Alcohol for a wedding

lizd87

I'm planning a MSE wedding for July 2012. I'm just trying to work out how to cut some costs with the alcohol and wonder if anyone has any advice. what i'm doing is :

• a 'pimm's' reception - thinking of getting the Aldi version, which is £5 for a big bottle (as opposed to about £15 for the real thing) - has anyone tried it to know if it tastes similar enough
• wine for the tables - reasonable taste (!) about 35 bottles, mixture of reds/whites/roses
• champagne (i know i could switch to cava/sparking wine but would prefer to not if i can find a cheap way of getting some actual champers!) - about 15 bottles

Thanks!

banks4u

Good question, I need to do the same thing. I have 500 guest and I need alcohol.
I did buy some wine when tesco had the glitch. Next time Tesco have that glitch buy buy buy!! very good value wine.
Champers I'm not sure, duty free was always good... but how often will people bring bottles from Duty Free. Makro and Costco are supposed to be good.

lizd87

500! wow! I'm a big Aldi fan, but not sure what my more snobby guest will think of Aldi wine on the tables..
Costco's def worth a look, thanks.

Storck

Just remember if you are holding your wedding at a hotel they will probably charge you a corkage fee for every bottle.

BitterAndTwisted

Depending on what part of the country you're in it might be worth popping over to France in a car and bringing back as much as you can get in a vehicle.

That Ald! version of Pimms is good. Once you got a load of fruit & veg and lemonade in it no-one would notice the difference if there is one.

Another option is to talk to a good local off-license. Once you know the quantities you're looking to order they could suggest good quality wines for the price you want and should offer a good discount for a bulk-buy. Go round a few and see what they say. Don't forget that we're in a recession and it's buyer's market. A good order like that should get them sitting up and taking notice.

lizd87

Storck wrote: »

Just remember if you are holding your wedding at a hotel they will probably charge you a corkage fee for every bottle.

thanks we're having it in a marquee to save on things like that! so now need to make sure i can actually make that saving!

hilstep2000

I got champers last year for DD's wedding in Asda. It was £24 a bottle, being sold for £9.97. We boughyt a bottle to taste and went back for 24 bottles! We were charged £5 corkage per bottle, but as the hotel charged £25 a bottle for theirs we were still in.
You will have to look out for offers now, Christmas time there were loads.

Taplledraw

lizd87 wrote: »

I'm planning a MSE wedding for July 2012. I'm just trying to work out how to cut some costs with the alcohol and wonder if anyone has any advice. what i'm doing is :

• a 'pimm's' reception - thinking of getting the Aldi version, which is £5 for a big bottle (as opposed to about £15 for the real thing) - has anyone tried it to know if it tastes similar enough
• wine for the tables - reasonable taste (!) about 35 bottles, mixture of reds/whites/roses
• champagne (i know i could switch to cava/sparking wine but would prefer to not if i can find a cheap way of getting some actual champers!) - about 15 bottles

Thanks!

We had a very MSE wedding in our village hall for 160 people. I bought crystal look decanters from car boots/charity shops etc and filled them one red one white on each table we also put a jug of water on each table somehow it makes people ration themselves more if they see whats left in the decanter!!yone said how nice it looked and the decanters /jugs have already now done one other wedding! Ever we did have someone (Daughter and friends) keeping an eye and refilling them when they were empty but we were surprised how rarely they did it! we had a sparkling choice of bucks fizz, orange juice or cassis when they came in bought when on offer from M and S and bought the champers when on special offer often around valentines/mothers day etc. You can fill them from wine boxes too which sometimes can be cheaper. Hope this helps.

pelirocco

lizd87 wrote: »

500! wow! I'm a big Aldi fan, but not sure what my more snobby guest will think of Aldi wine on the tables..
Costco's def worth a look, thanks.

It was Aldi Pimms , and you mix it up in Jugs , you dont drink it from the bottle

cord123

Aldi pimms is really nice :-) Aldi wine is lovely too! My hubby drinks a red from their that is £3.49 (cant remember what it is called) and he loves it! I put it in the xmas hampers i made this year for parents and grandparents and they all said how lovely it is as well!

Wine is all personal pref though!

Have you thought about Prosecco!?

nowakee

lizd87 wrote: »

• a 'pimm's' reception - thinking of getting the Aldi version, which is £5 for a big bottle (as opposed to about £15 for the real thing) - has anyone tried it to know if it tastes similar enough

Thanks!

Yes, the Aldi version is fine, just don't show it to anyone, as some people's taste buds are run by TV advertising.

Tip, try the Jura sparkling Chardonnay from Aldi.