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How to plan the perfect brunch wedding
On October 10, 2021, I married the love of my life at the perfect brunch wedding. With just under 30 guests, my husband Chris and I exchanged vows on Cellar52’s beautiful patio and enjoyed a perfect day with the people who mattered most.
Now I’m obviously biased, but I really do believe that brunch weddings are the best weddings. There are so many benefits to getting married over brunch, and while I’d love to tell you about them, we’ve actually already written about it! Instead, I want to help all of you brunch-loving couples plan your own perfect brunch wedding with tips and tricks I picked up from my planning my own magical day.
Ditch the DJ and splurge for live music
If I could do my wedding over again, this is really the only thing I would do differently. I know that wedding bands are usually more expensive than a DJ but they also have the potential to dramatically change the tone and energy of your wedding reception, especially in the daytime.
Take my first dance, for example. It was outside, in front of a crackling fire with all our family and friends circled around us. The song Chris and I chose was “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges, and while it sounded beautiful through Cellar52’s speaker, it would have sounded even better with a live band. There’s just something so classy and elegant about live music that really elevates the vibe of a perfect brunch wedding, making it look and feel more like a luxurious high tea rather than just your run-of-the-mill wedding.
We also weren’t looking for a daytime party vibe, but you totally might be and there is no better way to get a party started than live music. No matter the time of day, when you’ve got bottomless mimosas and a band, your guests will be flipping out.
Go over the top with florals
There is nothing more beautiful than stunning wedding flowers. Whether you’re getting married inside or outside, on a cloudy day or a sunny day, florals make every day feel bright and airy – the perfect complement for a relaxed brunch wedding!
Florals by the talented Sarah Tomlin at A Petal or Two
No matter what season you choose to get married in, florals are the perfect natural element to enhance any venue. They just make everything feel so fresh and organic, which is the perfect mood for a brunch wedding. With gorgeous natural tones and textures, they can replace a lot of other decor elements and allow you to keep everything else minimal. No need to worry about hundreds of candles or fancy linens when you’ve got beautiful blooms everywhere!
Flowers don’t need to be used purely for decoration, either! One of my favourite parts of our day was the lavender toss we did after our ceremony. Using the alley beside Cellar52, we had our family and friends literally shower us with blessings as we ran through an arch of flying lavender petals. Not only did this smell amazing, but it was just a lovely touch that added so many little moments of joy for us as our guests “sent us off” into married life together. Also, the pictures of this moment are everything and some of my absolute favs.
Let your guests graze
There is nothing more satisfying than the perfect grazing station, especially when it’s brunch! By choosing grazing stations, you’re able to offer your guests more variety of food available as well as keep it more casual. Not everyone loves a waffle (even though they definitely should!) so offering a mix of savoury and sweet options makes sure that everyone leaves your wedding completely satisfied with what they had to eat.
The perfect brunch wedding also uses grazing stations because it’s a less heavy way to keep your guests fed during the day. Take my wedding, for example. My husband and I knew that no one would want to eat a full three-course meal at one in the afternoon, so we opted for several grazing stations that offered a mix of traditional brunch foods like eggs, toast, and bacon, but also featured some delicious “high-brow” choices like tostadas.
These stations, paired with your bar, will keep everyone fed and watered in a way that perfectly complements your laid-back brunch wedding atmosphere.
Give your guests something to do
Whether you have a lot of kids at your wedding like I did or not, you need to give your guests something to do. At a standard afternoon ceremony, evening dinner wedding you would have a reception and dance floor to keep your guests occupied, but that’s not the course of action for a brunch wedding.
Enter DIY food and beverage stations, also known as the best addition to the perfect brunch wedding!
Since my wedding venue had a fireplace, I chose a S’mores station as one of my wedding “activities.” This was both fun and easy for the kids to enjoy but also served as a bonus dessert for those who might not love wedding cake or who just had a bigger sweet tooth! By setting the fire up with roasting sticks and overflowing trays of marshmallows, chocolate, and cookies, there was always something for my guests to do if they needed a break from conversation.
This do-it-yourself vibe can also be incorporated into your bar! Why not invite guests to build their own sangria or mimosas? Maybe you want your guests to be able to choose their own pickled goodies for a Caesar, or to have the choice of which fruit they infuse their water with! Whatever your style, giving your guests something to spend time on will help fill the space that might otherwise be occupied by a dance party and keep your guests entertained.
Timing is everything
I know this is the last point, but it is so far from the least important! When it comes to planning the perfect brunch wedding, timing really is everything (and you can trust me because I wasn’t just a bride – I’m a full-time wedding coordinator, too!). You want to make sure everyone has enough time to get ready before your ceremony without serving brunch too late & making sure you aren’t late for your own wedding (which, embarrassingly enough, I definitely was).
That’s why 11 AM is the perfect time to have your ceremony. By officially tying the knot late in the morning, you give yourself and your bridal party enough time to get to the venue and get ready without running the risk of serving brunch too late.
Speaking of which, you should serve brunch around 1 PM. That way, it still very much feels like brunch and you eliminate the risk of your guests getting grumpy because you’re feeding them too late. It also avoids you turning your perfect brunch wedding into a super awkward “slupper,” which not only sounds pretty gross but also detracts from the laidback, chill brunch vibe you’re going for.
All photos in this post were taken by the lovely Tom Guest Weddings <3
Ready to start planning your own perfect brunch wedding? Learn more about how Cellar52 and The Timber Barn can make that happen!
