Alternatives to alcohol?

I'm having a dry wedding. And it's not because of family members with addition issues it's because my FH and I don't really drink that much. Our friends don't drink a lot either. We want that night to be memorable..and actually remember it lol we don't want to be shitfaced and wake up with hangovers the next day. So I support your decision !!

FMW your posts are reading as "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" and that's not the kind of attitude you have when you host people you claim are your friends. And for the record, you're wrong. Planning a wedding actually is all about what you AND your guests want. Even OP is trying to keep her guests in consideration when deciding what kind of drinks to serve at her dry wedding. She's trying to be creative so people aren't as disappointed that there's no alcohol (which I'll give kudos for even though I don't completely agree).

When you pick out a menu, you pick dishes that would please everyone and you take into account any allergies or dietary restrictions someone may have. You don't just say "we're having salmon and red potatoes" because that's what you like, and saying "screw Aunt Suzie", who will stop breathing if she has seafood.

You pick a DJ that plays music that appeals to everyone, not just what you like. If I had a selfish attitude, I would be playing unedited JayZ and Lil Wayne but I'm not going to subject my parents and our grandparents to that.

When picking out favors, you pick ones that you think most people would find cute or useful so they actually take them instead of you trying to figure out how to get rid of 75 monogrammed koozies.

When picking a venue, you find one that doesn't greatly inconvenience your guests. A good host goes for a venue where everything is in one place or a the ceremony location is (ideally) no more than 30-45 minutes away from the reception location.

I could go on and on. My point, FMW, is that your "it's all about me and it doesn't matter how my guests feel because it's all about me and not them" attitude is really gross and you should find a way to quickly get over your bridezilla behavior.n

Beautifully articulated, Keri M. FMW is so entrenched in her opinion of what she is entitled to on her wedding day, that she will probably never change her viewpoint. However, I'm hoping your post resonates with brides who may be leaning toward the "it's my day" attitude. I honestly cannot believe how many brides have recently posted on the forums that they came to WW with some very tacky ideas, but they hung around, listened, took the advice, and are now so grateful that they did.

I know FMW is part of the LDS church, and LDS weddings are quite different from conventional weddings -- including the fact that non-LDS individuals or LDS individuals without a temple recommend (including parents, siblings, honor attendants, etc.) cannot attend the sealing ceremony and must wait for the ceremony to conclude while in a waiting room or visitor center, Maybe the ultra-private ceremony has something to do with her belief that the reception really is all about her and her husband. I don't know.

What I do know is that "ninjaa", another LDS bride on these forums, did not have the same "it's my day, and it's all about me" attitude. In fact, while her open house reception didn't feature any alcohol (it's precluded by the church), I do remember her saying that even if one of her guests drank alcohol, she would have provided it for them (she wouldn't have partaken, of course, but she would have provided it for any guest who wanted it).

I had sweet tea and lemonade at my wedding!

Jessica that picture is in extremely poor taste.

ETA: gone now, but horrible nonetheless.

Wasn't my attention I'll get rid of it (:

Can someone flag Jessica's picture? I can't flag on mobile.

In other words

I wish people would keep in mind OP is wanting to have an early afternoon wedding - no dinner. We are looking at snacks, cake and punch. As well as a super short reception. There is nothing wrong with that. We tell brides all the time that if they can't afford to fully host a reception to go the cake/punch route. Now a bride is actually doing it and is getting beat up for it?! What's wrong with this picture.

If you do a coffee bar you can offer flavored creamers with fall themes such as pumpkin spice. I personally would offer the hot coco and hot cider too.

@original I think most people saw the alternative to alcohol caption and just started going at it.

Its def because of money. Light apps and no alcohol. Sounds cheap cheap to me.

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I (Bride) don't drink alcohol, but my guest will not be treated like preschoolers because of it. "Grape juice and Apple juice" I wish TF I would! I have a full open bar with top shelf liquor, because our families like to turn the Fuck up! I hope they all get wasted and pass out on the beach!

I'm sorry this is an entirely different issue, but who cares if my wedding doesn't cost a lot? I don't see the point in spending a bunch of money on one day. My fiance and I have talked about it and we would rather be saving money for a home or a nicer honeymoon. We're planning our wedding exactly the way we want, and if we wanted alcohol we would add it to our budget and buy it no problem. But it's just not something we view as a necessity or even want at our wedding so therefore we're not doing it. And we're doing appetizers because it's the middle of the afternoon haha. If it were an evening wedding we would be serving dinner, but at this point it's not so we're planning for that.

And if people don't want to attend because there's no alcohol then they obviously don't value my and my fiance's relationship enough to share the special day regardless and I'm fine with that kind of person not attending.

Great ideas! My venue offers a international tea and coffee display with all of works ! You should ask about that to go along with your other ideas!

@Amberrose I don't think it's fair for you to assume she's being cheap. I don't agree with her not even having a champagne toast but now that I know she's starting around 1 and ending around 4, I think it's cool to not have hard liquor or beer. I'd probably want one drink, maybe two around 4 or 5 but a group from the wedding could go out after if they'd like.

@Lauren

Don't worry about it. People here seem to think that so long as they attend a wedding, alcohol must be served because god forbid they go a few hours without alcohol during the day at a day wedding. Lucky for you, these types of people will most likely not be attending or invited to your wedding anyways.

Ok.

I think I must have missed the part about it being an afternoon wedding, or that came up after I went home for the night.

OP, my apologies if I came off as rude yesterday.

If you're hosting a dinner reception, yes...not having alcohol would be wrong.

Since I see now that you're doing apps and desserts, NOT at a meal time, you'll be ok.