Wines for your wedding

Planning a wedding can be a minefield, as I know only too well, having experienced two of my own, so far. It doesn’t matter how much planning and preparation goes into making it your own very special day, you should always be prepared for the unexpected, and sometimes it is the unexpected that brings a smile to your face long after the event.

One thing you can control however, as long as your guests aren’t responsible for bringing their own booze, is what you serve your guests to help you celebrate the nuptials, and just how much.

Couples now often hold two separate parties, inviting close family and friends to the wedding itself, with work colleagues and more distant relatives invited to a shindig later in the day.

You can opt for a full bar, as wine might not to everyone’s taste. Quite the modern thing to do nowadays is to go down the sausage and mash route (a la Kate Winslet) with a pint of local brew, or cider to wash it down. It can be fun, and certainly you couldn’t get better bangers than at local butcher Bonner’s, who incidentally also does a fine hog roast. 

For most of us though, no wedding would be complete without a decent bottle or two to go with a sit down meal, and some bubbly for the toast; although I have heard that some couples now opt for a ‘dry wedding’, quite unimaginable for a wine lover like me.

With a decent budget I’d go for champagne every time, or course. Do also remember that most venues will allow you to bring in your own beverages, and charge you corkage, which can still be cost effective if you wish to serve quality wines, without the usual mark up.

If providing your own alcohol there will be a fine balance between having enough, and yet not so much you’ll still be swimming in it by the first anniversary. Good wine suppliers will usually allow you to have wines on a sale or return basis, and will often include free glass hire too.

I would recommend having wait staff no matter what type of wedding you plan to have, even if you just hire the offspring of friends. They will be glad of a bit of pocket money, and you can then relax, just looking your radiant best.  Having drinks served on trays by waiters will also cut down consumption considerably.

It helps to have an idea of serving sizes when buying your wine. A standard bottle will provide 4 x 175ml. glasses, which is plenty large enough. For spirits, you should aim for about 18 servings per bottle. If having a full bar, plan on a ratio of 20% spirits, 15% beer and 65% wine.

Unless your guests are binge drinkers or alcoholics in training, work on one drink per hour on average. Some will drink more and some will drink less, or have the misfortune to be the designated driver.

For an evening wedding reception lasting 5 hours, and with 100 guests allow:- 30 bottles each of champagne, white and red wine, and 100 beers.

The time of year you are planning to hold your wedding will also determine not just what your guests’ preferences will be, but also the quantity they imbibe. White is of course more popular in the warmer summer months, as is beer, whilst people drink more red in winter. Guests tend also to drink less red wine at lunchtime, and more of anything going if it's really hot, they don’t have to go to work the next day, or have flown out to witness the event at some exotic foreign location.

If you feel your budget can’t run to a decent champagne, you are almost always better off serving a good cava or Prosecco, or even to offer a champagne cocktail. It really just boils down to knowing your guests.

If you want to impress go for champagne, a decent Bordeaux or premium new world red, and a good white burgundy, but to make it truly memorable just please yourself and choose a wine or other beverage that means something to you. It is your wedding after all.