Your guide to serving drinks at your wedding reception.

A successful wedding reception usually comes down to a few key things: a great venue, delicious food and awesome drinks. But, even with dazzling speeches, superb ambience and tasty food, your guests will notice right away if there isn’t enough to drink, which is why planning upfront is so important.

An efficient bar is a microcosm for a well-orchestrated wedding reception. When adequately stocked and well-presented, the serving of drinks should be effortless and help your guests feel completely relaxed, so they enjoy the big occasion along with you.

As a rule of thumb, a guest will drink two drinks in the first hour and one drink every hour after that. However, it’s always a good idea to make sure your bar is stocked well enough to allow for hotter-than-expected weather, or if the reception goes on longer than expected.

There are three key beverages to supply your guests:

  • Non-alcoholic drinks. Consider supplying one non-alcoholic drink per person. If you have under 18s at your wedding, supply three drinks per person.
  • Alcoholic drinks. Whether you choose your beverages based on a theme, personal preference, or something to compliment your menu, popular choices include beer, still and sparkling wines and cocktails.
  • Water. This is a must-have for your big day. It’s recommended to supply one litre per three guests (more if it’s a hot day).

Alcohol is one of the biggest cost variables when planning an event. So it’s particularly important to consider the type and amount of alcohol you’ll serve to your guests. We’ve prepared a handy drinks guide to help you work out the amount of alcoholic and non-alcoholic servings you may need on your big day.

DOWNLOAD DRINKS GUIDE

    Important things for your big day!

    When serving alcohol, there are a few important factors to take into account:

    1. Organise, plan and prepare. Nail down the details beforehand and ask other family members or friends to help.
    2. Check your venue. If you are hiring a community hall, for example, check if there are any alcohol-related conditions. Some church halls also have an alcohol-free policy. Check with your local Council when hiring a Council-owned community venue.
    3. Provide substantial food. Whenever you’re providing alcohol, serve food and make sure there is more than enough for all guests – including vegetarian and vegan options.
    4. Serve non-alcoholic drinks. Some people may only want to drink non-alcoholic drinks, or alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
    5. Provide water. You might be surprised how much water your guests drink when it’s available.
    6. If you’re serving spirits make them singles. Many people count the number of drinks they have and, if you serve doubles, they may end up drinking twice as much as they planned.
    7. Keep the cocktails light in alcohol or leave the alcohol out. No-one really knows how much, or how little, alcohol you’ve put in. 
    8. Offer lower strength alcoholic drinks. Low-strength beer and lower strength wines are increasing in popularity. Non-alcohol beer is now available too.
    9. Don’t keep serving your guests past their limit. If you see someone getting too tiddly, get them to ease off the alcohol and offer them food or a non-alcoholic drink instead.
    10. Watch your own drinking. Watch your own alcohol intake so you can continue to have a great time on your big day and enjoy everything that’s going on.
    11. Watch under 18s. Remember, young people under 18 years can’t be supplied with alcohol unless it’s by their parent or legal guardian, or the person supplying has the express consent of their parent or legal guardian. The advice from Te Hiringa Hauora/Health Promotion Agency is that not drinking alcohol is the safest option for children and young people under 18 years.
    12. Supervise the kids. If young children are going to be at your wedding reception, make sure there’s a responsible adult or older person looking out for them.
    13. Plan an end time. Set an end time for your reception and consider including this in your wedding invitation, so everyone knows.
    14. Look after your guests. Even if you may not be there at the end of the evening, make sure someone has the responsibility of caring for your guests. Don’t let them drive home if they have had too much to drink.

     

    DOWNLOAD DRINKS GUIDE

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