<p>Baked French toast made with full-fat coconut milk is wonderful (assuming you like coconut, which I do). I have no objections to dairy, but make that way anyway. </p>
<p>And this is my recipe for French toast casserole: <a href=“Best Cinnamon Baked French Toast Recipe - How to Make Cinnamon Baked French Toast”>http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/cinnamon-baked-french-toast/</a> I can’t remember who first posted that recipe on CC, but it was at least three or four years ago, and I have used this recipe at least a dozen times in the years since. It is my go-to friends-for-brunch recipe. It really does taste best if you make it the night before!</p>
<p>Ema: Why isn’t your fiance kicking the groomsmen’s butts about the tux fittings? You’ve got enough to do.</p>
<p>Or vanilla soy milk or almond or rice milk. Barefoot Contessa has some highly user-rated recipes you could experiment with. I think of her as “never fail.” I like coconut milk because, to me, it’s the closest in taste. Some blueberry FT recipes just put the berries between the layers. Lots to see if you google dairy-free French Toast.</p>
<p>I agree a potluck wouldn’t pass for formal or even a “seems formal enough” wedding reception. But some are intentionally casual. Wouldn’t have any problem with that. Assuming I felt close enough to the B&G or their parents to want to roll up my sleeves. </p>
<p>I am going to make a plea for some protein to be added to those brunch menus for the benefit of anyone with blood sugar issues. Some Jones brown and serve sausages would be easy and delish. :)</p>
<p>Good point, those dessert buffets may look pretty but not everyone had a big steak for lunch, and if all your offerings include wheat, dairy & eggs, there may not be anything some people can eat.
Howabout smoked salmon & bagles for brunch- fresh blueberries and greek yogurt & deviled or hardboiled eggs?
Hummus or white bean dips with veggies go over well & give protein to guests who arent in the mood to eat a strata.
You don’t want your guests to have to leave early because they need to get some nourishment.</p>
<p>Im looking forward to my Ds party, with her husbands Southern lineage, Im expecting quite a spread.
:)</p>
<p>We know everyone invited to the brunch, it isn’t a large group, and all can eat what is planned. Most of us aren’t meat or fish eaters and none of us like yogurt, either. I know…we are a different group! ;)</p>
<p>I figured that you knew your audience. 
But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at gatherings with a breakfast where there is literally nothing I should eat. Being diagnosed with this stupid disease really opened MY eyes! (As did having friends with celiac disease.)</p>
<p>NM, we used hydrangeas and dusty miller on the tables – only mine didn’t grow that quickly because I didn’t put them in a sunny enough spot. I had enough to work with, though.</p>
<p>Are eggs okay for most people for protein? I was thinking we’d scramble a bunch of eggs on the griddle for anyone that wants them… we could probably throw some sausages on the griddle, too. I am wary because I just cleaned out my freezer and threw out 24 hot dogs and 20 hamburger patties from our engagement party that went uneaten because I vastly overestimated the appetites of my guests. Apparently our families don’t like having lots of choices, they get overwhelmed and don’t eat anything.</p>
<p>You can also donate leftover food to a food bank or shelter.</p>
<p>We sent food home with folks who were staying at our house and froze some for us as well. DH made food that would work in that way. The really perishable stuff was eaten up in a few days since we had a crowd at the house til the Thursday after the wedding!</p>
<p>Eggs are fine. Cheese is fine. Sausage is fine. (Obviously there are people who are allergic to eggs or dairy, or are vegetarians, but you have other choices for them.) Crustless quiche or cauliflower gratin is fine. </p>
<p>I suggest the Jones brand sausages because a) they taste good, b) they are quick and easy to cook, and c) if they are left over they can be easily reheated. Since I have to eat protein at breakfast every day and don’t always want to have eggs, I have tried virtually every brown and serve type of sausage out there. They are definitely the best. (BTW, the turkey sausages made by Jimmy Dean and Banquet are HORRIBLE!!) </p>
<p>Since this thread is about “saving money on a wedding”, I am wonder what the answer to the following hypothetical question is.</p>
<p>Suppose that the families of the groom and the bride have very different expectations about how much money to spend on a wedding due to various reasons. Will it cause a lot of stresses (especially the financial one) for either or both families?</p>
<p>My spouse thinks it will and is scared to death if the expectation of the family of our child’s future spouse happens to be very different from ours. (Unlike the funding for college education, we really have not saved much to fund this. It could drain our retirement savings.) But I think if the background is so different (e.g., one family often has expensive vacations and the life style is very different than the other family), they will unlikely get the relationship off the ground in the first place. </p>
<p>Who is right? This is just a hypothetical question, not that this has happened to us.</p>
<p>I depends on the parents (and, more broadly, culture background). </p>
<p>My fiance’s brother is getting married less than a month after we are. They’re having a HUGE wedding because the fiancee is very well off. My fiance’s family is not and is contributing quite little. There’s no friction because everyone is getting along hunky-dory. </p>
<p>There is no “right” IMO. I would just hope the parents don’t put THEIR expectations on their CHILD’S wedding. </p>
<p>I think it is up to the engaged couple to fund their own wedding and trimmings. IF the parents and future in-laws want to contribute, that’s wonderful, but I see NO scenario where it would be a good idea to drain retirement savings to pay for ANY wedding and think an inexpensive elopement would be far preferable (or a quiet service and nice inexpensive reception – punch and cake). Draining retirement would be the worst idea I can think of for funding a wedding or similar.</p>
<p>My philosophy is don’t worry about hypotheticals.
My daughters sister in laws both had large weddings. As in 10 bridesmaids & 10 groomsmen.
His parents are quite educated, we are not.
She & her fiance are getting married at the courthouse.
Not all couples feel all their friends must be in the wedding party, some are content to have them at the after party.
:)</p>
<p>The stress of planning a wedding is truly out of the ballpark. And while civility is the code word of the weddings that we our giving (our son) and two weddings that we will be attending…it is VERY difficult. Up front: We believe in small weddings…mom (there is no dad here) wants a wedding for the community (her community) that we will pay for. Two other weddings that we are involved with have a different culture. The weddings (paid by the groom’s families) are restrained by their culture. The small wedding will have 450 people. The moderate one: 700 plus. Large weddings are 2,000.</p>
<p>And yes, our budget of forty five ro fifty thousand won’t even cover the engagement party for the above.</p>
<p>Its my impression that many couples, especially ones who are no longer in their 20’s, are paying for their own weddings which may impact the size of the ceremony.
They always spend less when they are spending their own rather than someones elses money.
;)</p>
<p>It is causing some stress for us. My family’s expectation going in was that all of the traditional financial roles would be fulfilled-- my parents would pay for most things, but his family would pay for certain things traditionally handled by groom’s family like the rehearsal dinner. Fiance and I pay for honeymoon and any extras. My fiance’s family’s expectation is that they would not contribute to anything and that the bride and groom pay for everything themselves-- which is what their D did for both of her weddings. They are happy to let us plan whatever wedding we want with my parents, but they are not contributing, and are even going so far as to not really invite very many people… I don’t know if they imagined a smaller wedding or what. My mom is really frustrated by this and she feels like if she and my dad are digging into their pockets, his family should be willing to as well at least in some small way. There is some really bad blood over the rehearsal dinner. I am having to do a lot of smoothing over and it has been a significant source of stress for me, though I think I have kept fiance’s family oblivious to this, it is really just between me and my parents. Me personally, I think it is my fiance’s family’s prerogative not to contribute and I don’t hold it against them at all, but I can understand why my parents are irritated, too. Some sort of a small gesture of being in this together would have been nice, even if not financial, just some sort of participation. In the end, it will be okay, but it has been a little rough here and there in the planning.</p>
<p>We could have just chosen to fund the entire thing ourselves and solved this problem, but that would have made fiance’s family happy and devestated my family, so it was kind of lose/lose. It can be a struggle to juggle different expectations, but I think every family works this out in a way that works for them. </p>
<p>Lately I am wishing we had skipped the whole thing. It sounds like less than half are coming. I feel pretty stupid.</p>