Pre-COVID times, brunch weddings weren’t necessarily as popular because they were considered more intimate, quick and less extravagant. With the change in weddings and options available due to a pandemic, brunch weddings sound like a fabulous idea for 2021, don’t they? Well, we definitely think so! We’ve outlined 8 advantages on why hosting a brunch wedding is a great idea for 2021. Keep scrolling to read more on how you can truly curate a unique wedding experience and set it apart from the traditional format we’re all familiar with.
1. Delicious Brunch Food
Who doesn’t enjoy brunch food? We’ve all hit the city to our favourite brunch spots and enjoyed syrup drizzled pancakes, crispy potatoes and fluffy scrambled eggs. Since we haven’t been able to enjoy a brunch-restaurant experience in such a long time, why not bring this experience to your guests? Your options are pretty endless and can also be much more affordable compared to an extravagant 3-course wedding reception dinner. Think stations and food trucks that serve chicken and waffles, breakfast poutine, stuffed french toast, breakfast pizza and confetti pancakes to celebrate the occasion! Do keep in mind that the food service will have to be done in accordance with your city’s healthy and safety regulations due to COVID-19.
2. Mimosas Anyone?
We know that mimosas are typically the highlight for many when enjoying brunch as you get to take some pretty Insta-worthy ‘cheers’ snaps. But let’s face it, it’s also an excuse to enjoy an alcoholic beverage earlier in the day! Mimosas and cocktails are a staple for any brunch meal so think about enhancing this component of your brunch wedding by introducing Screwdrivers, Bloody Mary’s, Bellini’s and of course, Mimosas! This really brings a fun element to your wedding. If you don’t feel like serving alcoholic beverages at your brunch wedding, you can always create mocktail versions of these drinks and still have a blast!
3. Fun Dessert Options
Strawberry coffee cake, cinnamon rolls, fruit tarts, banana bread, churro waffles and praline muffins – do you need us to keep going? There are so many fun options to choose from that can replace the traditional wedding cake. Many of these dessert choices can also be packaged individually so they would also make for great favours that your guests can take home with them.
4. Venue Availability and Cost Savings
With weddings postponed from 2020 well into this year, we all know prime wedding dates are scarce. When you plan a brunch wedding, it’s of course during the day which means the dream venue you have your eyes on is likely available to take on your wedding. As long as your wedding ends at a reasonable time for the venue to prepare for their evening clients, you should be good to go! Don’t forget, because brunch weddings aren’t the norm and don’t take place during prime evening times, you’ll most likely save costs with your venue too.
5. Espresso Bars
We’ve likely all invested in espresso machines like Nespresso during the pandemic simply due to the fact we’re indoors a lot more trying to get our coffee bar fix. There’s something so calming about watching coffee brew, smelling the aroma and staring at the morning rise. Similar to missing our favourite brunch spots, we’re also missing our favourite coffee shops too. Why not bring an espresso bar for a unique touch where your guests can get their daily coffee fix? Espresso bars make a great pairing for all of the dessert options and are also great for any non-drinkers at your wedding. They’ll definitely appreciate the gesture!
6. Opt Out of Dancing
In our previous blog post, we discuss Ontario’s Response Framework and what we consider ‘normal’ dancing pre-COVID times is unfortunately not allowed as of right now. If you feel that hosting a wedding later in the day with a reception will feel empty with no dancing, then you definitely have the option to opt out of dancing for your brunch wedding. It’s your day so you can definitely curate it to what you feel is best. You can simply put together a playlist and have that played as your background music during food and beverage.
7. Beautiful Lighting for Your Pictures
With the hustle and bustle of a traditional wedding, taking pictures during the day is often rushed as everyone needs to get to the next event. Once the reception starts kicking in, it can be difficult for your photographer to get some time with you and your fiancé for pictures outside and by that time, the sun is also setting. With a brunch wedding, you have nothing but daylight to work with and this makes for stunning pictures. Since you’ll have an earlier getting ready time, you can have your photographer take some awesome sunrise pictures too!
8. Create the Experience You Want
What we truly love about brunch weddings is that you can really plan the wedding day however you want and make it as fancy as you want. You don’t need to opt for a band, but you can still enjoy music. You don’t need to have a 3-tiered wedding cake, but you can slice a tower of pancakes. You don’t need to have a dance floor, but can still have a first dance. Brunch weddings are great because you are working with a blank canvas timeline where traditional weddings follow traditional timelines. You have so much room to get creative!
We hope we’ve inspired you to look into brunch weddings, especially in 2021! We are expecting weddings to still be restricted while our governments and public health work on getting the vast majority of the population vaccinated. So why not explore a unique and intimate avenue? If you need help planning your brunch wedding or wedding in general this year, feel free to contact us HERE and we’d be more than happy to discuss the details of your big day!