Wedding breakfast
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A wedding breakfast is a
Nowadays the wedding breakfast is not normally a morning meal, nor does it look like a typical breakfast, so its name can be confusing.
Origin of the name
The name is claimed
The Oxford English Dictionary does not record any occurrences of the phrase "wedding breakfast" before 1850, but it was used at least as far back as 1838.[a]
The author of Party-giving on Every Scale (London, 1880) suggests the phrase may have evolved fifty years earlier:[3]
The orthodox "Wedding Breakfast" might more properly be termed a "Wedding Luncheon," as it assumes the character of that meal to a great extent; in any case it bears little relation to the breakfast of that day, although the title of breakfast is still applied to it, out of compliment to tradition. As recently as fifty years ago
luncheonwas not a recognised meal, even in the wealthiest families, and the marriage feast was modernised into the wedding breakfast, which appellation this entertainment still bears.— Unknown, Party-giving on Every Scale (London, 1880)
Current use
The Compact Oxford Dictionary[4] lists the phrase as only "British", and the Merriam-Webster online dictionary[5] does not list it at all.
The custom of the wedding breakfast is occasionally spotted in non-English-speaking countries that market themselves as wedding destinations, e.g. Poland.[6]
See also
- List of breakfast topics
- Wedding
- Wedding reception
- Rehearsal dinner
Notes
- ^ In a newspaper review of a recently published book, The Veteran by John Harley, the reviewer quotes: "C--- and his bride returned to the coffee house, where they were received with great kindness the master and mistress who, notwithstanding the short notice, had a comfortable wedding-breakfast prepared for them".[2]
References
- ^ Wagner, L. (1894). Manners, customs and observances. London: Heinemann. (Chapter 7)
- ^ "The Times". 15 January 1838: 7.
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(help) - ^ "The Regency Wedding Breakfast - JaneAusten.co.uk". janeausten.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- ^ Compact Oxford Dictionary
- ^ Merriam-Webster online dictionary
- ^ "Forget Me Nots: Twój ślub jak Śniadanie u Tiffniego!". Forgetmenot-weddings.blogspot.com. Retrieved 21 December 2018.