I'm having a dry reception...

mrsblakemore

I'm upset about it, but money is tight and alcohol is expensive as yall know. Is my wedding gonna be lame without alcohol. I'm really gonna try to get it, but I'm just ready to get the whole thing over with!!!

What do you ladies think?

raganw

Does your venue allow you to bring in your own alcohol?  If so, you can save yourself a BUNDLE getting it yourself.  If not, have you considered just beer and wine?  That's also cheaper than a full open bar...

PhillyBride123

I think the time of day plays a role...If it is a brunch reception then no you don't need alcohol but if it is a Friday evening reception, like mine, then heck yeah, plus we want a "party type" wedding...
At the end of the day do what is best for you and FI remember a wedding is one day you have to live the rest of your lives being married don't go into debt for a few hours...

kristi0618

I was going to ask if you could bring in outside alcohol. Being that money is extremely funny over here we're getting a dual margarita machine($125) and a keg($150). But if you cant afford it you cant afford it so dont stress behind the alcohol.

mrsblakemore

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_im-having-dry-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:400Discussion:2723cb90-c403-47b3-9acc-d6ebf6464b38Post:c7ff59f4-9490-46da-8dd7-9aeb302dabdd">Re: I'm having a dry reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]I was going to ask if you could bring in outside alcohol. Being that money is extremely funny over here we're getting a dual margarita machine($125) and a keg($150). But if you cant afford it you cant afford it so dont stress behind the alcohol.
Posted by kristi0618[/QUOTE]

Nope. We definitely cannot bring any other food or drink, except cakes and candy  bar type stuff. Definitely no drinks, not even a cup of water can be brought from outside. I may consider just having a "punch bowl" for the grown-ups during the pre-reception hour, but our money is funny too.

mrsblakemore

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_im-having-dry-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:400Discussion:2723cb90-c403-47b3-9acc-d6ebf6464b38Post:662a74bb-4355-436e-97de-63a3112f7a69">Re: I'm having a dry reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]I think the time of day plays a role...If it is a brunch reception then no you don't need alcohol but if it is a Friday evening reception, like mine, then heck yeah, plus we want a "party type" wedding... At the end of the day do what is best for you and FI remember a wedding is one day you have to live the rest of your lives being married don't go into debt for a few hours...
Posted by PhillyBride123[/QUOTE]

My wedding is Sunday (10-10-10) evening...So our excuse could be that it's Sunday (I'm in the South), but nowadays ppl don't care about that.

MAGNUM 06

Thats an idea MrsBlakemore... If you cant do the whole bar thing... You might speak with the venue about a "Spiked" Punch or Champagne Fountain... or something along those lines... That way you technically "could" have drinks... just without the bar.....You'd only be serving one type of alcohol in the punch... Rum or Champagne or whatever... Which could keep the additional cost low....Gotta look at this thang from all angles....  :-)

ASK'EM!!!!  A closed mouth don't get fed.... All they can say is no... but they might say yes....  

tyboyd

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_im-having-dry-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:2723cb90-c403-47b3-9acc-d6ebf6464b38Post:3d35a67a-e458-48c9-aefb-3418b35ffb00">Re: I'm having a dry reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: I'm having a dry reception... : My wedding is <font color="#ff0000"><strong>Sunday</strong></font> (10-10-10) evening...<strong><font color="#ff0000">So our excuse could be that it's Sunday (I'm in the South),</font></strong> but nowadays ppl don't care about that.
Posted by mrsblakemore[/QUOTE]

<font color="#000000">That might be the excuse we use. I don't think it's cute to walk in work Monday morning with a hang over. lol. Another excuse we have is FI is a minister. But we might do like Krys and get a margarita machine. If NO ONE drinks from it, I know my mom will! lol</font>

sweets18

My FI doesn't want alcohol at our wedding at all... and money is also an issue... but I am kind of worried about it. My family can be a bit off the chain when alcohol enters the picture so it may just work out without it...

BabyKaykes

You can still have an awesome reception without alcohol. FI and I are "church folk" who hang out with the like, and our parties are insane.

Are you having a DJ? Without alcohol, your DJ will just have to work a little harder. Let him know the recepion will be dry and  to put together something that will really get people moving.

hunee=pye

I was a BM in my cousins wedding last year and they did not have any alcohol and the party was still poppin. I wouldnt worry if you cant but I would ask about giving the punch a little kick.

adgenya

I went to a Sunday wedding where the only alcohol was a champagne toast. While, it wasn't the party scene, it was still a nice wedding and we enjoyed the time spent with the bride and groom.

If possible, I'd try to do a signature drink/punch. Our siggy drink was a champagne punch (we just got huge bottles of champagne, 2 for $11 at Costco)  and it wasn't too expensive. 

cuddleberry

No alcohol at my reception either. Alcohol doesn't make the party, the people do.

msapril0730

One of the venue's we looked at gave us an option of a partially hosted bar. She told us to put whatever we could towards the bar like $300-500, once the money was gone ppl would have to start buying their own drinks. She said it was a popular thing there since their full bar was like $14pp. If you decide to do it just put a sign up letting ppl know or have the dj make an announcement once the free drinks are over. Its not proper "etiquette" but alot of stuff we do isn't.

I'm sure your guest will have just as much fun without the alcohol!
 

missrekaeagle

My reception was dry and we still had fun. My parents are very religious and I was 4 months pregnant when I got married, so if we had alcohol I wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway.

lca315girl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_im-having-dry-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:2723cb90-c403-47b3-9acc-d6ebf6464b38Post:b90ca3ea-50ec-4727-b91e-9af2fb035b71">Re: I'm having a dry reception...</a>:
[QUOTE]No alcohol at my reception either. Alcohol doesn't make the party, the people do.
Posted by cuddleberry[/QUOTE]

THIS! My reception was dry, but people still had a great time.