Destination Brunch Wedding Etiquette

aesegura2022

I am beginning to plan my wedding and my fiancée and I are considering a Saturday brunch wedding with ceremony at 11am and reception 12-3pm. We live in Miami Beach and wanted to host it at a hotel here but when we told my parents the idea, my mom was concerned it seemed cheap to have most of our guests travel (our relatives are in the northeast US and Colombia) “and then only give them breakfast.” We had hoped to have most guests stay at the hotel and make a weekend out of it since there is so much to do and possibly host a more intimate family only dinner that evening. Any advice on the matter? 

ILoveBeachMusic

There is nothing wrong with your plans if that is what you and your fiancée want to do. There may be some people who wouldn't want to travel a great distance for a brunch but that is their decision. There are always people who choose not to travel long distances for weddings. I wouldn't necessarily do an intimate family dinner that evening though. Assuming you are having a rehearsal and a rehearsal dinner the night before, it might be a bit much.

banana468

I'm going to say if your wedding is a DW for many guests I'd have a questioning perception that their cost to attend is very large compared to what's hosted.   You are fine from an etiquette perspective but I'm unlikely to fly from the NE for a brunch wedding unless you're a sibling.

maine7mob

No one is coming for a meal; they are coming for a wedding.

In a sense, most weddings are destinations for at least some guests. You're having your wedding where you, and presumably at least some of your friends and family, already live. For everyone else, it will involve travel. This shouldn't affect what you want to do at all. As long as you are providing food and drinks appropriate to the time of day, you are fine.

A brunch doesn't have to be "cheap." We offered this exact set-up for our daughter's wedding a few years ago (wedding mass at 10:45, followed by brunch on the terrace of a hotel.) We had smoked salmon, bagels, fruit, coffee, champagne, etc. while waiting for the wedding party to finish their pictures, then had a brunch buffet with eggs benedict, bacon, vegan options, sausage, french toast, salad and I can't remember what else (my D and SIL picked the menu, I just wrote the check!), followed by cake. Hosted a bar with mimosas, bloody marys, wine, beer, creative non-alcoholic options. Nobody went home hungry.

We had people flying in from all over. In fact, most of our guests were from outside of Maine, because we had only lived here a few years. It did help that this is a popular tourist destination, but so is Miami!

As long as you give a list of hotels and other places to stay, and host properly, you can have whatever kind of wedding you want. Your guests can certainly find fun things to do if they are spending a few days there.

MyNameIsNot

Brunch doesn't have to be cheap. I think brunch at the Biltmore is one of the fanciest meals I've ever been to, and it has the price to prove it. (Seriously, take your mom to get some ideas.) 

short+sassy

@aesegura2022, My first thought reading your post was, "What? Brunch isn't cheap at all."  At restaurants, on average, I probably spend more for brunches than I do for dinners.  Though, to be fair, some of that is because I am more likely to order alcoholic drinks like mimosas/blood marys at brunch than I do at dinner. 

What your mom might be thinking of is basic breakfast foods, but brunch food goes beyond that because the word is literally a combo of the words breakfast/lunch.  @maine7mob, gave some good examples of a more expanded menu that a brunch will have vs. a breakfast.