Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food

cincy2011

I am a planner and therefore, I am getting down to the nitty-gritty details about our big day.  So my wedding party, FI and I are all staying in the same hotel and will be getting ready there (for the most part, little getting ready details will also happen at the venue).  I know we'll need breakfast and lunch while we're at the hotel since our wedding doesn't start until 6:30pm.

That said, there is a cafe (that has good food) in the hotel - they serve breakfast and lunch.  Should I plan to order in food to everyone's room from there?  Should we send out a menu in advance and have people choose before they get here so we can place the order in advance? 

Should the bride/groom pay for everyone's food that day (prior to the wedding food)?  

Is it okay to have people eat from that same restaurant for breakfast and lunch? 
 
Sorry I am rambling and also probably over thinking this....maybe people just fend for themselves that day?

Let me know what your plans are for food on the wedding day - prior to the wedding! 

A&M_Abyss

Hey Cincy,

Great Topic of discussion. We are all getting ready at my parents house. I am only providing food for my bridesmaids b/c they're the only ones that will be here. So I'm going to do a brunch spread of croissants, a variation of cheese, waffles, mixed berries, orange juice, mimosas, sparkling wine {light on the stomach}, and i will probably get a few trays of wraps catered in. I want them to have a stomach of food b/c were taking pics before the ceremony and it's going to be a long day for them including me.

If you're staying in a hotel. I would DEFINITELY order some catered food from the restaurant for the bridal party. You don't want them running around trying to figure out what they're going to eat etc. I think it's 100% ok for people to eat from the same place for breakfast and lunch, hell you're covering a fab meal later in the night, no need to overexert yourself with this love. Pre-order it and just let them know that they will be given someting to hold them over until cocktail hour.

msktn95

Hey Cincy,
That was a great post.  I  never thought of that.  I just thought everyone would get food for themselves.  Our wedding will start at 3:00.  I light breakfast should work for the bridesmaids. I think I will do that. Thanks for this post.  You rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hatroopes

I would say provide breakfast for the WP and then maybe buy some snacks for everyone to gnash on to hold them over till dinner. I don't think you're required to buy everyone lunch, breakfast and dinner (I may be wrong)...but it would be nice to provide breakfast if everyone is getting ready at the same time and location

shesheduke

I don't think it is bad to order from the same place for both meals. But I do think you need to provide them something to eat. Since everyone is getting ready in my suite for the most part since that is wear the make up artist is coming I will be providing breakfast for the ladies and gentlemen (in their own suite ofcourse). We are getting married hopefully at 2. So once the ceremony is over and we finish with pics in the church (wherever the heck that is) we are going to get on the party bus and head downtown for some additional pics. I am going to provide some sandwich trays for this portion and some chips with beverages. This should tie everyone over until we get to the Reception at 6 6:30 I hope.

Are you getting married in Detroit Cincy?

mahoganieyes

I plan on providing a light breakfast/lunch for the girls. Wraps, bagels, fruit and plenty of drinks.

cincy2011

Thanks ladies!  OK so we will provide breakfast and a light lunch for everyone.

We will send the menus out to everyone in advance and have them choose what they want. 

@ sheshe: we are getting married in Cincinnati since we both live here.  We could have gotten married in Detroit since FI has so many people there, but we also have people traveling from all over (ATL, Texas, NYC, etc.) so we wanted a central location.

2010Bride2be

You should definitely provide a meal (or meals) the day of for your bridal party. I wouldn't worry about ordering for people individually though. If you go through a local restaurant (doesn't have to be the hotel restaurant) and have several different platters brought to the room, everyone should be able to have something they like.

For example, for the bridal party, we're getting ready at my parent's house. So, (weather permitting) we're going to have a poolside champagne brunch. We'll have some bagel/muffin trays, fruit/cheese/cracker trays, deli wrap platters, etc, etc...and of course mimosas. Fi and his groomsmen are getting ready at the hotel where the reception is going to be held. They are getting up SUPER early and going for breakfast and then going to play golf. They'll be back at the hotel room around 11:30 to get dressed and we're having food delivered to their hotel rooms. Granted, they are men and we're getting married in south jersey, so all they want are these cheesesteaks and hoagies from this really good sandwhich shop there. So we're having the shop deliver trays of the sandwiches and other sides for them to eat while getting ready.

cincy2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_can-discussday-of-wedding-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:440e4995-4c93-4c33-ad5e-e3fe871a236bPost:c7031ac9-474d-49fd-a075-538a9d6b8e9f">Re: Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food</a>:
[QUOTE]You should definitely provide a meal (or meals) the day of for your bridal party. I wouldn't worry about ordering for people individually though. If you go through a local restaurant (doesn't have to be the hotel restaurant) and have several different platters brought to the room, everyone should be able to have something they like. For example, for the bridal party, we're getting ready at my parent's house. So, (weather permitting) we're going to have a poolside champagne brunch. We'll have some bagel/muffin trays, fruit/cheese/cracker trays, deli wrap platters, etc, etc...and of course mimosas. Fi and his groomsmen are getting ready at the hotel where the reception is going to be held. They are getting up SUPER early and going for breakfast and then going to play golf. They'll be back at the hotel room around 11:30 to get dressed and we're having food delivered to their hotel rooms. Granted, they are men and we're getting married in south jersey, so all they want are these cheesesteaks and hoagies from this really good sandwhich shop there. So we're having the shop deliver trays of the sandwiches and other sides for them to eat while getting ready.
Posted by 2010Bride2be[/QUOTE]

That sounds like an awesome plan - you have it all figured out!  Go ahead girl!

shesheduke

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_can-discussday-of-wedding-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:440e4995-4c93-4c33-ad5e-e3fe871a236bPost:a4a66faf-f297-41d9-8157-fab052a798a7">Re: Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks ladies!  OK so we will provide breakfast and a light lunch for everyone. We will send the menus out to everyone in advance and have them choose what they want.  @ sheshe: we are getting married in Cincinnati since we both live here.  We could have gotten married in Detroit since FI has so many people there, but we also have people traveling from all over (ATL, Texas, NYC, etc.) so we wanted a central location.
Posted by cincy2011[/QUOTE]

Awwww I was so going to crash your wedding if it was here lol! Just kidding

cincy2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_can-discussday-of-wedding-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:440e4995-4c93-4c33-ad5e-e3fe871a236bPost:840ea262-1209-4c75-85e3-64f1fa9f31a0">Re: Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food : Awwww I was so going to crash your wedding if it was here lol! Just kidding
Posted by shesheduke[/QUOTE]

LOL!  Girl you could've crashed!  Since we're having a buffet dinner there will be more than enough for everyone.  :)

lil01

Maybe its just me....but I wouldn't pay for everyone's breakfast AND lunch. If everyone was getting ready at a residence, I would definitely provide both. Being at a hotel, I would make sure that everyone knew of places to eat in the hotel or nearby for breakfast. However, I would just provide lunch.

I'm just thinking of having to pay for the rehearsal dinner and reception food. Paying for breakfast & lunch the day-of would be a little much for my pockets.

If you have a small wedding party, I guess it can be manageable.

cincy2011

We only have 8 total in the wedding party - we wouldn't pay for food for the hostesses, ushers, readers, etc.  I believe (and hope!) that FI's parents are paying for the rehearsal dinner, so I think we can spend this for our wedding party.  But I totally understand where you're coming from - if we had a large WP or were paying for our RD, then I would second guess paying for these pre-wedding meals for them...

rodeo417

Excellent topic!! I know I'm late but this needs to be discussed... I am orderin food for the bridal party to share together in our suite before we get dressed. Eggs, fruit, yogurt, granola... Nothin real heavy or we will get the itis! The guys are doing the same thing but with the heavy food since they dont have to get up as early as us...

sweets18

I think we are just going to get catered trays and platters for the separate suites the day of. I haven't quite decided from where yet... I guess that is something we need to start thinking about... great post Cincy!

shesheduke

We have 18 people but we are doing inexpensive trays from like Sams club or Costco. The party bus is providing the liquor and soft drinks so we wont be spending over $100 for 2 small meals. at least I hope we dont!

YasJas2011

WOW Date twin! I was just thinking about this yesterday or the day before O_o....Strange.... But anyway, I think we are going to do a catered lunch for everyone. We are paying for EVERYTHING :-( Ourselves and that includes the rehearsal dinner for all guest and bridal party. So I don't think I will provide breakfast also. We will see though.

cincy2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_can-discussday-of-wedding-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:440e4995-4c93-4c33-ad5e-e3fe871a236bPost:009ecc41-265a-4398-864e-be965e29cdd8">Re: Can we discuss...day-of-wedding food</a>:
[QUOTE]WOW Date twin! I was just thinking about this yesterday or the day before O_o....Strange.... But anyway, I think we are going to do a catered lunch for everyone. We are paying for EVERYTHING :-( Ourselves and that includes the rehearsal dinner for all guest and bridal party. So I don't think I will provide breakfast also. We will see though.
Posted by YasJas2011[/QUOTE]

Date Twin, we are so HERE --------------- />  <----------------

Catered lunch sounds nice.  Maybe I will ask this cafe if they can do breakfast and lunch trays to make it easier (and hopefully cheaper) to pull this off. 

Trust me, I am still praying that FI's parents pay for the rehearsal dinner.  They just askd him about it, but didn't confirm that they were definitely paying for it...so we will see! 

M1ssJ

When cuzin got married we brought stuff the night before to the hotel ; fruit and cheese platters, mini jamaican patties, stuff for sandwiches and lots of water. on the day of , none of the girls ate much, we all wanted to be sexy for the wedding lol but we drank lots of water

flasweetheart

I know I'm late but when my friend got married her parents had us order room service for both our breakfast and lunch. We all ate nice size breakfast but just kind of picked at our lunches cause we didn't really want to be too full for dinner.  You may want to do more of a brunch  and then have snacks later in the afternoon.  It's totally up to you what you would like to do for your bridal party but be mindful that you don't want them to be too full that they don't enjoy the dinner that you have chosen so carefully.

SunnyBB

This is a great topic, made me think!  Our wedding is in the evening so we will probably do a light lunch or platter for the BP beforehand at the hotel.  Like others said, we are already giving everyone a free dinner at the rehearsal, so I don't think most people will expect a whole lot.