The Ultimate Guide to Brunch Weddings

For many couples, an evening wedding following the traditional timeline ending at 10 or 11 pm just isn’t desirable or in the cards for them. Instead, they have their heart set on a gathering during the daytime where they can curate an event that gives them space to intentionally connect. In fact, brunch weddings are becoming more common as couples learn more about the joys of these types of celebrations. As a Los Angeles wedding planner, I’m so grateful to the amazing couples who have brought me onto their vendor team to help bring their wedding day to life in this unique way. So let’s dive into what really makes these types of weddings tick in this ultimate guide to brunch weddings.

Firstly, What Is a Brunch Wedding?

These are weddings set during the daytime when one would typically enjoy brunch, traditionally the late morning or early afternoon. Most of them follow a traditional format of ceremony, cocktail hour, and then a seated brunch with guests. But there are so many additional ways to customize your brunch wedding!

Why Would a Couple Choose This Type of Wedding?

This type of wedding is great for couples who want to skip many of the traditions customarily seen in wedding receptions. Typically a wedding reception has a seated, plated dinner followed by an open dancefloor party. But what if you aren’t that interested in dancing all night long? An alternative could be curating a meaningful playlist of songs during your brunch reception instead.

Brunch weddings are also great for couples who know the specific needs of their guests. Do you have friends who have young children and won’t be able to stay out late? Will your friends and family need to travel immediately after your event? If either of these scenarios are part of your reality, start chatting with your guests to gauge their interest in a brunch wedding. Especially if it could help cater to their needs and give you precious time to make memories with them!

If you’ve always dreamed of having a full weekend wedding, a brunch wedding could play nicely into this framework! Since your daytime wedding would be over by mid-afternoon you could plan for an evening outing. This could include a specific activity for the group: rock climbing, group hike, pottery class, sunset cruise, formal dinner, or drinks at a bar.

You could also host your brunch wedding at a boutique hotel. This allows your guests to stay on-site, leaving room for more fun ways to connect post-wedding celebrations. Maybe it’s exploring the city together, hanging out at the pool, or hosting a game night with your out-of-town loved ones.

What Would Guests Do at a Brunch Wedding?

Beyond the obvious of enjoying a spectacular brunch together! There are a myriad of fun activities that you can incorporate into a brunch wedding.

• Bring in a watercolor artist to paint your first kiss or a team that paints take-home portraits of all of your guests
• Create a cozy lounge setting at your reception and hire a portrait photographer to take professional photos of all of your guests. This might be the only time the entire year they get dressed up, and having a reminder of a time when you looked your best is always a mood-lifter!
• Provide your guests with a fun (but non-competitive) game to participate in at their leisure. Maybe it’s a wedding guest version of Ispy or Bingo or a quiz with prizes.
• Host a build-your-own mimosa bar. Guests love experiences where they can customize something to their specific tastes and desires
• Provide coffee to guests upon arrival (instead of champagne)
• Create a specific aesthetic for your guests’ attire so they can feel even more connected to the celebration
• Create a DIY activity for guests where they can paint their own mug or build a mini bouquet of flowers

You can still include some of the typical wedding reception traditions at a brunch wedding like toasts, special dances, and important cultural experiences.

What Does A Brunch Wedding Timeline Look Like?

The basics of the brunch day wedding timeline will have the wedding day beginning much earlier in the day. And sometimes truncated with many reception-style traditions removed or replaced. Below is a basic outline for you to follow:

5 am – Hair and Makeup begins

7 am – Set up begins at the venue

8 am – First Look

9 am – Wedding party + Family photos

10 am – Guest arrival

10:30 am – Ceremony begins

11 am – Ceremony ends/transition into brunch

11:30 am – Brunch served (may include a cocktail hour)

2 pm – End of Event

As you can see the timeline for a brunch wedding might be only a 4-hour experience for your guests. Some wedding traditions are not only outdated and unnecessary for many couples, but they also fill the day with tons of extra noise, stuff, and expectations. Take a parsed-down view of the wedding day, and you’ve got yourself a brunch wedding!

Timeline Tips:

1. To avoid having a pre-sunrise getting ready time, skip the large wedding party for hair and makeup, and instead get ready with your significant other.
2. Make sure you clarify with your venue how early your vendors can arrive for setup. With minimal vendors (like a florist, DJ, and wedding planner) you may be fine with just 1 hour for set up, but it’s always important to double-check with your vendors.
3. Set aside time after your brunch wedding for just you and your partner. This doesn’t have to be the entire rest of the day if you have loved ones you want to make additional plans with. But consider having a 1-hour break in the middle of the day to reset with your partner, to simply bask in the joy of being married!

Things to Consider When Planning a Brunch Wedding

Not All Your Guests May Attend

It’s altogether possible that a brunch wedding may not align with all of your guest’s availability. There may be some who are unable to attend a daytime wedding celebration. It’s important to make peace with this reality before you send out invites, and also allow yourself to feel your emotions (sadness, anger, frustration) when you get RSVPs back. It sounds easier said than done, but preparing yourself ahead of time with a plan for how you want to handle these scenarios can really help smooth any bumps along the wedding planning process.

Your Event May Feel More Casual

Brunch weddings that take place in the early morning have a very different vibe than an evening gathering. From your desired decor and the aesthetic to the music you play, your daytime wedding may not feel as formal as an evening wedding. You won’t find any raucous dance parties at a brunch wedding, but you can still fill the space with songs that fuel you. Again, as long as you prepare yourself for that and are onboard to create some unique and intentional memories with your guests, you will have an amazing time.

You Might Save Some Money

Just like a weekday wedding, some venues may offer a discounted price for a brunch wedding. It’s another way for them to stretch their services and potentially get two weddings out of one day. For brunch weddings, make sure you know the timeframe parameters from your venue ahead of time so you can be respectful of the access you have paid for. It’s important to note that not all wedding vendors can offer discounted pricing for a brunch wedding. Many of them will not and cannot provide services for more than one couple in a day due to travel and/or other service obligations.

Q&A With a Real Couple Who Hosted a Brunch Wedding

I had the pleasure of chatting with Nicole and Joseph, one of my couples who hosted a brunch wedding in Southern California. These two had so many fun moments of connection incorporated into their brunch wedding and I’m excited to share their perspective with you.

1) Why did you decide to have a brunch wedding (versus an evening dinner reception-style wedding)?

A brunch wedding stood out to us as we’re a lowkey/chill couple. A brunch is less formal than a dinner, yet it’s very pleasant, sweet, intimate, and even playful. We love the energy of being outdoors in the morning, having coffee or mimosas with loved ones. It’s just a great feeling. Our outdoor venue also really glowed in the sunlight, especially in the late morning, so having sunlight throughout the entire event was a priority for us — we didn’t want the sun to set on us. Plus having a winter wedding meant the weather would be warmer in the daytime. 

2) What made your brunch wedding unique?

We had a sweet mariachi band play live throughout the brunch. That added the best touch. 

3) What challenges did you face while planning your brunch wedding?

Getting the timing right for a winter brunch wedding was kinda tricky. We wanted to start the ceremony early enough so that brunch would still fall in the 10-11 am time frame. But also didn’t want to make our guests wake up super early for the ceremony. 

4) Did guests have any reaction (positive or negative) when they heard you were having a brunch wedding?

We didn’t hear any negative feedback about it. Most were excited about something different!

5) What are some tips you can share on having a successful brunch wedding?

We would advise providing variety in the brunch menu because what makes a “brunch menu” may already be limited itself (it may be mostly breakfast food for example). You don’t want your friends with dietary restrictions to miss out on good food. This is something we wish we did with more intention and detail. Also, monitoring the weather (if your brunch wedding is outdoors) is important. 

Brunch weddings have started to become more popular, and I can see their appeal! A time to gather with your loved ones that doesn’t beg too many expectations from you. This more casual type of gathering is perfect for couples who enjoy and desire a dinner party vibe, with the cozy vibe of spending the morning with your favorite people.

If you have been considering a brunch wedding in Los Angeles, we should chat! After planning over 70+ weddings all over Southern California I am drawn to these unique, intimate wedding gatherings. My clients typically desire a wedding with less than 100 guests, want to put a new twist on wedding traditions, and want their day to be slow and meaningful.

Is that you? If so, you can connect with me here. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your love-fueled intimate celebration!