Welcome drinks and toast

Kildare

I haven't been to a wedding with short bread but I'm sure it would be lovely. Our ceremony was at 2pm, followed by welcome drinks and the 'canapes' were sausages on sticks and an ice-cream bike. Both went down really well. Perhaps your venue can do a cheaper form of canapes like the sausages?

Intially we were going to go without canapes, but I remembered we starved at my brothers wedding as the wedding was around 2pm and dinner wasn't served until 6pm. Depends a bit on the structure of your wedding, some people may be able to have lunch first and then if you don't have a big gap between ceremony and wedding breakfast you'll be fine.

burnoutbabe

Not sure about a welcome drink, but a drink post ceremony whilst wedding pics are being taken and you have an hour to stand around. That's when you do need a drink (be it soft or not) and maybe a nibble depending on time of day.

stir_crazy

wanchai wrote: »

You could do a DIY Ferrero pyramid quite cheaply! We're doing a sweet table, the sweets cost us £30 in total :beer:

I tried looking for cheap bulk Ferrero Rocher in order to make the pyramid, they cannot be found unfortunately!!I wanted to do 2 small 4 sided pyramids and worked out that for the price of the chocolate it just wasnt worth it. There are plenty of recipes if anyone wants a bash at making them thereselves.

Sorry to take it off topic!!

yellowcrocus

TBH I'd rather spend less money on my dress, cars, flowers etc or have fewer guests than see my guests without a drink. It costs a lot of time and money to attend weddings and if someone has honoured us with their presence it's our job to provide hospitality for them. This is very much the principle on which I've planned my wedding...minimum spend on clothing/ flowers/ decorative articles but plenty of good quality food and drink. Everyone's priorities are different I suppose.

lil_miss_insanity

joolzred wrote: »

A good welcome drink is Bucks Fizz - cheapy cheapo cheapest fizz with orange juice & plain orange juice for kids/non-drinkers. Cheapest Asti is around £3-4 a bottle if you shop around.

Hi, can you tell me where you found your Asti (my fave) & bucks fizz? I'd love to find it for £3-4/bottle! So far it's double that where I've looked.

Also - those that suggest fruit punch, is this venue provided, DIY or bought ready mixed? I've got a 3 1/2 hour drinks reception but I'm planning on keeping to soft drinks except the toasts and maybe a welcome drink.

During this time, there would be a chocolate fountain, a cheese platter, and the cake too. Hopefully people won't go hungry.

ktb

yellowcrocus wrote: »

TBH I'd rather spend less money on my dress, cars, flowers etc or have fewer guests than see my guests without a drink. It costs a lot of time and money to attend weddings and if someone has honoured us with their presence it's our job to provide hospitality for them. This is very much the principle on which I've planned my wedding...minimum spend on clothing/ flowers/ decorative articles but plenty of good quality food and drink. Everyone's priorities are different I suppose.

I absolutely 100% echo this sentiment. I personally do not think people take away lasting memories of the flowers or table centres or other 'extras' ... those are usually more of a focus for the bride in creating her perfect day... but I definitely think guests would remember being treated to lovely booze, food & a great atmosphere - which I also personally believe are all linked.

Getting absolutely nothing alcoholic to drink courtesy of the happy couple (even for the toast!!) would be unthinkable to me... I will have invited people to join us in celebrating and they would have forked out enough already to do so & I would actually be embarrassed to have nothing to offer them.

Absolutely each to their own, but decent booze & plenty of it and yummy food are my no1 priority, above dress, shoes, decor, flowers etc.

daisiegg

Why shortbread??? I've never heard of this!!

RainbowDrops

ktb wrote: »

I absolutely 100% echo this sentiment. I personally do not think people take away lasting memories of the flowers or table centres or other 'extras' ... those are usually more of a focus for the bride in creating her perfect day... but I definitely think guests would remember being treated to lovely booze, food & a great atmosphere - which I also personally believe are all linked.
....
Absolutely each to their own, but decent booze & plenty of it and yummy food are my no1 priority, above dress, shoes, decor, flowers etc.

Thirded, I think Wedding magazines etc seem to put way more importance on themes etc than looking after your guests, and what makes a good wedding for me is knowing that everyone is enjoying the celebration.

melancholly

daisiegg wrote: »

Why shortbread??? I've never heard of this!!

Me neither! I do like shortbread though....

[Deleted User]

lil_miss_insanity wrote: »

Hi, can you tell me where you found your Asti (my fave) & bucks fizz? I'd love to find it for £3-4/bottle! So far it's double that where I've looked.

If you have a friend in business, try Makro/drinks wholesaler (cheaper by the case) from around £4 per bottle for Asti, cheaper sparkling is often around (but it's not Asti, and it can be a bit sweet but this ok with OJ) Apologies for calling all sparkling wine 'Asti' - my OH is a head waiter in an Indian restaurant & they call all the cheapo fizz 'Asti'

At the moment - Asda has Alheña de Oro Moscato Sparkling White at £4.00 (sweet but mixed with OJ is fine) http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?skuId=910000552993&cmpid=afc-ghs-text07


Tesco has Demi-Sec Cava at £4.36 also reduced alcohol fizz £17.04 per case
Equivalent to £2.84 per bottle atm http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?id=266199731&

White Lambrusco is cheaper than chips!

Majestic wine - sparkling Brut starts around £5.50-6 but can get cheaper in store occasionally, same with Tesco

Bucks Fizz - we just make it ourselves with carton OJ & cheapest fizz!

Toasts - pink brut sparkling on offer atm! http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?id=266079879&