Morning (or noon) weddings, followed by a “wedding breakfast,” are traditional in the Catholic church, and I went to a ton of them when I was a kid. It definitely doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to me.
Not having a bridal party really makes a 10 am wedding much easier. And no rowdy bridal party to encourage heavy drinking the night before.
So it eases up the need to make the rehearsal dinner start so early. Although still a good idea to shoot for all events to end by 10 pm to hopefully get folks to sleep by midnight.
Sounds like getting photos before or after wedding will be a main point to work out.
The future bride and groom are such quiet, orderly people that I find it hard to think of them and the word “rowdy” in the same sentence.
But they have, between them, five brothers. And those brothers have a variety of personalities and lifestyles. So anything is possible. But it’s not their responsibility or mine if any of those guys has to drag himself to the wedding with a killer hangover.
On a side note, I have to LOL at the many references to the ancient, doddering great aunts that no one has seen in decades on this thread.
I am a great aunt, in fact I have 8 great nieces and nephews, ranging in age from an 18 yr old college freshman to a 2-wk old baby whom I just met on Saturday. 
Clearly, we great aunts differ wildly in degree of closeness to our great nephews and nieces and our degree of comfort with the internet!
Seriously, though, my 93-yr old mother uses the internet and would be fine checking out a wedding website. Admittedly, she isn’t your typical 93-yr old, but I would guess that many, if not most, people in their 80s use the internet.
I’m going to ask my niece about the French toast casserole. It was delicious!
Second the Bloody Marys if you are serving alcohol.
My parents had a Catholic wedding and breakfast right afterwards, too.
My daughter announced a few weeks ago, after watching the last episodes of Downton Abbey, that she would be having a Christmas wedding, and a brunch. The Christmas part will cut down on any need for church decorations and the brunch part on the costs.
I doubt this will actually happen but I’m fine with it.
@snowball, without reading ahead…what reason do the cousins give for not wanting to drop in on the welcome party?
@Marian good friends son had a brunch wedding reception. It was fabulous. The cocktail hour was lots of fun. They served mimosas and Bloody Mary from trays being passed. There was also a plentiful selection of juices and coffee/tea. For those wishing a different kind of alcohol, there was a cash bar. But really…hardly anyone went to that cash bar!
The brunch was terrific. There was an omelette station where custom omelettes were oreoared one at a time. At the other end was a waffle station. Both had a huge number of appropriate toppings. In the center was a serpentine shared table with tons…and I mean tons of brunch things. Every kind of pastry imaginable. Lox, and bagels, fruit salad, has Browns, bacon, sausage, croissants, breads, butter, lots of jelly, cream cheese, I loved it because the serving platters were actually on the smaller side, somtheynwere replenished frequently.
There was still dancing, and traditional champagne toast. Mimosas and Bloddy Mary drinks were served all throughout the reception.
They had a traditional wedding cake…that got cut about 2:30 in the afternoon…perfect timing for a cup of coffee or tea…and cake.
The venue was gorgeous…and the wedding couple would not have been able to afford a dinner in the same place.
I think a brunch wedding would be wonderful! I like that.
My parents had a brunch wedding back in 1958! As a wedding favor they gave out pieces of a cake that was identical to their wedding cake. I saw a brunch wedding discussed in a nytimes article where the couple gave out a small bottle of Vermont maple syrup. How sweet (yep, pun intended)!
A brunch wedding makes particular sense if the location has a nice view or outdoor locale since you wouldn’t enjoy it at an evening wedding once the sun set.
I went to an 11:00 am at a synagogue, with in-house catering. I knew the daughter, but was close friends with the mom. She is a teacher at our MS, and our sons have been friends since K. I sat with many teachers I knew by last names, but we gals had fun dancing together. It was great to go straight from the ceremony to brunch, in same venue. One of my favorites.
S just had a Sunday brunch wedding 2 weeks ago. On the menu were: 2 create-your-own omelet stations, hash brown potatoes mixed with onion and green pepper, bacon, sausage, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for toppings (or syrup), and fruit salad. 150 guests at the reception held indoors at a golf club.
The wedding was at 10 am, 30 minutes from the reception venue. Hair and makeup began at 6 am for the bride, 6:30 for the 4 bridesmaids; all were staying at the hotel 10 minutes from the ceremony and the stylists came right to the hotel where we had reserved a conference room. Photographer showed up at 6:30. A limo made multiple trips back and forth to ceremony site. Bride dressed inside at ceremony.
The outdoor wedding lasted 22 minutes, followed by license signing, and then moving into pictures. Family shots were first, followed by a few wedding party, and a bunch for B/G. Those not in pictures were encouraged to go to the reception where the full bar opened at 11 am and outdoor games were set up. (My feeling was mimosas, beer and wine would be enough, but S wanted it all; however, not many people drank a lot…). They also had cheese and crackers and a fruit salad as early appetizers. For pictures, we had informed the families to stay around after the ceremony so we could get the family photos right away. I had the list prepared by the B/G and let everyone know the expected order. Bride’s mom was ill and in a wheelchair so we did her family first and then moved into ours. Photographer was great and moved people right along, plus the families were ready to go. We took them at the ceremony site in the shade and the ones we got on guests’s phones were beautiful. 18 minutes and done.
The wedding party arrived at the reception at 12:05, right on time, brunch continued for about an hour, then B/G cut the cake about 1:00. The cut cake was left out for the duration of the reception, with small petit-fours added in another hour later. Perfect with a cup of coffee. Dancing started immediately after and continued until after 4. DJ finally had to wrap it up, though there were still about 20 people left. We had the place cleaned up and were out the door by 5 pm on the shuttle bus loaded with the decorations, our 2 DDs, the man of honor, the games, some of the gifts, and the bride and groom. H and I drove our cars back to the hotel.
The rehearsal dinner the night before started at 5 as the rehearsal was at 3:30 and the couple wanted to be done early. We had a wine toast and all other alcohol was a cash bar. We were all back at the hotel by 8:30. I was happy to visit with my siblings and their families, though I was busy organizing for the next morning.
The brunch was beautiful and cost 1/2 what a Saturday night dinner would have. S was slow to propose so they weren’t left with many options for the venue 12 months after his proposal.
@dentmom4 With the early start time for your son’s wedding, I assume most out of town guests stayed in a hotel locally on Friday night? Did most stay for Saturday night as well or head home in the late afternoon?
I love the idea of an early in the day wedding.
I remember reading the 1940’s etiquette book my mom had on the shelf that morning weddings are very traditional. There was a long section about the “wedding breakfast” as they called the reception.
Plus it gives the gentlemen in the wedding party to look oh so very British in their formal morning coats.
http://www.blacktieguide.com/Supplemental/Morning_Dress.htm
dentmom4’s mention of license signing reminded me of D’s little surprise about 10 days ago. County clerk called D & SIL to tell them that their marriage license was received signed by officiant, but not by bride and groom. They had to go to the courthouse last Monday to “get married again.” ;))
If not full morning dress for the wedding party (as in the link above), then regular business suits are just fine. I’d definitely stay away from tuxedos or other evening wear for the men at a morning wedding!
I posted the morning suit site for fun, not as an actual suggestion. If my son was getting married during the daytime I would perhaps suggest navy blazers and gray trousers for the men, or medium gray suits. But I just love seeing men in those great suits like days of old.
S’s wedding was a Sunday morning. The out of town guests stayed over Saturday night; my family members from the west coast stayed Sunday night also. One cousin flew out Sunday night. H stayed Sunday night to return the suits on Monday morning. Then the west coast people got caught in the Delta snafu and didn’t get out until Tuesday.
The groomsmen wore medium gray summer suits with white shirts, grey vest, mint or coral tie. Groom wore same suit with white vest and white tie. Dads and ring bearers wore same suit with silver ties. Perfect for a summer morning.
Thank you, everyone, for sharing your stories about early-in-the-day weddings. There’s such variety!
@marian I love your idea for a brunch wedding very much. I will think about that when dd’s time comes.