Wedding Etiquette Forum

Non-hosted post-wedding breakfast

There's been a lot of posts about post-wedding brunches, but I couldn't find a definitive answer to this and was wondering if I could get some input from the etiquette queens! The restaurant at our hotel serves breakfast until noon for a fairly reasonable price-I think like $10.95 for a great sideboard. FI and I are planning to have breakfast there the morning after the wedding, and we thought it'd be nice to let OOT guests know that if they want to come by and say hello/eat breakfast or have a cup of coffee with us before they leave that day, we'd love to see them. I should mention that neither of the hotels that we have room blocks at have a free breakfast buffet, so OOT guests will need to get breakfast somewhere in the area anyway (the two hotels are less than ten minutes apart on foot in a downtown area). I just can't figure out how to let people know that we'll be there without making it sound like we're hosting it. I wanted to put the information on the insert that we're putting in our wedding welcome bags, but saying "We'll be having breakfast at (location) on Saturday morning-feel free to stop by!" seems so ambiguous to me. As a guest, I'm not sure that I'd be clear on who is paying for breakfast. Any better suggestions? (Also, I know that a lot of people say that you should spread the news via word-of-mouth, but I just want to make sure that the news actually gets out to everyone, and I probably won't talk to all of the OOT guests until the reception.)

Re: Non-hosted post-wedding breakfast

  • It should be strictly word of mouth only. As soon as it is written, it seems like an invitation (which you will have to pay for). Just spread the word saying "h and I are having breakfast at x. The do a good, casual, reasonable brunch. Feel free to join before you head back if you would like". You could include a card in your welcome bag that says "good breakfast at x" in your restaurant recommendations, but as soon as you say you print that you are going, you are correct, it is very ambiguous and seems like you are hosting.
  • ScoutFScoutF member
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    Realistically, I think the only way you can spread word without it coming across as being hosted is doing it by word of mouth.
  • If it's important for you to talk to all the OOT guests, then maybe you should actually host something for them rather than having a non-hosted event.

    But if you're going to do what you propose, then word-of-mouth will be the best way to get across that the breakfast is non-hosted.
  • Jen4948 said:
    If it's important for you to talk to all the OOT guests, then maybe you should actually host something for them rather than having a non-hosted event.

    Sorry if I wasn't clear; I do plan to speak with all of my OOT guests. We'll be greeting people as they come into the church before the ceremony, and we'll be doing table visits during the reception. I just think (and I hope that some of our guests agree) that it would be nice to say farewell to people before they leave town, and spend more time with those that I don't see often. Unfortunately, it's not feasible for us to host something that morning.

    I just figured that since I have lots of other logistical information on my wedding website/on the inserts, it might make sense to include this piece of information as well. @londonlisa, I like the idea of providing a list of good breakfast places nearby. 
  • phiraphira member
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    I'd use word of mouth and, if you have one, your wedding website.
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  • jnissajnissa member
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    Any time I see any mention of brunch/breakfast the day after, I automatically assume it's hosted. I don't thing there's anything you can formally do that wouldn't come across as hosted, but...

    On our wedding website, we have a section of restaurant recommendations for oot guests who will be in the Friday before the wedding and need recommendations. It says something like, "Arriving Friday and planning to eat dinner? Here's a list of our favorite places nearby that you may want to try." And then, you know, we listed them with recommendations. You could do the same by creating a casual section on breakfast options nearby for anybody who'll be looking to eat on the day after and then parenthetically mention that you'll be at the place you mentioned. 
  • phira said:
    I also figure it's kind of like if you were going out for your birthday and you invited people to come with you to a restaurant. "We'll be having breakfast the next morning around [time] at [hotel restaurant]. If you'd like to keep us company, feel free to drop by! Breakfast costs [$X] per person and includes [stuff]."
    Totally agree with this! So if I include it on my website and/or welcome bag inserts (probably as part of a list of suggested restaurants, like some others have suggested), you think it's ok to mention cost? 
  • aniluisa said:
    phira said:
    I also figure it's kind of like if you were going out for your birthday and you invited people to come with you to a restaurant. "We'll be having breakfast the next morning around [time] at [hotel restaurant]. If you'd like to keep us company, feel free to drop by! Breakfast costs [$X] per person and includes [stuff]."
    Totally agree with this! So if I include it on my website and/or welcome bag inserts (probably as part of a list of suggested restaurants, like some others have suggested), you think it's ok to mention cost? 
    This is good wording.  Yeah, giving price ranges is a helpful heads-up.
  • Thanks all! This is super helpful.
  • Honestly, what I did was just schedule to have breakfast with my parents, and guests saw us as they came down from their rooms, and joined us. Did we get everyone? No. But by that time we were partied out and an intimate small breakfast was just right.



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  • At a wedding my friends had years back, she put a note in the guest baskets that had a bunch of suggestions for things to do in the area and also listed the hotel's breakfast with price. I lived locally, so I didn't go but that's how she did it. I agree with listing it on a wedding website and word of mouth otherwise. I figure most people don't do baskets.
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