by Brittany McComas
Serving alcohol at your wedding can be a nightmare. Cash bars are okay. Gift/donation bars are cute. But–let’s be frank: Wedding guests go gaga over specialty drinks and free stuff. This can be well within your budget if you whip them up yourself. That way you have a count of the spirits or liquor used, and you don’t go overboard–and, neither do your guests. No one wants to dance with drunk Uncle Carl.
To display these amazing wedding cocktail ideas: literally make a sweet sign that reads the cocktail that the bride and groom recommend. Buy the ingredients to make the cocktail and place them on a bar, with glasses, pre-cut fruit, ice and straws.
To make sure your guests don’t go whole hog, and get shwasted at your reception, put a minimal amount of glasses out to start with a pre-measured shot of liquor in the glass. Divide the bar with one side bride, one side groom. Or go super simple with jugs, and just have two with pre-mixed drinks.
Happy Hour
Whip up some amazing pre-made cocktails for your guests to choose from:
Wild Wedding Punch
Place ice in a glass. I love the mason jars. They are too cute. Simply pour in one shot, or 50 ml, of Disaronno (or any amaretto flavored liqueur), a squeeze of fresh lime, and top with cranberry juice. Bam–you’ll be amazed at how delicious this stuff is!
Fruity-licious Cocktails
My favourite thing in the world is a simple cocktail with vodka and fruit juice. To keep it budget friendly you’re gonna top it off with sparkling water or soda water (whatever you can find wholesale).
Pear with a Punch: 25 ml vodka, 25 ml pear liqueur or pear concentrate, dash of simple syrup, and top with sparkling water.
Peach with a Punch: 25 ml vodka, 25 ml peach schnapps, a dash of simple syrup, and top with sparkling water.
Signature Margaritas
Whether you have the money for signature drink stirs or not, these premade bad-boys with certainly wet your guests whistles with signature flare.
Pour 25 ml tequila, 25 ml Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) over ice. Squeeze in some fresh lime. Add a dash of simple syrup. Top with blood orange juice (or pulp-free orange juice), and a little sparkling water. Garnish any way you want, and serve!
Jug O’ Goodness
Go super easy and whip up entire jugs of cocktails. These are so much fun, and you can do a few virgin pitchers for friends and family that don’t drink.
Simply triple the recipes above (100 ml of alcohol per liter of pitcher) and add your garnish inside the jugs. Then your guests can just serve themselves.
Spiked Iced Tea
A very cool way to mix up some budget friendly drinks is to spike the iced tea with bourbon and mint for a sweet mint julep.