Beer only wedding. Okay or not cool?

badbnagdway · January 2015

mikenberger said:

slothiegal said:

badbnagdway said:

This is totally fine and very cool. Some people are not big beer drinkers, some do not like beer. Definitely have non-alcoholic drinks on hand for those who don't care for beer.

Consider having lemonade on-hand especially because guests could have lemonade shandy's, which are beer and lemonade. I think some non-beer drinking guests would like those better than beer by itself.

Say whaaaaa?? How have I never heard of/tried this?!?

Traveler's makes an entire line of shandys: grapefruit, strawberry, lemonade... Leinenkugel's has their summer seasonal Summer Shandy (which I have a few friends that stalk the shelves for this). You can find the traveler's shandys anywhere though. Click for beer!

Never occurred to me to mix with things other than lemonade, but maybe OP could have a "Shandy Mixing Station" set-up. That could be kind of fun.

teddygirl9 · January 2015

This sounds awesome. What a cool idea for a venue

csaville · January 2015

The most important thing my mom told me when we started planning our wedding was that this was a party. Not a restaurant. People come to see you and celebrate and if they complain about the food options or beverage options then they arent as important as you might have thought. People dont complain about what you offer in your home at a get together, they shouldnt do it at your wedding either. Beer sounds perfect for the alcoholic beverage selection

drunkenwitch · January 2015

As someone who can't have beer I would be super bummed that there wasn't anything alcoholic for me to drink.

levioosa · January 2015

I appreciate the awesomeness of the venue, but I don't like beer. Does the venue make their own cider too? Because I could get behind that.

runsonveggies · January 2015

I think when your guests find out that the venue in a brewery they'll expect there to be a bunch of beer! Just like if it was at a winery there'd be nothing but wine. So there shouldn't be any surprise or disappointment on their end. Personally, I think it sounds like a great venue and I'd be happy, but then I like beer. If one of your guests doesn't like beer then they can drink coke or drink liquor before they come. It's your wedding, go with the free brewery!

lilacck28 · January 2015

I choked down beer on my first two dates with FI, but I don't like it and would never normally order it. I DO like hard cider quite a bit. If that's an option, I'd love your venue. But if they don't, I really wouldn't care. It sounds like a cool place. Like PP have said, make sure to have tons of water, plus other non alcoholic options. Then you're golden.

My family really doesn't drink beer at all, and if given the chance, probably wouldn't choose the vibe of a brewery. But, again, provide them with a hosted meal, and some type of non-beer liquid, and they wouldn't care one bit.

You're good!

lorcai14 · January 2015

I think that's completely okay! I myself am not a huge alcoholic drinker so I don't plan on drinking anything at my reception, but I will stock up on beer and wine and put it in cute metal coolers with ice for guests. Best of luck!

SP29 · January 2015

I agree that it is fine etiquette wise, but know your crowd.

I get that it's a brewery, but seems odd they wouldn't allow you to provide SOMETHING else, knowing it's a wedding (and they are still making money off the bar)- but their rules I guess.

Some good ideas for some "alternative" beer drinks.

Would they allow you to serve beergaritas?

Cookie Pusher · January 2015

SP29 said:

I agree that it is fine etiquette wise, but know your crowd.

I get that it's a brewery, but seems odd they wouldn't allow you to provide SOMETHING else, knowing it's a wedding (and they are still making money off the bar)- but their rules I guess.

Some good ideas for some "alternative" beer drinks.

Would they allow you to serve beergaritas?

Actually, depending on the state, that could be a legal thing. I know the wineries I've been to in NY and NJ are legally not allowed to have outside alcohol brought in for any reason, even private events. They have signs stating such so no one is surprised if they and their cooler of Bud Light are denied entry.

lelowe13 · January 2015

I think it is amazingly cool. If you and your fiance love the beer of the brewery you are thinking about having it at (which I would imagine you do) I would go for it. I would assume that they will have non alcoholic options like soda, juice and water so those with 10 free beer options...I think you are good. If you love it and your fiance love it then go for it!

kitsunegari89 · January 2015

I wouldn't get any complaints from my family!

lyndziegregpierce · January 2015

HELL YEAH!! We are only doing beer and whiskey, and wine for the toasts. I would put that information on your wedding website, and if someone doesn't like beer, then they can either A) not drink, or

bring their own booze and leave it in the car haha. It's craft brew, so chances are people will at least want to taste the different brews and hell, they might find something they like. The best thing I've learned planning my wedding and talking to some friends who recently got married is do what YOU and your fiance want, it's YOUR day together. your main priority should be the two of you having fun.

levioosa · January 2015

lyndziegregpierce said: HELL YEAH!! We are only doing beer and whiskey, and wine for the toasts. I would put that information on your wedding website, and if someone doesn't like beer, then they can either A) not drink, or

bring their own booze and leave it in the car haha. It's craft brew, so chances are people will at least want to taste the different brews and hell, they might find something they like. The best thing I've learned planning my wedding and talking to some friends who recently got married is do what YOU and your fiance want, it's YOUR day together. your main priority should be the two of you having fun.
---------------------------------TK ate the boxes-------------------------------------------------------
The bolded is actually poor advice. The reception is a thank you to your guests for attending the ceremony, and it actually is about them. The second you invite guests to witness your ceremony and celebrate with you, it ceases to be about you and your FI, and it becomes about properly hosting your guests.

banana468 · January 2015

lyndziegregpierce said:

HELL YEAH!! We are only doing beer and whiskey, and wine for the toasts. I would put that information on your wedding website, and if someone doesn't like beer, then they can either A) not drink, or bring their own booze and leave it in the car haha. It's craft brew, so chances are people will at least want to taste the different brews and hell, they might find something they like. The best thing I've learned planning my wedding and talking to some friends who recently got married is do what YOU and your fiance want, it's YOUR day together. your main priority should be the two of you having fun.

Yup. Ditto PP that this is pretty craptacular advice.

The reception is FOR your guests. As I said in a previous post on this thread, it's fine to only offer beer but I know in my crowd, that means that MANY of my guests would not be drinking alcoholic beverages. It doesn't matter if it's craft beer or not, my 98 year old grandmother is not going to drink it and neither will my mom or my aunt. They drink wine or other spirits but beer isn't on the list for them.

Then there's my BIL who used to love beer but he CAN'T drink it anymore so he's only on whiskey or wine.

That doesn't mean a beer only wedding = bad. It means that for me, there's no way I'd hold my event in a venue that means a quality chunk of my guests aren't drinking anything other than water, coffee, tea and sodas. That's an awful chunk of money spent on a venue that goes down the tubes when the guests aren't partaking.

Snowfalke · January 2015

I seem no problems with only having beer. If people really need the harder stuff they can bring a flask.

My dream venue we are looking at is beer, wine and champange only.

BabbTrig · January 2015

Am I to believe that you won't have a Champagne toast at your wedding? I would assume even breweries would permit this with a corking fee. I know several people who had weddings at breweries and I even looked into it myself and wine/champagne were permitted with a corking fee (i.e. you bring your own and they allow you to consume it on premises, no money changes hands). Is this not something you could negotiate? Beer only seems great for a bachelor party, but there are tons of people who don't enjoy beer or have dietary restrictions. Out of our 250 person wedding, I have about 20-25 who cannot drink beer due to a dietary issue. Evaluate your alternatives at this venue, everything is negotiable!

[Deleted User] · January 2015

BabbTrig said:

Am I to believe that you won't have a Champagne toast at your wedding? I would assume even breweries would permit this with a corking fee. I know several people who had weddings at breweries and I even looked into it myself and wine/champagne were permitted with a corking fee (i.e. you bring your own and they allow you to consume it on premises, no money changes hands). Is this not something you could negotiate? Beer only seems great for a bachelor party, but there are tons of people who don't enjoy beer or have dietary restrictions. Out of our 250 person wedding, I have about 20-25 who cannot drink beer due to a dietary issue. Evaluate your alternatives at this venue, everything is negotiable!

A champagne toast is absolutely NOT required. In fact, I don't enjoy champagne and would choose to participate in any toast with the beer in my hand. I love this idea of having the wedding at a brewery. In fact, it's on my short list of plans for my own. But this is only good if you know your crowd. My mom prefers wine or cocktails, but has been known to drink a beer or two, especially if it's a fancier beer like the ones I choose. At a brewery where a choice can be made from Porter or Stout to Lager and Ale with all flavors and degrees of Hops involved, even people who think they don't like beer might be able to find something they enjoy.

arrippa · January 2015

BabbTrig said:

Am I to believe that you won't have a Champagne toast at your wedding? I would assume even breweries would permit this with a corking fee. I know several people who had weddings at breweries and I even looked into it myself and wine/champagne were permitted with a corking fee (i.e. you bring your own and they allow you to consume it on premises, no money changes hands). Is this not something you could negotiate? Beer only seems great for a bachelor party, but there are tons of people who don't enjoy beer or have dietary restrictions. Out of our 250 person wedding, I have about 20-25 who cannot drink beer due to a dietary issue. Evaluate your alternatives at this venue, everything is negotiable!

I can't even remember the last wedding I went to that had a champagne toast. I think beer only is fine if there are other non alcoholic options (which it sounds like there is). I wish I had thought about having my wedding in a brewery.

thisismynickname2 · January 2015

Did this thread hit the newsletter....?

I went to a wedding at a winery where the couple was allowed to request a couple kegs of beer. By later in the evening, people were starting to switch to beer. Even the most happy wine lovers can need to switch things up for the sake of their palette.

My friend is having her wedding at a brewery, and they're allowed to do a beer only package, a beer and wine package, and a beer/wine and hard liquor package. They're choosing to add on the wine.

Know your crowd.

[Deleted User] · February 2015

The venue sounds amazing! My fiancé and I decided that we would only serve Champagne at our reception for several reasons. It is your wedding, your guests will have fun no matter what they are drinking. Its time to celebrate you and your fiancé so do what you like!

JellyBean52513 · February 2015

Kellyann208 said:

The venue sounds amazing! My fiancé and I decided that we would only serve Champagne at our reception for several reasons. It is your wedding, your guests will have fun no matter what they are drinking. Its time to celebrate you and your fiancé so do what you like!

I am not questioning your choice, in fact I think that's a rather fancy, awesome idea. I also believe that you most likely have plenty of experience with drinking champagne, so my anecdote is neither here nor there in terms of your decision-making. I just wanted to share, however, my experience in having only champagne to drink for the first two and a half hours of my boss's bridal shower (the first 2 hours were the beginning of the shower, the remaining half hour was when the salad course and caprese course were served; they finally began serving a white or red wine with the entree). Without hardly any food for all that time, and nothing but bubbly to sip on, I'd say a decent handful of the guests were pretty sloshed and I know I had a better-than-nice buzz. Of course we could've all just switched to water at any time (or helped ourselves to the cash bar!) but champagne is one of those things that hits you before you know it's coming. Just have lots of food to munch on with that bubbly

hellosweetie1015 · February 2015

FI would adore this idea. We actually discussed a local brewery for ours in the early stages but when we are there we were underwhelmed with their food.

I'm not a beer drinker, but I'm picky with the things I DO drink, so I'm used to getting water.

MikenDanielle2015 · February 2015

My wedding is beer themed - his dad is brewing all of the beer for the wedding. So we are only offering beer - if they have a problem with it they can bring in flasks...

themosthappy91 · February 2015

I am in total agreement with the majority of posters that beer only is completely fine if you have plenty of water and soda/juice/lemonade/tea for those who don't like beer! I'm a firm believer that once you cover all the essential bases you are under no obligation to try accommodate everyone's personal taste preferences- adults should be able to make do with a reasonable number of options.

For example, when I was choosing what entrees we'd serve for our sit-down dinner, I decided to go with beef, duck, salmon, and vegetarian. When I was in the process of coming up with those selections I got some feedback from people who said I'd probably do better to include chicken because they or their SO personally would not eat any of those options. I had to choose between going with chicken to please a few picky eaters or duck to please a larger number of more adventurous eaters, and I went with the duck. My feeling is that when you give adults a number of reasonable and varied choices, they should be able to get on board with at least one option, even if it's not their favorite, and not make a big deal of it. I know a reception is supposed to be a thank-you to the guests and therefore you should keep what they will enjoy in mind, but to me that has a limit. I would rather the majority of my guests be excited about something cool and out of the ordinary, like a cool brewery venue, and a few maybe a bit disappointed they can't have a glass of wine with dinner.

But my REAL question is this- are the people on here being serious when they suggest bringing a flask of something else if they went to a wedding with limited drink options? I have no idea of if that's actually wrong etiquette-wise but my gut says that's rude and I'd be kind of offended as a host if someone did that... like you don't accept a dinner invitation to my house and bring your own side dish just for you, you know? Am I way off on my thinking here?

slothiegal · February 2015

themosthappy91 said: I am in total agreement with the majority of posters that beer only is completely fine if you have plenty of water and soda/juice/lemonade/tea for those who don't like beer! I'm a firm believer that once you cover all the essential bases you are under no obligation to try accommodate everyone's personal taste preferences- adults should be able to make do with a reasonable number of options.
For example, when I was choosing what entrees we'd serve for our sit-down dinner, I decided to go with beef, duck, salmon, and vegetarian. When I was in the process of coming up with those selections I got some feedback from people who said I'd probably do better to include chicken because they or their SO personally would not eat any of those options. I had to choose between going with chicken to please a few picky eaters or duck to please a larger number of more adventurous eaters, and I went with the duck. My feeling is that when you give adults a number of reasonable and varied choices, they should be able to get on board with at least one option, even if it's not their favorite, and not make a big deal of it. I know a reception is supposed to be a thank-you to the guests and therefore you should keep what they will enjoy in mind, but to me that has a limit. I would rather the majority of my guests be excited about something cool and out of the ordinary, like a cool brewery venue, and a few maybe a bit disappointed they can't have a glass of wine with dinner.
But my REAL question is this- are the people on here being serious when they suggest bringing a flask of something else if they went to a wedding with limited drink options? I have no idea of if that's actually wrong etiquette-wise but my gut says that's rude and I'd be kind of offended as a host if someone did that... like you don't accept a dinner invitation to my house and bring your own side dish just for you, you know? Am I way off on my thinking here?
-------
No, you're not. It's incredibly rude.

I should hope a grown man or woman can go 6 hours without a swig of liquor.

eta boxes will be the death of me today

Knottie67024563 · February 2015

Its your wedding and it sounds like the perfect space for you! Do it! maybe a mention on your wedding website or something will help but even that isn't necessary. Hope it works out for you!

s2bKlos · February 2015

First if all, can I come? That is seriously right up my alley!!!
2ndly, I think it's fine. Plenty of people do dry weddings or beer/wine or open bar. There are lots of different varieties. If there was a nice enough Brewery in my local area I would have considered that myself!
Sounds awesome!!

banana468 · February 2015

slothiegal said:

themosthappy91 said:

I am in total agreement with the majority of posters that beer only is completely fine if you have plenty of water and soda/juice/lemonade/tea for those who don't like beer! I'm a firm believer that once you cover all the essential bases you are under no obligation to try accommodate everyone's personal taste preferences- adults should be able to make do with a reasonable number of options.

For example, when I was choosing what entrees we'd serve for our sit-down dinner, I decided to go with beef, duck, salmon, and vegetarian. When I was in the process of coming up with those selections I got some feedback from people who said I'd probably do better to include chicken because they or their SO personally would not eat any of those options. I had to choose between going with chicken to please a few picky eaters or duck to please a larger number of more adventurous eaters, and I went with the duck. My feeling is that when you give adults a number of reasonable and varied choices, they should be able to get on board with at least one option, even if it's not their favorite, and not make a big deal of it. I know a reception is supposed to be a thank-you to the guests and therefore you should keep what they will enjoy in mind, but to me that has a limit. I would rather the majority of my guests be excited about something cool and out of the ordinary, like a cool brewery venue, and a few maybe a bit disappointed they can't have a glass of wine with dinner.

But my REAL question is this- are the people on here being serious when they suggest bringing a flask of something else if they went to a wedding with limited drink options? I have no idea of if that's actually wrong etiquette-wise but my gut says that's rude and I'd be kind of offended as a host if someone did that... like you don't accept a dinner invitation to my house and bring your own side dish just for you, you know? Am I way off on my thinking here?

-------

No, you're not. It's incredibly rude.

I should hope a grown man or woman can go 6 hours without a swig of liquor.

eta boxes will be the death of me today

You're right. Bringing something because you don't like the offerings is rude. But I think there's point about recognizing that you can be following correct etiquette "on paper" but that and $1.50 can get you a cup of coffee. If you KNOW that you're making an active choice to serve something that only appeals to a portion of your guest list, you should try to recinsider that plan. There's no way I'd ever feel like I did the right thing if I picked a beverage option that pleased my dad but didn't please my mom or most of my family.

fitvegan · February 2015

I think if that's a venue you really love have your rehearsal dinner there. You'll likely have a lot of guests that will not like the craft beer selection and even though its YOUR wedding, many guests expect you to meet their needs and their wants. Sounds like a great idea for a venue but only if the majority of your guests would like that. I think rehearsal dinner would be great there!

Beer only wedding. Okay or not cool?

Re: Beer only wedding. Okay or not cool?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards