Creating Your Own Specialty Drink for Your Wedding Reception

One of the hottest new trends in wedding style is the customized cocktail for wedding receptions. Chic couples design their own signature drinks for the reception as a fun way to share their personalities with family and friends. Rather than offering a full bar, going with a signature drink has a huge savings impact on your wedding budget. Offer a few favorite beer and wine options with your wedding cocktail for a stylish bar that won't break your wallet.

Creating your own wedding cocktail is easy with a few tips and a little creativity. First, keep it simple. Many restaurant cocktails go overboard with four or five different types of alcohol and other flavors. The flashy photos and descriptions may sell the drink one time, but the overall flavor effect is lost in all the extras. Instead, keep your wedding cocktail simple and you'll save money while still wowing your guests.

Consider your wedding theme and your personality as a couple. If you and your fiancé are planning a Mexican themed wedding, you will probably want to do a twist on the classic margarita. A classy, traditional wedding might need a chic martini.

Then, choose your favorite brand of liquor. Remember, if you are only offering your signature drink you afford to splurge a little on one brand of alcohol. Also, if you keep the cocktail recipe simple, your guests will be able to appreciate the subtle nuances of quality liquor.

Choose mixers for both flavor and color. Your wedding cocktail should complement or match your wedding colors. An electric blue mixer is cool until it clashes with the traditional pastels your fiancé wants. Check your local party shop for a selection of mixers in a variety of flavors and colors. Almost any color can be found to make your wedding cocktail just as beautiful as your other favors and decorations.

Pick one or two accents to jazz up your wedding cocktail and make it look really special. Simple fruit can do wonders to spark up a simple drink and it fairly cheap in bulk. A pineapple goes a long way when each drink gets one or two chunks for color and flavor. Other great drink fruits include maraschino or black cherries, thin orange slices, green apples, grapefruit chunks, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and even melon balls. And of course dryer drinks can use multi-colored olives for a splash of color.

You should also consider flavored sugar rims on margarita glasses for fruity drinks instead of the usual salt rims. Use food coloring to make the sugar into a pretty barware accent that tastes as good as it looks.

Finally, select the best barware to show off your signature wedding cocktail. Your creation will be a centerpiece on the table and reception, so choose a glass with a unique shape which also properly airs your drink. Ask about sidecars which hang off the larger drink glass and hold an extra shot or fruit and olive juices.

Take the customized wedding cocktail theme to another level with unique wedding reception favors. Print your cocktail recipe on the back of your reception napkins for a great addition to wedding scrapbooks. Or have 3x5 inch cards printed with your wedding cocktail recipe and place them inside souvenir barware for your guests to take home.