 The outdoor wedding breakfast for the happy couple was served in courses at little tables set out under the trees. Friends would seek each other and choose their own places. The guests were served by experienced waiters directed by their manager. The bride's table was set apart at some distance from the wedding guests.
The menu for a Victorian outdoor wedding usually consisted of fruit, bouillon, some dainty preparation of lobster or other crustacean, an entrée, chops, birds and salad, and ice cream, concluding with coffee. If a simpler breakfast was desired, the first course of fruit, the entrée and game would be omitted. |
No prettier a setting was found for a Victorian wedding in May or June than out-of-doors. With flowers, greenery, and a well-tended lawn, the reception following the ceremony would be transformed into a colorful lawn party. The only hurdle to the success of a memorable 
outdoor wedding arrangement was that double preparations were necessary in case the weather proved disappointing.
The bride's mother would then receive her guests on the manicured lawn, wearing a hat or carrying an effective parasol. Occasionally she would delegate this greeting courtesy to a daughter or friend, if preferable. It was essential to have someone close to the bride available to greet the newly arrived guests to an outdoor wedding gathering to make them feel welcome to the special event.
The place set apart for the outdoor wedding ceremony would be festive with an abundance of blossoms, as though the earth were putting forth her loveliest efforts in honor of the happy bride and bridegroom. The lawn would be as trim as possible, with house rugs spread on the grass and comfortable chairs and little tables grouped under the trees. Vibrant garlands of foliage and flowers would be suspended from tree to tree to mark an aisle for the bride, with the festoons showing more and more white until within a few yards of the place of the outdoor wedding ceremony. 
This exclusive location would be marked by two white satin cushions at the foot of a great tree draped with a bower of blossoms. The wedding guests would stand outside the aisle fenced by the garlands as the bridal procession passed through the gates decorated with sweet peas. Little girls dressed in fancy dresses would scatter white petals in the bride's pathway as they preceded her down the aisle. A small orchestra under a marquee or on the piazza would add to the gayety of the scene.
Another popular way to serve the guests at an outdoor wedding was from a buffet table decorated with flowers. All the dishes would be cold. Consommé, salad, sandwiches, ices, cakes and the fruits of the season would be an ample provision. Two or three servant girls would assist in pouring tea, chocolate or serving coffee frappe. Where there were no servants, the easiest way to serve refreshments was from a table, from which the guests would help themselves — assisted by members of the family.
