Thursday, April 2, 2009

In defense of brunch

The new blog Help Me Pay For My Wedding has been the subject of some talk on wedding blogs and boards lately. In a nutshell, a newly engaged woman is asking people on the internet to donate money so she can throw her dream wedding in a fabulous venue. The discussion is going about how you'd expect, with some people thinking she's clever and others getting in a lather over how tacky, spoiled and entitled she is. When I first read about the site, I leaned more towards the latter, but quickly calmed down -- I'm not really tempted to throw any of my own money her way, but if she wants to see how much money she can get from strangers just by asking it's an interesting social experiment.

But when I visited her blog, what did make me mad was her explanation of why she couldn't possibly do anything other than a Saturday night wedding:
One option to reduce the cost was a suggestion the salesperson at dream location offered - get married on a Sunday morning and serve brunch. Somehow, the stunning wedding I’ve imagined does not include toast and scrambled eggs. Ugh.
Gaaah! The horror! The nerve! She insulted brunch!!

Image from The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs,
www.broadmoor.com.

Brunch is a quasi-religious experience for me, and not one I equate with toast and scrambled eggs. Back in Colorado, on Easter, Mother's Day, and other random Sundays, my family used to join my uncle's family for brunch at their country club. We would put on our Sunday best, drive down after church, meet up with some of my favorite people in the whole world, and enjoy a delicious buffet containing some or all of the following:
  • Homemade pastries
  • Prime rib sliced to order
  • Omelets made in front of your eyes from whatever you wanted
  • Belgian waffles
  • Stuffed French toast
  • Mimosas
  • Fresh fruit
  • Shrimp cocktail
  • Lox
  • Blintzes and crepes
It was a special family experience, as well as a delicious meal, and I think it was every bit as yummy and elegant as anything we're planning for our Saturday dinner wedding. As I wrote a while back, I would have *loved* to serve brunch at our reception, but was soundly rejected by a horrified Econo Boy, who insisted that we couldn't serve brunch to people who had made a special trip out to Colorado for our wedding.

So I guess my question is, what's the problem with brunch? Why do so many people (including Econo Boy) seem to consider brunch not good enough to serve to people who have traveled to attend your wedding? I've always considered brunch luxurious, even decadent, and definitely worth a special trip. But are my childhood memories blinding me to the fact that brunch just isn't as "classy" as dinner? Or am I right -- brunch rules and should totally be served at more wedding receptions? Inquiring minds want to know!

6 comments:

elizabeth said...

I love brunch! That said, maybe people equate the big 'night on the town' idea of weddings with night, with dancing, and drinking. Yeah, brunch has bloody marys and mimosas, but you don't really do hard core drinking at brunch.

Plus, there's the whole morning-after brunch that's gotten so popular. So if that is going to happen anyway, maybe it appears to be wimping out to offer *only* the brunch?

I think a daytime brunch or picnic wedding would be lovely, but I'm guessing this is why the zeitgeist recoils.

SG said...

I personally wouldn't have a brunch reception for the main reason of not wanting to get up at 5am to start getting ready for an early morning wedding.

I lean more toward late afternoon weddings/receptions because it gives not only the wedding party plenty of time to get ready but also allows the guests time to get ready and travel to the destination (assuming they live within a few hour drive).

Plus I prefer weddings with lots of dancing and most people aren't ready to really break it down at noon.

I'm a big fan of brunch on any other day though!

CaitStClair said...

I'm with you. I LOVE brunch and have great connotations with it. I would much rather have higher quality brunch food than over cooked mediocre pasta. (Why yes, the last wedding did serve lackluster linguine. How did you guess?)

Words and Steel said...

If we had an in-town wedding with no guests traveling, it would've been brunch all the way! Like Econo Boy, me and the Mister felt that if we and all our guests were flying to New Orleans then we might as well have a Sat evening wedding. That being said, we didn't break the bank and if the 'wedding of our dreams' was out of the budget, then it better be time to compromise on the dream! That woman is being ridiculous, and no, I haven't read her blog to come to that conclusion. It's just plain common sense.

Unknown said...

brunch to me equals super decadent and expensive brunch at one of the fanciest restaurants in my town. We used to take my grandma there for her birthday, and it's SO nice. Brunch is totally wedding worthy. Though I can see why people would want a wedding to be in the evening and not the morning. For me the time of day is what makes brunch undesirable for my personal wedding, not the meal.

Bride in Exile said...

I think you guys are right -- the logistical issues of a morning wedding probably play a big role in deterring more people from going with the brunch option. But fie on those who think brunch isn't "elegant" enough for a reception -- I think it's classy and luxurious and, as Ruthie said, totally wedding-worthy! (And if some restaurant is in fact serving you scrambled eggs and toast and calling it brunch, do not go back. They are scamming you and should be publicly shamed.)