Spring, the season of new beginnings, offers a great theme to usher in your new life together. And since Sunday brunch has always been a favorite dining experience, in these times when couples are looking to cut wedding costs, I offer a spring brunch as a great option to consider for a wedding reception.

A brunch allows you to go as high or as cheap as you want. Items like egg dishes, waffles, and French toast are considerably less expensive than a steak or salmon dinner. Plus, people will probably drink a lot less alcohol at brunch than they do at dinner (hint: a champagne that’s going to be mixed with orange juice for Mimosas doesn’t have to be as high-quality as one that has to shine on its own).

However, if you’re feeling fancy, you can add a seafood or sushi bar, or crab cakes and poached salmon with a selection of sauces showcasing spring herbs like creamy dill, Gribiche (a French variation of chervil-filled tartar sauce). chives and tarragon) or Sauce Verte, a classic sauce of herbs, capers, olive oil and lemon juice.

Here are some additional menu ideas to get your juices flowing:

– Start with a couple of past Hors D’oeuvres: Mini Potato Pancakes topped with Smoked Salmon, Sour Cream, and Chives and Mini Blintzes topped with Applesauce or Cranberries.

– Add a waffle, pancake, or French toast station along with bacon and sausage. All kinds of interesting gourmet sausages are now available. I especially like Chicken Apple for brunch.

– Have one or two chefs prepare eggs benedict and florentine, or omelettes, to order. If you want to save money on party staff, serve frittatas that can be baked ahead of time and served on a buffet at room temperature. Get as creative as you like with the frittata ingredients: Artichoke frittatas (another spring vegetable) are excellent, as are asparagus and shrimp, mushrooms and potatoes, zucchini and leeks; almost any combination of ingredients you can think of is good for frittatas.

– Serve great salads showcasing the essence of baby spring greens garnished with early English peas and snap pea tendrils along with a healthy handful of those spring herbs, tossed with a lemon vinaigrette or blanched asparagus with a creamy cilantro or Green lime Goddess dressing room.

– Take advantage of the fact that spring is the start of strawberry season with a chocolate fondue station or tartlet dessert station (you can add other berries to your tartlet station).

So have a great brunch with the rest of the afternoon to celebrate, and savor the fact that you’ve saved money on your reception.