Ladies Luncheon Ideas

Easy ladies luncheon ideas for hosting your friends, moms, or brides! Create a pretty table setting with a lunch menu, dessert and festive drinks. This party is great for Mothers day, baby or bridal showers, and birthday celebrations. 

luncheon table setting outdoors with flowers centerpiece and layered plates with coupe glasses.

When to Host a Ladies Lunch Party

A ladies lunch is a great opportunity to get together with some best friends to eat light fare, drink some bubbly, indulge in sweet treats, and have great conversation together.

  • Think of these ideas in terms of a Galentine’s Party with your besties.
  • Host in celebration of warm weather and seasonal events. A beautiful spring ladies luncheon is just the thing when you have spring fever.
  • These ideas are perfect for a Mother’s day brunch where you can celebrate with your own family or with your mom friends.
  • Treat a bride and her wedding party to a bridesmaid luncheon with a modern tea party vibe.
  • If you’re part of a church group or local committee, this can be a great way to meet up and organize or share ideas.
  • This is a great idea for weekend entertaining for no other reason than to catch up with friends.

Menu for a Ladies Luncheon

When you’re hosting lunch for the ladies you want it to be rather light but full of flavor. This easy menu does just that.

Easy Starters

white marble platter with cured meat, cheese and crisp crackers.
simple cheese plate
green salad with roasted grapes, goat cheese and pistachios on copper platter with cruet of dressing on the side.
roasted grape salad

Start with a simple cheese plate to complement the meal or put together a more abundant charcuterie board. It’s easy to go bigger if you need to, but a couple of cheeses, good quality meat, and some tasty artisan crackers will do just fine.

One of my favorite dishes to serve for the gals is this roasted grape salad. It’s something that’s a bit unique with the roasted grapes, and it will definitely be a winner!

Another terrific option that looks as good as it tastes is this strawberry spinach salad served in a bread bowl. Check out more appetizer salads for other options.

Light Entrees

chicken salad in mini pastry cups on pink napkin on copper tray, garnished with flowers and greenery.
honey chicken salad cups
chicken salad in puff pastry cups on white dish.
sesame chicken salad cups

I’ve served these honey chicken salad cups at many showers and luncheons over the years. And the reason is because they’re easy to make and so delicious. I’ve served them in mini pastry cups here but you can also use phyllo cups or make croissant sandwiches. 

Not to be outdone, this sesame chicken salad in puff pastry cups is equally delicious. It has a light Asian style flavor that everyone loves.

Cold Mains

Chicken salad with mango, red bell pepper and cilantro in white serving bowl on dinner table.
chicken salad with peanut dressing
cold spaghetti pasta salad with shrimp on white platter.
Thai noodle salad

If you want a heartier entrée, my crunchy chicken salad with peanut dressing is a fantastic choice. It’s got so much texture and flavor in one dish, plus it’s a mix of sweet and savory.

Or, prepare this cold Thai noodle salad and add shrimp, chicken or edamame to suit your taste.

Hot Dishes

casserole topped with crunchy onions with spoon taking a scoop out of white dish.
hot chicken salad
baked pasta casserole in white dish with spoon scooping out a serving.
Mexican pasta bake

You may want to serve a hot main dish instead of a cold one. This hot chicken salad is my go-to dish that’s easy to prepare ahead and then bake it just before guests arrive.

Or, you can cook this Mexican pasta bake which is always a crowd pleaser. It’s hearty and flavorful as it combines the best of both Italian and Mexican ingredients.

Other great pasta dishes are this classic baked spaghetti or this easy layered penne pasta bake.

PRO TIP: Double these casserole recipes for a larger group. They’re easy to prep ahead and bake when you’re ready.

Round out the table with a basket of bread and dipping oil. Get a loaf of French, Italian or sour dough from the bakery section of the grocery store.

Make-Ahead Sides

broccoli salad with tomatoes, raisins and crunchy noodle toppers, on white platter.
broccoli salad
corn salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh basil in wood serving bowl.
corn salad

Add one or two more side dish items like my savory & sweet broccoli salad. It’s full of fresh broccoli, sweet raisins, savory tomatoes and crunchy chow mein noodles.

Or serve this delicious corn salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh basil. You’re going to want to keep things light because what comes next is total indulgence!

If you want to serve something hot, simple roasted carrots with cumin goes with everything. And my favorite broccoli casserole is terrific alternative to green bean casserole.

Ladies Luncheon Tablescape

place setting overhead with white plate layered with pink glass plate and gold and white stripe plate with blue napkin.

Layer beautiful coordinating plates for each place setting. I like to mix classic with vintage. Start with a white dinner plates as a base and build upward with vintage depression glass salad plates, and modern striped dessert plates.

Top the dishes with a party favor. In this case, a small drawstring bag filled with flavor infused artisan sugar shapes. Find lots of options by searching on Etsy.

Complete the place setting with a mini vase filled with a small flower bundle. It’s another thing guests can take home as a favor.

Blue, pink and yellow flowers centerpiece in gold vase.

Add a mixed floral centerpiece to decorate the table, and add a mini vase at each place setting. She can take the mini vase home as a party favor.

champagne in vintage coupe glass with flower shaped sugar cube hanging on side.

Serve champagne cocktails in vintage coupe glasses. Add cute sugar charms hanging on the side. Just drop it into prosecco for added flavor.

EXPERT TIP: Keep the table setting minimal and serve the food family-style. This makes a party feel more intimate and cozy.

Dessert

Save the best for last with a sweet mini dessert table. Keep the main lunch menu light so there’s room for sweets.

donut hole tree with fresh flowers for garnish, on table beside dish of macarons and chocolates.

Pop a bottle of bubbly and serve it with donut holes, macarons, and chocolate dipped Oreos or homemade Oreos truffles.

The donut tower is a beautiful centerpiece. Make it by inserting toothpicks into a foam craft cone (wrap it with saran wrap first). Start at the bottom and work your way around and up the cone. Then slide the donuts onto the toothpicks. Use small flowers and mint sprigs to fill gaps.

Take this idea even further with a donut toppings bar.

pink napkin with mini jars filled with strawberry shortcakes.
mini strawberry shortcakes
mini cheesecakes on white platter garnished with yellow and purple flowers.
mini cheesecakes

Easy make-ahead angel cake strawberry shortcakes are the perfect dessert for a ladies luncheon. They’re made with cake, Cool Whip, and fresh strawberries.

Another great dessert to make ahead is mini cheesecakes topped with a simple jam sauce. These can be baked the day before and kept refrigerated until ready to serve.

rose champagne in ice bucket with floral ice spheres and green ferns.
rose champagne in pink coupe glasses with napkins that read donuts & rose.

Flowers can play a big role in the décor of a ladies lunch part. They can reflect the season and the occasion. Use fresh blooms to help decorate the donut tower, to garnish ice cubes, and to garnish the sparkling wine. Remember to never ingest toxic or non-edible flowers.

I hope you’re inspired and ready to host a ladies luncheon. With tasty food, plenty of wine, and good friends, you’ll be able to pull this off without a hitch!

More Ideas for the Ladies

If you like this post, PINShare, or sign up for our Newsletter at the top of the page. And don’t forget to follow CAH on Instagram or Facebook. Cheers!

how to host a ladies luncheon for moms, brides, or friends

Sharing is caring!

Similar Posts

5 Comments

  1. What a gorgeous spring table! Perfect for an elegant Mother’s Day party, but also some lovely ideas to make a family gathering extra special, too!!!

  2. This is such a pretty party!! i LOVE the gold details and that bar!! Loving that your wine matches the party colors too! 🙂

Comments are closed.