What Drinks Shall I Serve at My Wedding and How Many Do I Need?

Organising the drinks for your wedding celebrations can feel like a bit of a minefield, especially when you consider guest number, budget and the order of the day. Not to mention the range in guest ages, pregnant guests and individual tastes and preferences! Not to worry though, let us walk you through how to break it down and work out what drinks you should serve at your wedding when, and how many.

The Drinks Reception

Firstly there are three key areas to your day where you need to consider wedding drinks; the drinks reception, the wedding breakfast and the evening party. Fizz is the most popular celebratory drink to be served following the ceremony, handed out to guests to kick off the drinks reception. In recent years, couples have become much more experimental with their refreshments and instead of just having glasses of fizz and bottles of beer they might serve up their favourite cocktail or a mulled wine / alcoholic hot chocolate in the winter months. Don’t think you have to stick to the wedding norms, if you want to provide your guests with something a little more exotic or that’s very you – go for it!

Now, let’s talk numbers. The average drinks reception is 2 hours long so we would recommend an average of 3 drinks per person should be about right. The first drink will probably go down quite quickly and then the next two slightly more leisurely as everyone settles into the day. Naturally some guests will drink more, some less, and some might just go straight to the bar (if you have one) and order something completely different – that’s up to them!

The Wedding Breakfast

Traditionally bottles of wine are served during the wedding breakfast, but whether you go for red, white or rose, or a mix of all of them is entirely up to you. Your choice may also depend on your menu, the time of year and your guests’ tastes. If you’re having a summer wedding serving 60% white / rose and 40% red would be a good idea; but consider the opposite if you’re having a winter wedding. In regard to numbers, the general rule of ½ a bottle of wine per person should be perfect for the duration of the meal. Depending on when you choose to host your speeches during the day you might follow this with a complimentary glass of fizz to toast – just one glass per person will suffice here.

Evening Party

When it comes to your evening party, should you have an open bar or a cash bar? Well, there is no right or wrong answer here, it simply depends on your budget and what’s possible at your venue. If you’ve provided food and refreshments up until this point many couples choose to have a pay bar in the evening and let guests buy their own drinks from here on in. If you’re having evening guests though perhaps you’d like to provide them with their first drink on arrival? This is something you can arrange with your venue / planner, a voucher system / guest list check could work in this instance.

Finally, what about the guests who don’t drink alcohol? Whilst the easy option might be to include them with the kids’ drinks, they’re not kids. Why not provide them with some alcohol-free fizz or slightly more sophisticated refreshments than juice or sugary soft drinks. This way they won’t feel quite as left out, they won’t need to buy / bring their own or be stuck drinking boring tap water all day. Speaking of which, do make sure there are plenty of soft drinks and water available for the duration of the wedding day and we’d always recommend serving coffee following the meal and speeches for a little pick me up before the evening festivities kick off!