4 Reasons to Share a Private Meal at Your Wedding
In South Louisiana, food is most commonly served buffet-style at weddings. This usually presents the issue of couples having no time to eat dinner. When it comes to preparing a timeline for my client's wedding day, I always try to fit in a private dining moment for the couple. This means they share a meal together alone, away from the guests and distractions but on-site at the venue. I always have and always will encourage taking the time to have a quick private meal together before entering the reception!
Surprisingly, many couples have to be convinced to do this. The main reason couples insist to skip the meal is that they are ready for the reception fun to start! Trust me, I get it! But the night usually goes much better if you set aside a little time to eat before starting the night’s events.
I am here to give a little insight into the benefits of taking the extra 10-15 minutes together to enjoy a meal alone before heading out to hang with all of your guests. In my humble opinion, they far outweigh the one con given earlier. Heck, if it is about how long it takes to stop and eat, I will start a timer and come grab you right when the timer runs out to get you out and into the reception!
Here are 4 reasons you shouldn’t skip out on a private meal together:
Alone Time: This is the first time you and your new spouse will be alone since your ceremony, and most likely, the whole day. This is 10-15 minutes that you can stop and enjoy each other’s presence before hanging out with your guests. Once you enter the reception, you most likely will not have much quality time together as most will be spent talking with all of your guests.
Enjoy your Food Selections: If you don’t take the time to eat before entering, it is most likely you will not get to eat at all. Remember all the planning that you did to pick your favorite menu offerings?? Well, imagine not getting to eat all of your favorite food after all of that. Plus, you are paying for it, and you deserve to enjoy it! By taking the time to stop and eat, you are guaranteed to really enjoy the food that all of your guests are getting to eat.
Soak It All In: It is likely that the entire day up to this point was filled with being pulled in a million different directions. There is always something for you to do or some pictures to pose for on your big day. Wedding days, although exciting, can be non-stop and overwhelming in some ways. This causes the day to fly by. By pausing to enjoy a meal with your spouse, it allows you the chance to stop and relish in the events of the day so far. Time slows for a second. This actually helps you to stop, reflect, and soak in all the emotions of the day without interruption! This counteracts that number one con mentioned earlier, by the way!
Last Chance: Once you enter the reception, you will be pulled in a bunch of different directions. Guests will either want to congratulate you, take selfies with you, or dance with you! There are a bunch of fun things to experience at your reception with your guests, and it will go fast. That just means that you will not have a moment to stop and feed yourself. With a night of drinking ahead of you, it is always a good idea to have some food in your belly. In addition, if you had nervous jitters all day, you probably did not eat much for breakfast or lunch. This is your final chance to fuel yourself for a successful night ahead!
These are just a few, but as you can see, there is a huge benefit to enjoying a private dining moment as newlyweds. I will always encourage my couples to have a meal alone together, whether it is before the first dance or after! I work with your caterer to make sure that they have everything set up for you upon arrival, and I always ask for your drink of choice so that you can get the party started together! Although the reception does fly by, I promise that you will not regret those 15 (or however many you decide) minutes you set aside to have a quick bite to eat!
If you don’t agree to put this in your timeline, I will probably follow you around all night with a plate of food trying to feed you. So let’s try to avoid that, and just get some food in your belly at the start of the night!
