Champagne greeting?

ameraznhuney · October 2013

Ok ladies, I need your opinions here. I'll start with a quick (hello one sentence) back story: When we originally booked our venue we had to state whether we wanted a champagne toast or not, we said we did, so it's budgeted in already.

Now I'm questioning the practicality of the champagne toast. We are already having open beer/wine so I figured everyone can toast with whatever they're already drinking. However, it's still far enough out that I can nix the champagne altogether without being penalized. I've got two ideas and would like to see what you think.

1) Keep the champagne, but greet guests with it when they arrive to the ceremony. 2) Nix the champagne and use that money towards having a specialty beer available the entire night.

Thanks in advance!

BlueBirdMB · October 2013

1. I've heard about this option and I think it sounds extremely elegant. The people I know who attended weddings like this loved it.

2. Nothing wrong here.

I'd say it depends on your crowd. Do you have more of a champagne crowd or beer crowd. How formal is your wedding? I'd think of champagne greeting guests as something for a more formal wedding and would be out of place in a more casual wedding.

[Deleted User] · October 2013

Think of your guests, are there a lot of people who would enjoy the champagne or are they more a beer/wine crowd? I know that a lot of my guests (including my hubby) would rather have a beer or wine over champagne unless they will be serving a high quality champagne and not the cheap stuff.

tammym1001 · October 2013

I absolutely love the idea of greeting guests with champagne when the enter the ceremony. It makes it feel so special.

daria24 · October 2013

In my experience, most champagne at weddings goes to waste (I usually end up drinking a bunch of people's since they don't want it) so I would vote to just skip it.

LiLe422 · October 2013

We nixed champagne for the toast. Instead, our guests were greeted with fruit and champagne at cocktail hour. We received so many compliments -- people really thought it was a nice touch!

sarahmarie409 · November 2013

i love the idea of greeting your guests with champagne before the ceremony starts!

marriedlady1212 · November 2013

I would say nix the champagne all together, or have it behind the bar with the other beer and wine. If people want to order it, it's there. They can toast with whatever they are drinking. I know a lot of people who don't even like champagne.

ClarkAndCharlye · November 2013

I love the idea! But then again, I love champagne... I hear that many people are not fans (I don't get it, its delicious!) I am having a champagne greeting, but I am going to have a personal label on the bottle (or make a diy version) and only a few bottles (one or two, but I only have an 80 person guest list). I am doing this because I have done research, and apparently, even those who drink champagne regularly, cannot tell the difference between a high end and a "low end" sparkling wine. That's how I'm going to save a few bucks, best of both worlds!

WonderRed · November 2013

We greeted our guests with a specialty drink when they arrived for the ceremony and everyone raved about how wonderful and personal it felt. No one had ever been to a wedding where it was done and thought it was a fantastic touch.

jessicabessica · November 2013

ClarkAndCharlye said:

I love the idea! But then again, I love champagne... I hear that many people are not fans (I don't get it, its delicious!) I am having a champagne greeting, but I am going to have a personal label on the bottle (or make a diy version) and only a few bottles (one or two, but I only have an 80 person guest list). I am doing this because I have done research, and apparently, even those who drink champagne regularly, cannot tell the difference between a high end and a "low end" sparkling wine. That's how I'm going to save a few bucks, best of both worlds!

You will need more than 1-2 regular sized bottles for 80 people.

ETA: If you are only doing the personal label so that guests do not see the brand, why not just have the glasses already poured and out on a tray. That way no one will see the bottle at all.

ClarkAndCharlye · November 2013

Oh for sure! I mean, I am going to get 1-2 expensive bottles.... everything else will be on "Cooks" level, haha.

I am going to be replacing the label of all of our liquor and wine, so it has a vintage "medicine label" look. We will be getting all of our drinks from costco (amazing deals!), But pouring it before hand would work also, I just worry about it staying cold, we are getting married in Sep in Texas, so I'm thinking after about five seconds, it will be liquid magma hot.

lc07 · November 2013

I love the idea of greeting your guests with champagne. However, I would think it was really odd if I couldn't go to the bar and get another glass. So if it isn't hosted throughout the night, I would just nix it all together.

hyechica81 · November 2013

nix it and use that money to have a signature cocktail i know if i was at a wedding that only had beer and wine i would only be drinking water. and would not get to enjoy a nice drink. i am not a huge fan of wine and the only beer i drink is the malted beer beverages such as smirnoff ice and twisted tea. not everyone drinks wine or beer there are people who like the hard stuff.

maybe a simple cocktail you could talk to the venue and see if they could come up with something special and unique for your wedding

kjvaracalli · January 2014

I like the idea of a champs greeting and I also love champagne. I like LC07's comment above though---not sure if you're going to have champ greeting to not have it the rest of night. I attended a wedding where they had 2 specialty cocktails (one named after bride, and another after groom). Very nice touch, but not needed. We're doing champagne toast along with open beer/wine/liquor bar. Would your guests drink a specialty beer?

CaliMel11 · January 2014

I think the champagne greeting sounds really nice! It's a good idea because then at least I think people will take more of it since it's at the beginning. Or you could do the cocktail hour thing like suggested.
I worked in catering and at one wedding, we poured an entire table full of champagne flutes...and only 5 people took one. At that point everyone was already seated and had beverages and having them on a table wasn't effective because I am pretty sure no one really noticed they were there. If you do prepour the glasses, make sure someone is handing them out to the guests/asking if they would like one.

crackktheskyy · January 2014

I think both options are great! You really can't go wrong. Like others have mentioned, maybe consider what your guests might think is more special.

For me, I love the idea of the champagne greeting because it provides a nice personal touch. I've been to weddings with champagne/cocktail greetings and I always feel like the bride and groom did a little something extra to make us all feel welcome as we entered the reception space. (Disclaimer: I am totally and completely biased because I am having a champagne greeting at my reception.)

kgd7357 · January 2014

I like the champagne greeting. Thanks for the idea. I'm going to see if my venue can switch the champagne toast to a pre ceremony greeting. It'll be nice for the guest that show up a little early.

Champagne greeting?

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