Drinkage!

sbily2010

i was planning on having mostly some sort of non-alcoholic drinks and i was starting to think about what to get for alcohol and how much. me and fi don't drink much but when we do it's mostly disaronno that we do drink. Would it be aweful of us just to offer a few choices like that? (we'd be bringing it all in ourselves)

laurening

I'd also provide other liquor with broader appeal like vodka, rum, etc. Or do mostly wine and beer and a couple specialty liquors like the amaretto.Since your initial plan was to skip the alcohol completely, another idea may be just to do after dinner drinks. Disaronno, Baileys, Kahlua, Frangelico all go wonderfully with coffee.

Lasairiona

Do all of your guests who drink also enjoy that beverage? If not, what do they drink? It's also perfectly ok to have a dry reception.

dsouldiva

We've been to a few weddings where it's just beer and wine + non-alcoholic choice, I think that's fine, most people drink those, if you add a couple of other alcoholic choices too I think that's more than enough.

aerinpegadrak

At the moment, we're just doing beer and wine.  Budget permitting, we might add in a couple of martinis, but I think we'll be fine with just beer, wine, and soft drinks.

jenn.daniel

Based on the other posts I'm assuming disaronno is liquor. Just offering a few choices is fine. Of the 3 receptions I've attended, only one served alcohol; it was beer and wine (plus soda) and everyone had a great time.

hollieheidi

We're using beer as our signature drink..we're both beer drinkers.   We are also offering Jack Daniels, Grey Goose (vodka), and rum with mixers like coke/diet coke, OJ, cranberry, and sour mix.  We're offering a specific bar menu so NO SHOTS allowed!  ;-) There's a good website for how much: http://chefmike.com/cateryourownweddingeasywaystodoityourselfinstyle/freetips.htmllots of good tips and then about 1/2 way down how to stock a "complete" bar for 100

luv626kee

Dear sbily2010 - I've BEEN to a wedding with very limited alcohol and I will tell you the guests weren't happy.  I think you need to at least have a couple basic vodkas, rums, etc. with several mixers.  Not that alcohol is the most important thing at a wedding, but lets face it, it's one of the draws to saying yes to attending and giving a good gift.  Just being honest....

tucci013

I think people will expect at least some standard alcoholic choices.  I've never been to a dry wedding and I think I might walk out after dinner if there were no libations... Maybe that's just me.

nuremenosh

I would at least get beer and wine and then basic drinks like rum vodka and wiskey and you should be all set. Whatever you do please don't have a dry wedding. The dry wedding I went to was the most borning wedding ever.

dirtymartini

When planning our reception, we tried to pick things that DH and I both like, but also things that will please the majority of our guests so that everyone will have a good time.  After all, they are your guests and you are hosting them.  Don't hosts usually try to please guests? For example of things we did: playing a lot of classic rock and older music for the older folks but also plenty of newer music for the young crowd, especially as the night went on.  Everything else like food and beverage, cake, late night snack, etc.  followed this same kind of thinking.  Seems pretty simple to me.... why serve your guests only disarrano when 99% of them probably don't drink that regularly? I mean, maybe it's just me.. but I've never even heard of disaranno and I would definitely consider myself a "drinker".  This is just me.. but everyone always talks about doing whatever makes you happy on your wedding.  What I think is you should do whatever makes you happy but that will ALSO ensure your guests are having a good time.  If you don't want to do the full open bar of beer, wines, and all the liquor you can imagine, then offer a selection of beer and wines and most people will be perfectly happy.  To make everyone happy?  Add a selection of the 4 basics: rum, vodka, gin, and whiskey.

tommyandy

if you choose to go with the basic 4, please please please get top shelf - not super cheap - the better the brand the smaller the hangover. i normally only have 2 drinks when we go out & if i drink well brand i get a hangover (2 drinks & a hangover! wth?).

harrypotterrocks13

Its really up to you if you want to have alcoholic drinks or not. Seeing as how you are paying for it, its really up to you what you have. If you don't want to have any alcohol, then that's fine too. FI and I are having a dry wedding. Neither one of us drink and we just aren't comfortable around alcohol. No one in our families really drink either except for one or two. As to what other poeple have said about alcohol being one of the draws to a reception and a good gift, I don't think I would want anyone to come to my reception just to drink. That would kind of make me feel like they are there just to get a few free drinks and not to celebrate my special day. But it is ultimately up to you if you want to have alcohol or not. If its in your budget, then go ahead. But I wouldn't break your budget for it either. If its something that you can afford to get, then do it.

notoriousRBGsBFF

Interesting debate...I'm trying to decide the same thing for my wedding.  We might just do champagne and soda, then wine and beer with dinner.  For my budget, I don't think having a full open bar is worth it.  This is a bit controversial in my family since my folks own a bar, so obviously it's important to them to serve drinks because it will be expected.On the other hand, I'd be happy to spread the word that there won't be a bar, because if someone's going to peace out when they realize there's no drinks, I'd just as soon not pay for their dinner.I like to think of it this way:  Everyone at your wedding is your guest, so you want to make them happy, within reason.  This is why it's generally rude to offer a cash bar, you don't make a guest in your home pay for anything.  But, if a guest comes to my home, I might offer him or her a beer, soda, or maybe wine.  So, rule of thumb-- if you don't go to someone's home expecting to be served a gin and tonic, why expect it at their wedding?

becks17

You can pick a few drinks to go with your theme of your wedding and offer those. For example, you can do chocolate cocktails like a chocolate martini or a mint hot chocolate cocktail and brownie cognac. Or you can pick drinks that match your color scheme too...green could be apple martinis, green dragon cocktails, or lady in green. Picking a few specific ones shows your guests that you are crafty and put some thought into this but still can save you a lot of money in the end by narrowing down what options your guests have. Good luck!

Jamesbride2010

i'm getting married next April.......we are having a dry reception. i RARELY drink and we are having the elders in our family and clergy members present. it was a decision we made together. Furthermore, it's OUR day. if we dont drink, we're not shelling out hundreds of our hard earned cash for people to get a buzz. you may not agree, but we decided long ago that were appeasing ourselves. this is our special day and it will remain that way. you cant please everyone.

sbily2010

i was leaning towards a dry wedding but now idk maybe i'll let people think it will be so they don't expect it and just offer a few drinks. (in addition to the nonalcoholic ones) that way i hopefully don't have to deal with too many people getting drunk.

rachel713

every wedding i've been to this year (4 so far) has not offered an open bar, just cash bars or free beer only. not one of them had completely free liquor and nobody left early. i'd like to think that the people i care enough about to invite to my wedding are going to care enough about me to stick around even if i'm not footing the bill for their public drunkenness. it's been my experience that offering free liquor leads to embarassment and disasters (beer down the front and back of your wedding gown, anyone?). i'd suggest doing what's within your budget first and formost. my fi and i are offering tea, coffee, water, lemonade, and juice on us and if someone wants to get drunk they are going to have to pay for it themselves. it's simply what fits into our budget.

Tessy87

my FI and i are recovering alcoholics so our obvious choice was dey reception but we still like a drink for celebration so will be doing a toaster.  And still up in the air a signature martini for happy hour...so its totally ok to keep limits on it