Everyone likes a glass of fizz (or ten!) at a wedding, but when it comes to selecting your wine, how do you know where to start? How much do you need? What kind of wine will your guests prefer?
With so much to do and plan before your Big Day, you probably have not included wine choosing in your diary, and now you’re faced with the difficult task of knowing what to offer to your guests. If the job is making you feel like hitting the bottle, our handy guide below has everything you need to know about choosing the perfect tipple:
Budget Before Buying
Weddings are super expensive, and you need to prioritise what you spend your money on. You may want to impress your guests with expensive bottles of fizz, but it is worth it if it slurps up a part of your budget that could be spent elsewhere? Discuss your budget with a wine merchant to ensure that you get the best value for your money. By putting a sensible and realistic budget in place, your wine merchant will be able to recommend the best kind of wine for you. Usually, brides and grooms spend out on quality wines for during the meal and then let guests choose their own drinks at the bar.
Quality Before Quantity
While it may be tempting to go overkill on the bottle orders, bear in mind that you do not want your guests seeing double and missing all the wonderful details of your wedding day. There is plenty of time for getting squiggly at the afterparty, so try and stick to two glasses of wine with dinner and a flute of champagne for the toasts.
Food Before Drinks
You should only start planning your wines once you have decided on your menu. Chat with your wine merchant about what wine flavours match your chosen dishes.
You Before Your Guests
This is your Big Day and while you will inevitably want to keep your guests happy, you should put your own tastes first. If you do not like chardonnay, do not order it in. You want to enjoy every part of your wedding, so make sure the alcohol you order is your favourite!
Other things to remember…
Wine merchants can be extremely helpful and will accept any boxes of unused wine that are still in a sellable condition. If you do not want a garage full of bubbly after your wedding (or maybe you do!), check with your merchant about their policy on returns. If your wine merchant agrees to take back any leftovers, tell your venue not to unload every box. Tell your venue about your plans to return any extra wine and request that your wine is only opened as and when it is needed.
Hopefully, after reading this guide, you are now feeling relaxed and in control of your wine ordering.
Laguna are experienced Asian wedding caterers at a range of wedding venues in London. Don’t forget to keep visiting our blog for more top tips on wedding planning!