- Question:
- My fiancé and I don't especially like champagne. It's also very costly. Do we have to serve it at our reception?
- Answer:
It's your wedding, and you're certainly not obligated to serve champagne. However, if you're cutting out the bubbly because you and your fiancé don't care for it, no one says the two of you have to drink it. Simply fill your glasses with your favorite concoctions during toast time and save the champagne for your guests. If you're forgoing champagne as a means of keeping liquor costs under control, here's a suggestion: Serve the good champagne at the beginning of the reception and switch to a cheaper label later. Trust us, palates aren't quite as picky after the reception's been in full swing for a couple of hours. If you decide to do without champagne completely, you can have waiters pass trays of your signature martini, a wine spritzer or a spiked fruity punch as guests arrive at the reception. Once guests settle in their seats they'll be armed with a champagne substitute and ready to start clinking to your future. If you'd rather people pick their own poison, have your DJ or band leader announce about 15 minutes before toasts begin that guests who don't already have a drink should make their way to the bar to fill up their glasses. Another option is to save the toasts until dinner is well under way. This way, you can make sure the waiters will have poured wine for all the guests. In the absence of champagne, guests will simply grab their wineglasses instead. No matter when you decide to begin the toasts at your reception, as long as your guests have a glass to raise—filled with anything—they will be pleased as punch.

- This content originally appeared in Modern Bride magazine.










