Should You Have Alcohol At Your Wedding Reception

Don't want the groomsmen to turn your wedding reception into a frat party? Worried about Uncle Bert standing up during the toast and giving his "I love you guys." drunken speech? This was not what you imagined when you were dreaming about your perfect day! You, as a couple, want to enjoy your big celebration. However, you also want your guests to enjoy themselves. Well, here are some suggestions on how to keep your wedding reception in control and still celebrate your "big day!"

First of all, serving alcohol to your guests is a decision between you and your fiancée. Sure you want your guests to be happy. However, are you comfortable with it? Is it a religious or a personal reason? Whatever your reason, it's your day and two of you should make that decision together.

If you are not comfortable with serving alcohol on your day, how about serving something that is a crowd pleaser! How about serving a virgin theme drink, punch, or lemonade? These are fun suggestions that everybody enjoys and are great substitutions. However, if you don't serve alcohol, keep in mind that there will be that one "person" who will sneak in their own sprits. If you're holding your event in a public location, have the professional handle this situation. And if your wedding is at your parent's home, pick someone to handle this for you. I highly suggest picking someone that will handle the situation tactfully! Also, I don't suggest having an open bowl of punch. Yes, it might get spiked! You say to yourself, "I know my guests and this won't happen at my wedding!" Yes, it could! I sure you know your guests; however, do you know their dates? Serve nonalcoholic beverages in enclosed containers or have someone supervise serving the beverage. All you need are sick children!

Still want alcohol served at your wedding and want it to be controlled? Why don't you purchase a certain amount of alcohol or pick a couple of themed cocktails and have them served to your guests? When served to guests, professionals will control how and to whom the beverages are dispersed. Guests will still have fun; however, the celebration stays at a reasonable fervor with no added drama.

If you don't want to serve hard alcohol, serve beer, wine, and champagne. Again, you could have it served to your guests or set up a bar with only these items available. However, if you are having a bar set up, ask your caterer about bar minimums and extra bar set up charges. You might want to make sure your guests can reach that minimum. You don't want to be paying for beverages not consumed, at the end of the day!

If you have a tight budget, instead of placing open wine bottles at the tables, have the servers pour the wine at the table. Usually, the caterer will charge you only for the bottles that were opened! This can save you a lot of money! Most of the time, when wine bottles sit opened at tables; somebody can drink far more than they should! Remember, out of sight out of mind! Plus, it is a nice touch when having wine poured at the table by a server!

Okay, you want your wedding cake and eat it too! You want to offer all alcohol, however, don't want a "binger?" I highly suggest a no-host bar. A no-host bar is when the guests purchase their own drinks. Having a no-host bar might control the consumption of alcohol, especially, if your guests have to purchase their own drinks. However, it depends on your guest list! People still get drunk in bars when purchasing drinks! However, it might slow them down! Also, another good reason to have a no-host bar, people tend to try new drinks and end not finishing them! Again, you don't want to pay for drinks that aren't consumed! Do you?

Okay, you have guests coming from all over and you feel it's rude to charge them for their drinks! Try having the bar open at certain hours. For example, have the bar open during the cocktail hour, close the bar at dinner and offer wine and champagne during dinner, open it after dinner, and then close the bar an hour before the reception ends. Again, this might slow them down!

Don't want to close the bar during your reception? How about drink tickets? You think that they are tacky? Have drink tickets made to match your wedding invitations. Or, design a dual purpose wedding favor that matches your theme and could be used as drink tickets. For example, if you are have a garden theme wedding, put seeds or beans (each bean represents one drink) into little planting pots. Then, after the bar is closed and the beans have been collected by the bartender, have a table set up where your guests can collect their seeds or beans and take them home to plant them. However, make sure you have someone hand out the coupons, seeds, beans, or whatever your creative mind might imagine, to your guests as they arrive. Avoid just placing them on the table. There will always be that someone, that Uncle Bert, who will gather more than his share!

Whatever way that you decide - - whether to serve or not to serve alcohol at your wedding reception, find a way that is most comfortable for you and an approach that fits your budget. Work with the person in charge of your special day. I am sure the three of you will come up with a plan to keep your "big day" perfect and all your guests smiling - - including your Uncle Bert!