The Wedding ‘Breakfast’

Why on earth is the big meal after your wedding called a Wedding ‘breakfast’? – it’s usually in the afternoon or evening, right? Well, not that long ago (around 1830), it was actually customary to be married fairly early in the morning, following Church Mass, with the meal afterwards literally being breakfast! It was the first meal as husband and wife and was a symbol of their new union – the start of their journey together. Of course the symbolism of coming together and starting your journey still remains today, though we’ve changed the time of our wedding ‘breakfast’ to more of a wedding ‘lunch’ or ‘dinner’ (or ‘dinner’ or ‘tea’, depending on which part of the UK you’re from!).

So, what do you eat at a wedding breakfast? In Regency times (think Jane Austin), the height of sophistication meant the menu consisted of a selection of bread, hot rolls, buttered toast, ham and eggs…chocolate and of course a cake!

Today, we still tend to follow the tradition of a grand feast after a wedding ceremony and over time we’ve added music and dancing to the festivities too. But there’s no reason why we can’t choose to mould and shape this part of the wedding traditions to reflect our personalities and style, just like we can with a celebrant led ceremony – life is too short to follow (all) the rules! Maybe you love the idea of an actual breakfast, maybe set in a lavish venue – simple but stylish. Or is a Fish & Chip-supper-with-Champagne, sat on hay bales more your thing? Or are you more of modern day sit-down, 3 course luxury feast kind of couple? You can choose to have a wedding celebration ceremony at any time of the day or night and therefore your meal afterwards can also be at any time – anything goes!

Want to find out how you can create your own wedding traditions that truly reflect your personality and style? Get in touch and let’s have a chat!

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