The one thing that I keep seeing over and over again it seems like is that it's "tacky" to not have an open bar at a wedding reception. For brides who feel that you are under a lot of pressure to provide alcohol for your guests at weddings, realize that this is YOUR wedding and you should do what makes you feel comfortable. For members of the bridal party and guests who may want alcohol at the reception, please understand that there are some valid issues as to why the bride and groom are choosing to not serve alcohol, or even decide to have a selection of a few drinks or a cash bar instead.
Personally, I have some close friends and family members who are recovering alcoholics (one with a set-back as recently as 2 years ago), so I know that having an open bar is out of the question because I want them to be able to enjoy themselves at my wedding without feeling too much pressure to start drinking. I drink on occasion, but I don't think I'm going to spend the rest of my life regretting it if I didn't drink at my wedding. So, this is something that I feel would be best both for them and for me. I appreciate having them in my life a lot more than trying to impress everyone with a big alcohol-infused party.
Sometimes it's just not within your budget to have alcohol at your wedding, and you know what? That's perfectly fine. Don't let anyone try to push you into upgrading to something that you can't afford. Some people have to make the choice between "Do I want to spend $20,000 on a wedding?" or "Do I want to have a smaller wedding, and put more money toward a house/apartment/etc?" It's not your place as the guest, or even as a member of the bridal party, to make judgments against the bride and groom for making some pretty tough choices.
I went to another wedding before where money was definitely not an issue, but it was against their religious beliefs to drink alcohol. The reception was basically a very fancy dinner, and the layout of the reception made it easy for guests to move around and visit with each other. It was a very fun night, and the food was amaaaazing!
And I also just want to point out that I'm not against serving alcohol at weddings, I just wanted to get this out there that everyone has a choice and not all wedding receptions are going to look the same. My fiance and I have discussed possibly having a signature cocktail available at our reception, or something like that where the alcohol is there, but consumption is limited for the sake of my family, friends, and our own budget. It's kind of hard though because his family has all the drinkers and mine have all the recovering alcoholics...Cheers! And happy planning, everyone!