Any thoughts on a Dry Wedding?

There are good ideas and thoughts here. I personally think that you should do what you want to do. Myself, if I were invited to a dry reception, I would definitely attend. I think the key is to make sure that people know that ahead of time. But think about it, family gatherings...I don't know about you, but most of our family gatherings do not involve alcohol, and we all have a great time, and we all end up staying for hours and hours.

I think that if you want a dry reception, if your guests know ahead of time, and if you have a few interactive things (like others have mentioned), I think you'll be fine.

Wow I love all the feedback. You guys are great. There are so many great ideas and considerations here! : )

We're having a dry wedding. It's a daytime cake-and-punch reception, the groom is a recovering alcoholic and since I gave up smoking I don't drink (it's a trigger, and the last thing I want to do is be the smoking bride). Furthermore, it;ps simply NOT in the budget for permits plus decent booze. Thinking of having a lemonade bar with add-ins like fruit or a mix-your-own-Arnold-Palmer station instead, depending on the expense.

What was suggested to us is that we do put a line in the RSVP insert about it being a dry wedding. I haven't discussed with FH whether he wants the wording to include the fact that he's in recovery (he doesn't bring it up, but he doesn't hide it either) or not. A friend of mine pointed out that if there isn't a reason given to her, she'd find a way to sneak booze in (and we could get in a lot of trouble if guests did that) and a good chunk of our friends would do the same. We'll figure out how to word it.

@Geeky the lemonade bar with mix-ins is a great idea!

FH actually requested tonight that we not indicate that he's in recovery, but LOVED the lemonade bar idea and says it's OK to add it into the invitations that we're having one. He wants to make a few simple syrups to add in as well as fruit, like rhubarb (he loves cooking projects.) And enough of our family likes iced tea that we're doing a couple of pitchers of iced tea for the Arnold Palmer station and I anticipate some will just drink tea. We will also have bottled water, but we want people to have at least a couple of different options for beverages.

Don't do it. It won't be boring without the alcohol as long as you guys set the tone for fun!

If your family is very religious and have gone through life's celebrations without alcohol being part of the mix, they'll be fine. However, they'll be a variety of people at your wedding.

If you can afford to pay for it, I'd suggest you do. You don't have to do the open bar/top shelf liquor option, but, a small selection of wine, or pitchers of sangria, would be welcomed by many guests.

If you decide to do a dry wedding, why not make it an earlier event? People are less likely to be looking for a drink at an early afternoon wedding than they are at an evening event. Beyond that, get a great DJ and let him do his job of keeping the party going.

Centerpiece is right. If you do a brunch, you could really just do some sangria or mimosas and call it a day.

Hillaryj9891,

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The reason people dance or dont dance is the DJ not the alcohol. I had a dry wedding and an AMAZING DJ!! Everyone had so much fun and partied the night away!

I also had a photobooth

For me, personally, a wedding is much better WITH liquor. However, since your family is very religious and some recovering from alcoholism I don't think it would be a bad idea to have it be dry. Maybe just include in your invitation that there will be no alcohol, so if people want they can sneak their own in lol

Why don't you do something like a lemonade bar. You could have some different exotic flavors and some old staples. You could also do a faux-tini bar. This would be the non- alcoholic versions of martinis and other mixed drinks. If you really want to have some alcohol you could do a cocktail hour and offer one or two signature drinks. I however, have planned several dry weddings and you can still have fun. If the wedding is outdoors you could have a lawn sports area with croquet, horseshoes, and toss a cross.

We are not serving, but if people bring it I'm not stopping them. I'm not saying it's a BYOB wedding, but it's "okay" for people to bring stuff from where I am from. My fiance doesn't drink, and I don't want to pay the sky high cost of hiring a police officer, permit, and everything else the county enforces for our wedding since it is not at a place with a "bar". As long as WE don't serve it, then we don't have to worry about it. I'm not going to drink because my fiance really doesn't want me to, he has not said it to me, but knowing him he does not want me too.

No, you dont need to provide anything. However, if you are torn (which you seem to be) I like the advice of something light. It will be less "in your face" if you had a few glasses of champagne for toasting and dinner available, and nothing else. That is a nice compromise. I am biased because I dont drink at all. Ever. So I would not notice the difference. My husband drinks, he would like a few beers, but in the end he would survive just fine. ;-)

As someone who is in the wine business, I would be disappointed if my choices were non-alcoholic.

I think you have a tough decision to make, based on the information you provided.

Interesting topic. I have already decided I am not paying for anyone's liquor bill. We are not drinkers and I drink wine every now and then. I have been to plenty of weddings that had open bars and still did not use them. Our friends and family know that the strongest alcohol we have is wine. On that note I am going to check if the bar can only serve soda, juice and wine from us. If anyone wants to pay for other drinks its up to them.