Breakfast Weddings - A
Beautiful Budget-Friendly Option
by
Jennifer
Cram - Brisbane Marriage Celebrant © (11/08/2020
- updated 23/12/2024)
Categories: | Wedding Budget | Wedding Ceremony
| Wedding Planning |
Having a breakfast wedding gives you
more options when it comes to the venue, and more
chance of booking your chosen suppliers.
Good reasons to have a
Breakfast Wedding
Apart from availability, there are many good reasons
for deciding to get married earlier in the morning
- A Breakfast Wedding is something
out of the ordinary
It puts your guests on notice that your wedding
is not going to be same-old, same-old. It will
be a new experience for most, if not all of
them. Have your ceremony before breakfast, as
usual, or getting married during breakfast. Easy
to do between courses. I've officiated several
marriages where the couple did that - just stood
up at their table, I stood at the end of the
table, and they said their "I do's" while
everyone enjoyed their first cup of coffee. An
easy way to have everyone seated for the
ceremony too. Up the ante with a Coffee Unity
Ritual and everyone will be talking
for years about how different your wedding was.
And about how much they enjoyed it.
- Everyone loves breakfast
Breakfast is far and above the most popular
meal of the day, and the food we eat at
breakfast very much loved. Hence the popularity
of all-day breakfast menus in cafes.
- Deciding on your menu is easy
The normal breakfast menu of any good cafe will
be broad enough to offer options. Or if you're
using a caterer both cooked dishes and
continental treats like Danish pastries will be
on offer.
- It is easier to cater for special diets
Because so many "normal" breakfast choices are
perfect for those with special dietary
requirements, it is not only easier to cater for
everyone, differences are less obvious,
particularly if people can make a choice of the
type of breakfast they prefer.
- Breakfast weddings are family friendly
and inclusive
Timing, food, and lighting all suit the elderly,
children, and anyone with vision problems much
better than an evening wedding. Everyone is also
less tired!
- Your booze bill will be way smaller
You can get away with mimosas, or one glass of
champagne for the toasts, or skip the booze
altogether. As long as the coffee is good, that
is. Add a delicious signature mocktail for the
toasts for something original. You can
definitely skip the drinks and nibbles (aka
cocktail hour) between the ceremony and the
meal.
- Your food bill will be way smaller
Breakfast catering is invariably cheaper
- Your choice of venues is increased
There's a good chance that you'll be able to
grab the venue of your dreams on your first
choice of date. Popular wedding venues that tend
to book up years ahead are often happy to book a
breakfast wedding because it gives them time to
clean up after your wedding and prepare
for already booked afternoon weddings. For
smaller numbers, cafes and restaurants that
don't open during the evening will be available.
You might even be able to book the cafe where
you had your first coffee date together.
- A breakfast wedding lends itself to more
casual decor
Which is not only more practical (less time
to set up) but will also be less expensive.
- Breakfast is a perfect picnic wedding
option
Parks are less crowded, the weather is
pleasant, and a breakfast bento box the perfect
catering choice.
- Everyone gets to enjoy the view
So many venues have fantastic views that guests
don't get to enjoy during an evening wedding.
- Plenty of time for one another and for
photos
Photographers love the softer morning light.
And once everyone has finished breakfast and
gone on their way you have the whole day to
spend together, to have photos taken in your own
time, and just enjoy time hanging out.
- Your planning lead time can be considerably
reduced
It is actually very easy to organise a
breakfast wedding. As long as you lodge
your Notice of Intended Marriage with your
celebrant at least a full calendar month before
the big day, all the other arrangements can be
made in a month or even less. This gives
you the option of booking a newly opened
cafe/restaurant, for example.
Breakfast wedding vs
Wedding Breakfast
A breakfast wedding and a wedding breakfast are
not
the same thing.
A breakfast wedding is a wedding that takes place in
the morning and is followed by breakfast. It is all
about the timing and the menu. A wedding breakfast,
on the other hand, is a very English term for a
sit-down meal after a wedding ceremony. In other
words what we call a wedding reception. Though to be
pedantic a reception, in English society circles, is
what we understand when someone says cocktail hour.
Oddly enough, though it is often suggested that the
wedding breakfast has its origin in mediaeval
England, where weddings included a mass before which
everyone fasted, the term wedding breakfast seems to
have originated in the early 1800s. The Oxford
English Dictionary records no occurrences of the
term before 1850. There might be a connection with
the fact that before then, most people in England
ate only 2 meals. Breakfast, eaten later in the
morning, and an evening meal. There was no such
thing as lunch yet. The 1753 Marriage Act dictated
that all weddings had to take place before noon, so
the wedding breakfast was the first meal of the day
for everyone. Although three meals became the norm
in the 19th century, the name stuck, even though the
menu is definitely a lunch or even later, dinner
menu. Remember Downton Abbey? Mary's wedding was
followed by a wedding breakfast which puzzled quite
a few viewers.
Sunrise wedding, anyone?
Photos of a marrying couple against a sunrise (or
sunset) background are definitely magical. But
timing is critical, particularly in places like
Brisbane and points north where the sun rises and
sets rapidly. And, in summer, sunrise is way earlier
than most venues will be prepared to book you in for
breakfast. If you have your heart set on sunrise
photos, schedule some couple photos before the
ceremony, and time your ceremony so that guests will
be able to go straight on to breakfast.
Thanks for reading!