used on the night of, and bringing any leftover wedding favors to the brunch for guests to get a second grab at. We also suggest talking to your florist & planner about keeping your floral arrangements for the post-wedding brunch. Something so beautiful should get a second chance in the spotlight, and this way you won’t have to pay more to make your brunch beautiful. On the same note – consider booking more hours with your photographer for your brunch. This is a great time to get photos with guests who weren’t in your family or wedding party photos, plus if it’s the day after – you’ll have woken up married for the first time ever and will have that newlywed glow in all of the pics!
A wedding weekend brunch is also a good idea because it gives you one more opportunity to wear an adorable bridal outfit! An excuse to shop for cute clothes and show off your style is *always* worth it to us. We have plenty of style blogs on our site to help you choose a brunch outfit – from darling shoes, to little white dresses, to accessories you can wear at all weekend events. We’ve also been loving brides going bold & bright rather than white for their brunch! We love this garden-party inspo from Reformation – a gorgeous floral dress like these would be one you could rewear to another wedding down the line, too. There’s nothing wrong with an outfit repeater, especially when the outfit is this pretty!
Reformation
Just like any large-scale event, there’s a lot of planning that goes into a wedding weekend brunch, but we hope this blog was some good *food* for thought. To finish up the ultimate brunch, check out our dessert blog for some sweet-tooth inspo. Happy brunching!
