Need an excuse to drink champagne and orange juice at 11 AM?
If you’re thinking, “Nope, bring on the bubbles..” then we should definitely be friends (hit me up on Insta @prettyprintablesink). But if you DO need a reason, hosting a brunch bridal shower is the PERFECT idea to celebrate the bride-to-be, have some bubbly and eat some delicious food, too.
We started seeing Pinterest-worthy bridal brunches popping up all over a few years ago, and this trend is not going away any time soon. It’s also a great theme for a bride who would rather eat, drink and be merry with her shower guests than sit around and open gifts in front of everybody (of course, you can totally still do this, but you have options if you choose to go with a brunch theme!).
So how do you go about hosting the perfect bridal shower brunch?
We’ve drafted some tips below for you. It can be as simple or complicated as you want to be. Here’s some ideas and tips to help you get started with throwing the perfect bridal shower brunch:
Choose your venue carefully
One of the first steps in any bridal shower planning process is choosing the right venue. There are often two factors that impact your location: budget and number of guests. First and foremost, you need to make sure you choose a venue that can hold the number of guests being invited. This may mean you might have to host your brunch at a local restaurant, country club or community hall if you’re inviting a large number of guests. Or, if someone has a larger home or if you have a small guest list, you can choose to host the bridal brunch at someone’s house.
The second thing you need to make sure you’re clear on is budget. If the entire bridal party is hosting, make sure you’ve discussed financial contributions and come to an agreement prior to selecting your venue.
To cook or not to cook, that is the question
The next thing you want to consider is whether you want to be preparing and cooking all the food yourself, host the brunch at a restaurant or other location that can do all the cooking for you, or hire a caterer. There are pros and cons to each of these, so it really depends on your budget, the number of people you may or may not have to provide food and beverages for, and whether or not all of the hostesses have the time and resources to be preparing food in advance and during the bridal brunch.
Make sure your guests know it’s a brunch
This might sound obvious, but if you put the time as 11 AM to 1 PM and don’t mention it’s a brunch, people may assume that since it’s over fairly early, they might not be fed. You want to make it clear to guests that food and drinks will be served, sbe sure to indicate this on the invitation.
We have several bridal brunch invitations available in our Etsy shop to suit your needs, and ANY of our invitations can be customized for your bridal brunch.
Choosing your food and drinks
If you’re going the restaurant or caterer route of your brunch, this will be pretty easy for you, as the restaurant, venue or caterer will already have a menu with a wide selection of choices for you to choose from.
If you’re going to be selecting, preparing and cooking the food yourself, you’ll want to make sure you select a wide variety of options that cover both the breakfast AND lunch category for your guests. It’s also a good idea to keep in mind dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free options, when choosing your menu.
When it comes to drinks, a brunch is not complete without a bubbly bar, in our minds. This can as simple as you’d like, or you can make it really fun with a bunch of fun stemware, stir sticks, fun signs, different fruits and a variety of juices to add a tasty punch of flavour to your champagne or prosecco. If you’re looking for some inspiration and tips on how to set up the perfect mimosa bar, be sure to check out my Bubbly Bridal Brunch board on Pinterest.
Menu ideas for those going the DIY route
I mentioned above that it’s a good idea to have a wide variety of food that covers both breakfast and lunch options, so I’ve put together some of my favourite brunch ideas and recipes that I found on Pinterest. You can also find more ideas than what I’ve listed below on my Bubbly Bridal Brunch board on Pinterest.
- Easy and elegant yogurt parfait
- Spinach and strawberry salad
- Bagel bar
- Fresh fruit skewers
- Baked french toast muffins
- Tomato bruschetta with garlic and basil
- Cheddar bacon ranch pinwheels
- Cucumber cream cheese and dill tea sandwiches
- Chicken salad on apple slices
- Mini quiche (can be made GF if you go crustless)
- French toast shooters with syrup
- Make ahead breakfast casserole
FREE BRIDAL BRUNCH PRINTABLE!
Each week, we send out a free printable to all our email subscribers, and this week’s printable will be the {perfect} addition to your bridal shower brunch! Sign up below to make sure you don’t miss out on what we’ll be sending out this week:
IMPORTANT: You need to click on the link that gets emailed to you after you sign up to confirm your subscription, otherwise you won’t receive our free printables! If you don’t receive an email right away after signing up, check your SPAM folder – Google and Yahoo tend to send them there.