Breakfast for Dinner

Knottie091071 · January 2015

My fiancé and I are considering serving breakfast/brunch style food for our evening reception. The cocktail hour will be from 7-8pm, and will include normal hors d'oeuvres. Since dinner then won't be served until later, and since we have never really been wowed by "fancy" wedding meals (lame steak or chicken with overly garlicky potatoes and three super soft carrots), we have decided that we would love to serve a "late night breakfast" style meal instead of a traditional dinner. We have not yet selected a caterer, and are open to plated, buffet, stations, or family style serving. We will have 200 guests, cocktail attire, and our venue is a large atrium space in an interactive children's museum.

We've gotten mostly positive feedback from our friends, but our parents have concerns about the older guests at our wedding. And my father is pushing for a more traditional, plated meal.

So now I'm turning to you all! What would be your reaction if you attended a wedding that served breakfast for dinner?? Please, be honest; all input is valued!

slothiegal · January 2015

Knottie091071 said:

My fiancé and I are considering serving breakfast/brunch style food for our evening reception. The cocktail hour will be from 7-8pm, and will include normal hors d'oeuvres. Since dinner then won't be served until later, and since we have never really been wowed by "fancy" wedding meals (lame steak or chicken with overly garlicky potatoes and three super soft carrots), we have decided that we would love to serve a "late night breakfast" style meal instead of a traditional dinner. We have not yet selected a caterer, and are open to plated, buffet, stations, or family style serving. We will have 200 guests, cocktail attire, and our venue is a large atrium space in an interactive children's museum. We've gotten mostly positive feedback from our friends, but our parents have concerns about the older guests at our wedding. And my father is pushing for a more traditional, plated meal. So now I'm turning to you all! What would be your reaction if you attended a wedding that served breakfast for dinner?? Please, be honest; all input is valued!

I'm personally not a big fan of breakfast food, especially for dinner, so I would be picking at my plate and leaving early to pick up something else to eat.

What kind of "normal" hors d'oeuvres are you thinking about? It might be a strange jump to go from, say, shrimp cocktail and canapes, to eggs and bacon.

lyndausvi · January 2015

I would hate it. Every once in a while I will eat 2 eggs scrambled and crispy bacon. But that is the extent of my love for breakfast.

I can't eat stuff like pancake, french toast or bagels (throws my blood sugar out of whack). Sure I could eat some yogurt and fruit. But it would not be very fulling for me. I guess if you had more lunch type foods then I would be okay.

There is more than just a standard platted dinner though. Like live action stations. Carved meats, pasta stations, raw bar.

allispain · January 2015

What exactly do you consider to be breakfast food in this case? Like pancakes and hashbrowns? Frittatas? Poached eggs? I'm having a hard time picturing exactly what kind of breakfast food would be fancy enough for a cocktail-attire-type evening reception, but maybe if you gave a more specific idea of the types of foods you were thinking of?

dcbride86 · January 2015

I don't know if this applies to your social circle, but sometimes breakfast food is not friendly to Jews. Bacon, sausage, biscuits with gravy, and many breakfast sandwiches include pork, which could make Jewish guests feel uncomfortable. I'm not the most religious Jew in the world, but I don't eat pork at all. It could just end up with some awkwardness. And a lot of the remaining food is really heavy (pancakes, waffles, cheese), which isn't necessarily ideal for a wedding. Just my two cents, but maybe something to think about?

mlg78 · January 2015

I'm a HUGE fan of brinner (breakfast for dinner)!...but if I was all looking cute in my cocktail dress at a nice wedding reception and I was served breakfast foods I'd give 'em a side-eye. That's just...weird. People expect the usual beef, chicken, etc.

Junebug2015 · January 2015

I absolutely love breakfast food and eat it for lunch and dinner more often than I care to admit. I still find this strange, especially if you had regular food during the cocktail hour. It just doesn't match up with the time and formality of the event.

You run the risk of having lame food no matter what type of food you're having. I think if you really put in the leg work to go to tastings and get reviews on caterers, you can have a dinner that will impress your guests. If it's more that you're bored with traditional wedding food, talk to caterers about whether they can customize the dishes for you - a lot of them will try to prepare entrees in a way that is meaningful to the bride and groom (like incorporating family recipes or favorite ingredients).

Junebug2015 · January 2015

And another idea, since your reception is later - consider just having heavy apps throughout the night rather than a sit-down dinner. This will give you more options for food, but lets you avoid serving the same old chicken and beef options that you see at a lot of weddings. Just make sure there are plentiful options so that people aren't hungry.

Lauderdale Pink · January 2015

I totally get not wanting rubber chicken and cardboard steak, but breakfast at dinner might look like you've done it as a financial decision rather than a food choice. If you have no concerns along those lines, then it could really be fun. I am thinking you are doing this buffet or station style, so you could even include a carving station if finances permit, then dad and the "older folks" could have more traditional, evening food.

banana468 · January 2015

I feel like breakfast for dinner is what you do when you're also wearing pants without buttons.

CMGragain · January 2015

No. People will be expecting dinner. If you want to have a brunch reception, then have a morning ceremony.

Jen4948 · January 2015

At that time of day, while I wouldn't side-eye a few breakfast-type items on it like, say, eggs Benedict, I wouldn't have the menu consist entirely of breakfast foods.

atlastmrsg · January 2015

I love brunch food. But at brunch.

I was at one gala that did this. I admit--there were a lot of really happy people who were squeeing over gravy and sausage late at night. I wasn't one of them. I think this will be a love it or hate it scenario, not a "meh, it was okay" like catering chicken.

I will say, I do find the potential for a caviar stuff canape or shrimp cocktail or antipasto skewer at cocktail hour, followed by [waffle, quiche, biscuits, pancakes, etc.] odd.

I also can't picture myself drinking a bourbon with pancakes. Maybe a mimosa or Bloody Mary, but it's not my usual 10:00 p.m. jam to have either of those.

It's incongruous. I'm not on board. But if you know your crowd and they'd love it, you know better. If you're betting on guests sentiments, I'd bet that it would go love it/hate it. Some really happy, some really unhappy.

Here's an idea for you: what I did. At the end of the night, we had servers passing mini breakfast items to soak up alcohol and offer guests a snack. Country ham biscuits, mini chicken and waffle, mini eggs bene, and mini root beer floats. FFT.

runsonveggies · January 2015

I agree with most of the PPs, I'm not into the idea... unless your wedding is very casual. I usually eat breakfast for dinner when there's no other food in the house! haha So it's definitely not something I'd be into for an evening wedding. Also, typical American breakfast foods aren't very friendly to people with dietary restrictions. Someone mentioned Jews and all the pork, well people with celiac's won't be able to eat most of the carbs so you'll definitely need potatoes, oatmeal, or grits for them. I'm vegan so I probably wouldn't eat anything but toast, oatmeal, and fruit. None of those are things I'd necessarily want to eat while wearing "cocktail attire". I'd feel like I was in a hotel lobby picking through their slim offerings. :-/

southernbelle0915 · January 2015

I'm obsessed with breakfast food. I will have one of everything, thank you! And I love it for dinner.

But I'm not big on the idea for an evening wedding. It's just not a crowd pleaser, you know? The things that always make guests walk away from weddings saying "that was awesome!" are food/drinks, music and being comfortable. Food is probably number 1. That said, I think it's important to have a crowd pleasing menu.

kmmssg · January 2015

If you are planning an evening wedding with your guests in cocktail attire you need to carry that level of formality through and go with action stations or a real dinner. If I have to get that dressed up I am not looking for breakfast.

mikenberger · January 2015

I am a huge fan of brinner. But that's at home. In my own comforts. If I'm going to dress up and wear heels... I'm not eating eggs and french toast. I'd expect more. I would not enjoy a breakfast brunch in the evening.

Maggie0829 · January 2015

I am probably the odd man out but I love breakfast at any time of the day. And as long as the food is fucking awesome, I don't give a crap that I am wearing a cocktail dress and eating a tasty stack of pancakes. Just because I am in a dress doesn't mean that I can only eat X type of food.

OP, if you really want to include some breakfast style food why not do that with the appetizers? Or with a dessert table? You could do a "make your own waffle" thing where you have chef attendants making waffles and then your guests can top them with whatever they want (ice cream, whipped cream, syrup, chocolate sauce, candies, fruit, etc).

Or you could do a play on breakfast type food with maybe chicken and waffles or savory mini pancakes, etc.

KatWAG · January 2015

Maggie0829 said:

I am probably the odd man out but I love breakfast at any time of the day. And as long as the food is fucking awesome, I don't give a crap that I am wearing a cocktail dress and eating a tasty stack of pancakes. Just because I am in a dress doesn't mean that I can only eat X type of food.

OP, if you really want to include some breakfast style food why not do that with the appetizers? Or with a dessert table? You could do a "make your own waffle" thing where you have chef attendants making waffles and then your guests can top them with whatever they want (ice cream, whipped cream, syrup, chocolate sauce, candies, fruit, etc).

Or you could do a play on breakfast type food with maybe chicken and waffles or savory mini pancakes, etc.

_______

This.

I would do un- Godly things right now for a waffle.

Maggie0829 · January 2015

Just for you @KatWAG

And this time we are actually talking about real waffles, not the other kind that we tend to talk about on here

KatWAG · January 2015

Maggie0829 said:

Just for you @KatWAG

And this time we are actually talking about real waffles, not the other kind that we tend to talk about on here

------

Thanks for that @maggie0829 Diet coke just came out my nose.

And now I am hungry again.

AddieCake · January 2015

I love breakfast foods and breakfast for dinner, but at an event, I would find it weird.

jacques27 · January 2015

I LOVE BREAKFAST FOOD. I have been known to have cereal for lunch, a waffle with some peanut butter for a snack, an omelette or scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner. If I go out to a restaurant that serves breakfast all day, there's a good chance I'm ordering an omelette and hashbrowns. But I kinda hate this idea.

Food should be appropriate to the venue and time of day when feeding someone besides yourself outside of your home. You wouldn't show up to a brunch in a cocktail dress, you shouldn't host a cocktail dress appropriate party with brunch food. Maybe if you were having a casual, kitschy affair where you're hosting your reception at a diner, but not in an atrium wearing a cocktail dress. When I go out to diners with a big group, I am the only person ordering breakfast at night. Also, depending on the type of foods you're planning to serve, breakfast foods tend to be sweeter and more carb heavy and lots of people don't want food that sweet for dinner.

And...not all wedding dinner food is lame - there are some wonderful caterers out there putting out delicious food. You just have to put in the work to find them and put up the money to pay for them. You also have to remember that some food is traditionally served and served in certain styles because it is what works when preparing food ahead of time for large crowds. You're not cooking to order here - so there's a good chance you'll also end up with "lame" limp bacon, not so crisp hashbrowns, and lukewarm pancakes, too. Just because it's not "lame chicken" doesn't mean it's going to automatically work out and be awesome.

ohannabelle · January 2015

If eggs are on the menu, I'd be gagging.

I literally can't sit at the same table as a soft cooked egg. If I see someone dip toast in a runny yolk, I am actually sick. As in, doing the fast fast fast walk trying not to run to the nearest restroom immediately sick. So, obviously, not a fan.

But that's one person's weird personal taste, and of course, any one guest might feel the same about any random food.

Overall, even if I was not a rabid egg hater, I would find it weird. In the same way as if someone invited you to breakfast and served you green salad, corn on the cob, and barbecued ribs. Why?

Have a brunch timed wedding, if you love breakfast/ brunch foods. (This is also a good silent way of pre warning egg/breakfast food haters that eggs will be probably be present.)

MandyS573 · January 2015

I think if you can find a way to serve the food in an upscale manner then any type of food will work. I would personally love this idea. Food stations where omelettes, crepes, waffles with real whipped cream, french toast etc are being made fresh to order would probably be a good way to go. Go with real maple syrup or fruit syrups - no aunt jemima. Lox and cream cheese is also a good brunch-type food that's not sugary sweet like pancakes. Potato pancakes, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, various meat items... I could totally see this working as long as it is done well. I'd say no buffet though - breakfast is better fresh in my opinion.

JoanE2012 · January 2015

Knottie091071 said:

My fiancé and I are considering serving breakfast/brunch style food for our evening reception. The cocktail hour will be from 7-8pm, and will include normal hors d'oeuvres. Since dinner then won't be served until later, and since we have never really been wowed by "fancy" wedding meals (lame steak or chicken with overly garlicky potatoes and three super soft carrots), we have decided that we would love to serve a "late night breakfast" style meal instead of a traditional dinner. We have not yet selected a caterer, and are open to plated, buffet, stations, or family style serving. We will have 200 guests, cocktail attire, and our venue is a large atrium space in an interactive children's museum. We've gotten mostly positive feedback from our friends, but our parents have concerns about the older guests at our wedding. And my father is pushing for a more traditional, plated meal. So now I'm turning to you all! What would be your reaction if you attended a wedding that served breakfast for dinner?? Please, be honest; all input is valued!

Not a fan of breakfast for dinner at a wedding reception. And I'm sorry you've been to all weddings with lame food....I've had some amazing food at weddings!

[Deleted User] · January 2015

I love brunch (DH and I often actually have "breakfast dinner"), but I really wouldn't like breakfast food at an evening wedding. Sorry!

blushingbride8888 · January 2015

I love breakfast in general and even for dinner, but I think at a wedding for an evening reception it would seem weird. I also think others will pick at their plates since I know a lot of people don't love breakfast as much as I do.

There are SO many options - especially if you're going with your own caterer - and I think you should talk to them about doing something unique. As another knottie mentioned "live action" and carving stations are really cool. You could also do a "surf and turf" type option.

If you're set on "fun" food do cheeseburger sliders and fries, ice cream sundaes or cookies and milk for a late night snack. There are so many ways to make your reception uniquely you.

runsonveggies · January 2015

ohannabelle said:

If eggs are on the menu, I'd be gagging.
I literally can't sit at the same table as a soft cooked egg. If I see someone dip toast in a runny yolk, I am actually sick. As in, doing the fast fast fast walk trying not to run to the nearest restroom immediately sick. So, obviously, not a fan.

But that's one person's weird personal taste, and of course, any one guest might feel the same about any random food.

Overall, even if I was not a rabid egg hater, I would find it weird. In the same way as if someone invited you to breakfast and served you green salad, corn on the cob, and barbecued ribs. Why?

Have a brunch timed wedding, if you love breakfast/ brunch foods. (This is also a good silent way of pre warning egg/breakfast food haters that eggs will be probably be present.)

Glad I'm not the only one who finds runny eggs stomach turning. haha!

doeydo · January 2015

banana468 said:

I feel like breakfast for dinner is what you do when you're also wearing pants without buttons.

.

Knottie091071 · January 2015

thank you all for your honest opinions!

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