What alcohol should I have at my wedding?

[LilyKat]

Ok, so I don't drink and neither do my parents or fiance, so we are clueless. We are having a 120-person (ish) Saturday wedding, ceremony at 4.30pm followed by one hour of drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and then a four-course meal. About 75% will drink alcohol. There isn't going to be dancing or a DJ after the meal, so the whole thing should wrap up at 9-9.30pm.

The venue offers a package (which we're having, as we can't bring our own alcohol) which includes:
- one glass of champagne during drinks hour, with fresh fruit punch as a non-alcoholic alternative
- two glasses of wine (red or white) during meal
- one glass of champagne for the toast

Do I need more than this? We don't want to have an open bar or hard liquor. We are thinking of offering red and white wine during the drinks hour (as much as people want), but do we need to offer beer as well? How much of each would you estimate we need for 90 moderate adult drinkers?

By the way, we are in the UK, if that makes any difference! Thanks in advance.

 

[KatyWI]

Well, the first thing I'll say to you is... offer whatever you want. It's your wedding, and any drinks are better than no drinks.

But I would offer beer, if I could advise you. There are many people I know that don't drink wine and much prefer beer. While *I* would be totally fine with any form of alcohol served, I like to give people as many options as I can.

That said, I served beer and wine at my wedding. Liquor was available for purchase, but obviously most people stuck with the free stuff.

ETA how much: Most venues, you'd purchase beer by the keg. I had 2 for 90 people, but our friends/relatives are heavy drinkers, and we didn't run out, so one might be okay if you also have wine and most people won't try to break the world record for alcohol consumption

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I am having beer and wine at my wedding. But my venue only serves beer and wine, so I really didn't have a choice. But I am kind of glad, because I really could not afford a full bar, and this was a nice way to justify not having one to my family.

If I were in your situation, I would probably offer beer and if you have the money because some people don't like wine. But 4 drinks in one evening is more than enough alcohol in my opinion.

ETA: Our hotel is only 2 miles away from the venue and has a full bar, so I figure anyone who wants liquor can have it after the event.

 

[LilyKat]

Thanks Katy and LtlFirecracker! I really appreciate it. So it sounds like beer would be a good idea, in addition to the champagne? How about extra wine for the drinks reception (or would the wine drinkers just go for the champagne)?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 2/28/2010 4:27:34 PM
Author: LilyKat
Thanks Katy and LtlFirecracker! I really appreciate it. So it sounds like beer would be a good idea, in addition to the champagne? How about extra wine for the drinks reception (or would the wine drinkers just go for the champagne)?

Not a bad thing to do if it is in the budget. I know I would prefer wine over champagne (because champagne gives me headaches), I am sure some of your gusts will be the same way.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Obviously whatever you want or can afford to offer is fine. But, if you want some feedback...I would DEFINITELY have more. And, I would DEFINITELY offer beer, too. I know too many guys who do not drink wine or champagne at all. Also, I have a lot of friends who drink quite a bit, so this amount would not be enough...and there would be LOTS of chatter about how to get more at some point in the evening if I left the menu as is.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 2/28/2010 4:44:47 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

Date: 2/28/2010 4:27:34 PM
Author: LilyKat
Thanks Katy and LtlFirecracker! I really appreciate it. So it sounds like beer would be a good idea, in addition to the champagne? How about extra wine for the drinks reception (or would the wine drinkers just go for the champagne)?

Not a bad thing to do if it is in the budget. I know I would prefer wine over champagne (because champagne gives me headaches), I am sure some of your guests will be the same way.

Ditto.

 

[Haven]

We went to a local liquor store (one of those large stores that has a lot of tasting events) and asked if any of their employees could help us buy alcohol for our wedding. An older gentleman came out and walked us through the aisles and told us exactly what to buy and how much.

We ended up with a lot left over, but we were allowed to return any unopened bottles, so it was perfect.

I'd try a local store, they'll typically have someone working there who has experience in catering to large events.

ETA: I'd definitely offer wine in addition to champagne. I love wine, but I don't drink champagne, and I don't think I'm alone there.

 

[elrohwen]

Personally, I would offer beer as well. I find more people will drink either wine or beer, but not everyone will drink both. So I would go with your idea to offer wine during the drinks hour as well as beer. Can you venue help you determine how much beer? Especially since you're not allowed to bring your own, they should be able to tell you exactly how much would be needed. Also, our venue didn't charge for anything not consumed- since they were buying the alcohol for all of their events, they could just serve that same beer or wine to the next wedding. We only had to pay for extras of the beer and wine we very specifically requested that wasn't part of their standard list. Ask your venue if they have a standard beer list like this and see if you can just pay for however much people end up drinking during that hour.

Ours was very good with telling us how much wine and beer they thought we would need. I agree with the others that you should offer wine over champagne during the drinks hour - many people don't like champagne, or only like it in one drink increments.

 

[cara]

I would try to offer beer and regular wine for the cocktail hour to go with the champagne or instead of the champagne (and beer + champagne if the champagne comes no matter what and I had to choose between the beer and the regular wine). Not everyone likes champagne, not everyone likes wine, and so beer during cocktail hour will give the beer drinkers a chance to get their preferred beverage, as wine is more standard with the meal. No liquor is fine; you'll have some picky people that would prefer a mixed drink to what you are offering, but I think you've covered the basics with beer/wine/champagne enough for most people.

ETA: I believe BevMo has an online drink calculator for estimating how much people will drink that is pretty handy. The hard part is knowing your crowd and if they are heavy/light/non-drinkers.

 

[purselover]

I would definitely offer beer in addition to a few types of wine for the cocktail hour - I would also consider adding more wine and beer to dinner.

 

[LilyKat]

Thanks everyone! I''ll have wine and beer served with the champagne during the drinks hour, and get extra wine served with the meal too. Thanks for taking the time to reply