No alcohol at the wedding?

Question

My fiance and I are concerned about having alcohol at our wedding...

Cons
We are not planning to drink more than a glass or two ourselves
We both have relatives who are either recovering alcoholics or might drink too much
We are holding our reception at a place with an exclusive beverage contract and even just wine and beer are very expensive

Pros
People are more likely to dance
People are more likely to stay late

We don't think it's important to have alcohol for ourselves, but we don't want people to go home early when we're spending money on a reception hall!

Any advice?

Also, any suggestions for non-alcoholic beverages to pair with Italian food? Any creative suggestions?

Answer 1

That is a hard one. I was worried about having alcohol at our wedding too because so many people drink too much - I ended up being one of them..when I rarely ever drink that much. Oh well...live and learn.

Try to find a recipe for non-alcoholic sangria. That is a "punch" with fruit and wine, but there has to be a non-alcoholic version.

Be creative about it and have a bunch of huge glass jars with laddles in them - like a "punch bar" - non-alcoholic cosmo's, sangria's, fruit punches, meads, etc. Dress them up with ribbons in your colors around them and tags with the ingredients. That would be really pretty.

Answer 2

The protocol varies. Some weddings have an open bar; some have a cash bar; and some have a blend, with an open bar for soft drinks, juice, and water, and a cash bar for alcoholic beverages. Often, if the bar is not open, it is common practice to provide two free drinks to each guest (usually monitored by using drink tickets). I would like to note that, in no case where I attended a wedding with a cash bar did anyone consider it tacky or not classy. As for what to charge if you opt for a cash bar, I would assume that, since you will have bartenders, you will probably be at some sort of licensed facility. Usually there are set prices for different drinks - the facility should know these, or the bartenders should be able to help. Use the set prices, or, if you want, subsidize the drinks.

Answer 3

One wedding I went to had tickets so people could get 2 drinks a piece. This would be a way to limit over drinking, but just don't make them pay for any additional drinks. However, people could swap tickets and such. It's an option, but not a great one.

Italian restaurants often have belinis or other such fruity drinks. Why don't you get a drink machine (if allowed)? I am doing that for my wedding. It's a frozen drink machine that will have like strawberry daiquris and margaritas. However, my mom just informed me that she isn't putting alcohol in the machines, at least not for the daiquris. She thinks no one will notice it's gone (it's just vodka, afterall) and thinks they will still act as though they've had alcohol. You could do this. Strawberry, peach, and raspberry are popular flavors to mix with Italian foods. Also, you can serve cafe mochas, espressos, or other coffee drinks. Of course, soda pop, punch, iced tea are other "normal" options.

However, when it comes down to it, if you don't want to serve alcohol, then don't. If people don't stay quite as late, you may have spent a little more on the reception hall than necessary - but you still will have saved enough money on the alcohol to make up for it!

Answer 4

I think your second con is a pretty big one. The fact that you are asking this question in the first place shows that you are a thoughtful person. My husband and I chose to have a "dry" wedding and that was a big factor (including cost).
The champagne toast is a good idea but if it is going to cause an issue with the beverage contract you might just stick with sparkling cider, which you can buy very cheap if you have to bring it yourselves.
The last wedding I attended had iced tea, lemonade, coffee and water, but there are some beautiful punch recipes out there. However, punch has to be remade often during a wedding and I don't know the size of your guest list.
Bottom line, people are there to enjoy the day WITH YOU not to enjoy the alcohol. Congrats and happy marriage!

Answer 5

Since the reception hall has private control of the alcohol for events, I would talk to them. If you don't want to have any alcohol, that is your choice. You don't have to justify anything!

If you do want to provide some sort of alcohol, I would talk to the reception hall about limited alcohol, such as providing only white and red wine, and beer. This way you are providing adult beverages for those who wish them, but not paying a fortune for a full bar.

Please do not go with a cash bar or any similar "guests pay" idea. Either have a limited bar that you pay for, or go without alcohol altogether. I think it is in very poor taste to invite guests to an event, and then ask them to pay for something. It is like asking someone to attend a birthday party, then charging them for cake!

Good luck!
~Kat

Answer 6

Earlier receptions, tend to have people drinking less alcohol, so perhaps an earlier time of day.
Don't do a cash bar - it aggravates people more than having a dry wedding.
Could you get away with a beer/wine package and avoid heavier alcohol.
How about asking the venue to limit the length of time the alcohol is available. Say just 2 hours of your reception?

Answer 7

There is NO such kind of a "wedding-law" that you HAVE to serve alcohol!
Like it was in one post already said,you can serve just a glass of champagne for the toasts.After that only soft drinks.
And there are a bunch of non alcoholic cocktails..Try to find some drink in your wedding colors that would be an extra nice touch to your reception.

Answer 8

I agree with Blunt. Just have champagne for a toast and then have water, coffee and tea (maybe sodas).

There's no rule that says you have to have alcohol at your weddings. If you're worried about someone being offended by the alcohol or about drunken idiocy, then it's perfectly fine to avoid that risk.

Your guests can have plenty of fun completely sober :-)

Answer 9

I think 2 bottles of wine per table is a nice compromise. This way, people can have a drink or 2, and there is no way to become intoxicated on this limit, but it still lends a festive air to the party.

Answer 10

My fiancee and I plan to not have heavy alcohol at our wedding as well. Because of the same reasons you have under your pros and cons. We plan to have champagne, wine, coolers, beer and maybe something else but very light on the alcohol.