Friday, January 16, 2009

My Big Fat REAL Wedding - The Bar

Lesson #8
Limiting a few options doesn't limit the fun.

One of the biggest expenses at a wedding can be the bar. Once you stock up all of the "essentials" and the mixers, you've racked up quite a bill...and don't even get me started on the stress of getting quantities right.

When we were planning our wedding, we chose a venue that would require us to bring everything. It wasn't a restaurant with 8 kinds of vodka, 10 kinds of rum, and a plethora of obscure liqueurs. It was a blank slate. After much thought we decided to do a limited bar. Wow. Did we ever stress over this one. I really didn't want to literally cause a buzz kill during our big party, but I had to be practical. It ended up being one of the best decisions that we made.

What is important is that you don't skimp on quality or presentation. With the help of many of my in-laws, we had an informal wine tasting to help us select the perfect red & white options. Our 3 beer options were a real no-brainer for us (very strong alliances in our families with the brewskies). Prosecco is my favorite and it costs a fraction of what champagne does. And then we created a signature cocktail that would be hefty enough for our party animals, but tasty enough to please our more reserved. Then we made sure that besides having 2 open bars the whole night, we also had the drinks passed on silver platters.

Let me tell you...no one complained. In fact it was the opposite. I know that I have been at weddings and where I stand at the bar forever plotting how my evening should go "well, if I start with wine, I can't go back to cocktails...but if I have too many cocktails, I don't want to get crazy in front of Aunt Ethel." Having a limited bar totally took that out of the equation. People made quick choices - any of them being a good option - and got on with the party. And the surprise hit of the night was our signature cocktail. I'm still getting emails 4 months later to get the recipe for this tasty concoction. Give it a try...you won't be sorry!


Sparkling Lemonade Cocktail

2 Parts Lemonade (I've tried all kinds - my fave is Crystal Light)
1 Part Lemon Vodka
1 Part Prosecco

You can either make each cocktail to order.

or

Premix the Vodka and lemonade in pitchers. Fill 2/3 of a highball glass with the lemonade mixture and top with prosecco as needed. (easiest for mass quantities)

1 comment:

Nicole-Lynn said...

Thanks for the drink recpie! I'll have to try it out sometime. I am also thinking of having a few signature drinks {something new, old, borrowed}, a couple beer options, and two wine choices.