My Bridal Brunch at Cherry Hall

My bridal brunch was an event all its own! It was a dream, and everything I could've ever imagined. All the girls in my life, in a beautiful event space, with unlimited champagne. What more could a bride to be ask for?!

I got a lot of questions on why I decided to do a bridal brunch instead of a traditional bridal shower. The problem with bridal showers is that usually, they take place in the weeks and months leading up to the wedding, which is fine, but I knew that by hosting it that far in advance, many of my out of town friends and family wouldn’t be able to make it.

A lot of the guests that I wanted to invite don't live within driving distance of Kansas City, so I decided that since everyone would already be in town for the wedding weekend, I would just host it that Friday so that everyone could attend! It turned out amazing, and was truly one of the highlights of my weekend. I also highly recommend doing a brunch/or squeezing something in during wedding weekend so that everyone you love can be there!

Venue

The brunch was hosted at Cherry Hall, which is a beautiful event space in downtown Kansas City. They host all kinds of large gatherings, corporate events, weddings, etc. If you’re newly engaged or looking for a wedding venue, I highly recommend looking. Cherry Hall is actually owned by the same owners as the Bardot, which is where our reception was.

The Abbott Events team is wonderful, and I can’t say enough about how seamless they made not only the brunch, but our reception too. The team working behind the scenes at a venue is so important when it comes to any event, and they were the absolute best. They’re incredible at what they do and I had the most positive experience working with them! Addie took care of everything for me from start to finish, and she nailed every detail.

If you're interested in hosting an event at Cherry Hall, they've offered to give you a discount if you use my name! Use 'KALE100' when you book, and they'll waive $100 of your fee. I can't recommend them enough and would use them again in a heartbeat!

Catering

The brunch was graciously catered by Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee is a grocery store local to Kansas City, and it's the grocery store you hear me talk about on my stories all the time! My mom always grocery shopped there when I was growing up, and we live within 5 minutes of one now, so it's all I've ever known! We love it so much and I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them in this capacity.

On to the good stuff, the food. Being a food blogger means I take food seriously, especially when it's an event I'm hosting! I wanted my guests to have the best of the best. And when I tell you Hy-Vee knocked it out of the park, I am not exaggerating.

Catering is one of those things that you just kind of have to have faith is going to come together because you don't really get to see anything before the event happens. I had a very specific vision for what I wanted, and it's probably not something Hy-Vee does very often when it comes to catering, so I was hopeful that it would turn out like the Pinterest photo I had in my mind. Needless to say, it turned out better than I ever could've imagined!

Seeing as though this was a bridal brunch, I wanted to make sure the food to reflected that. I wanted both breakfast and lunch options, but I wanted it set up in a way that didn’t scream traditional catering. The brunch was very casual, so I wanted it to be more of a grazing table instead of a stuffy catering setup. I worked with Marlo (she is the catering manager at the Lees Summit Hy-Vee!) and she brought my vision to life, and then some. 

We had the most incredible spread, all hand picked by me! We had the most beautiful charcuterie you've ever seen, mini quiche lorraines, belgian waffles, scones, bagels, croissants, pastries, bacon, stuffed french toast, sausage, tons of fresh fruit and more. They also provided the cutest assortment of fruit topping options for our mimosa bar! 

The floral arrangements were provided by Hy-Vee as well, and they were so, so beautiful. I sent Marlo some pictures of the space, and basically told her to run with it. She designed the arrangements herself! They were perfect for the space, the event, and they matched the color scheme perfectly. I had forgotten that Hy-Vee does arrangements for things like this, so definitely keep them in mind for any event you might be hosting! It makes it so seamless and easy when you can do florals and food with the same vendor. 

The staff that came to set up and serve at the brunch was so kind, hard working, and a pleasure to work with. They took care of every last bit of set up, tear down, clean up, etc. They helped make the brunch the biggest success and I'm so thankful for their team!

Working with Hy-Vee made planning this brunch so seamless, and so easy. I was so tied up with so many other things involving the wedding that I was nervous this wouldn’t come together like I wanted, because I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to it. But Marlo and her team could not have been easier to work with, and I would use them again in a heartbeat. Whether you’re hosting a party, a shower, small gathering, corporate event, etc, I couldn’t recommend Hy-Vee more. I know there are so many catering options in Kansas City, but working with them was the very best experience, and their service was top notch. I could not have done the brunch without them!

Balloons

The balloon arches at the brunch were actually from Amazon! I know so many companies that do this locally, but you can save yourself a ton of money by putting them together yourself. Balloon arches are so popular for so many different events, but if you're hosting, this is a really easy way to cut costs and save money. I'm linking the one my aunt/bridesmaid used here!

Drinks

We only offered water and champagne at the brunch, just to make things more cost effective. We had the cutest mimosa bar set up with so many different fruit toppings, and everyone loved it! I had thought about doing a brunch cocktail, but knew most people would be into the mimosas anyway, so I decided to nix it and I'm so glad I did.

Cherry Hall offers bar packages for all of their events, so it's totally up to you what you provide, but this was the cheapest way to offer drinks without spending a ton of money!

Cookies

My bridal brunch cookies were done by the one and only, @KatesCookies. I have followed Kate via Instagram for almost three years now, so the minute I got engaged I told her I needed her to do wedding cookies of some kind for me! When I tell you Kate is magical, that doesn't even begin to cover it. She is an artist and her cookies speak to that.

She took me through a literal design process with these cookies so that they we're exactly what I had envisioned. I had a vibe and a vision, and I wanted them to fit the theme of the brunch. She did exactly that! Everyone was in awe of how beautiful they were!

Kate is so talented and I'm so happy I got to use her. And, besides being so beautiful, they're also the most delicious sugar cookies you've ever eaten, without a doubt. She does all kinds of cookies, the sky is the limit. If you're local and ever need someone for a birthday party, shower, teacher, anything, Kate is your girl!

Welcome Sign

My welcome sign at the entrance of the brunch was created by Dana, from The Authentic Hand. Dana was a pleasure to work with and she is so, so talented. She created all of the signs for our wedding, and they turned out better that I had hoped. She is so professional, everything is executed to straight up perfection. If I ever need anything signage wise again, she is who I will use!

I think I covered all things brunch, but if I didn't, feel free to send me an email/message and I'm happy to cover anything I've forgotten about!