Dry wedding? (Alcohol free)

Im in the exact same boat. My FH and I decided not to do alcohol for many reason. I had a few upset relatives who thought we were crazy, but at the end of the day my FH and I decided that was the best thing for us. Alcohol shouldn't be the only way to a get a person to have fun. Your guest will be happy and they will have a good time. By the way change your picture and you'll get more responses on here.

If you're not right in town or your venue doesn't have a place for people to stay, it's easy to blame it on safety. I looked at several venues that were right on the river and far from town and the risk of drinking and driving would have been a big concern. Especially if it's the venue's policy and not yours, hopefully people will accept it!

I don't drink very much and often I'm DD for my FH when we do go to weddings. I've always loved a good photobooth and a DJ that can really get the crowd going ( this only works if you have a dancing crowd and any type of interactive stations like a unique guest book. I went to one wedding and their guest book was a scrapbook that each guest contributed to. They had a table with art supplies and Polaroid cameras and we got to decorate a page for their guestbook! Also love the bouquet toss and garter toss. If you like dancing you can do one of those performances with your bridal party.

If your group are drinkers, I would move your wedding to earlier in the day. Have a lunch wedding, and prepare for a calm vibe without dancing.

One of our best friends had a dry wedding at a park on the beach because of state law. We didn't know ahead of time, but some who did snuck in alcohol...

The wedding started at noon. It was very beautiful, but it was over by 2:30-3. We met with the couple and a few others at their hotel bar for a few drinks.

So it wasn't a party, but it was still a nice afternoon.

Good luck with that. I'd be finding another venue honestly. Adult humans want a glass of wine; it's not a character flaw.

But I feel those, "People wlll get sloppy drunk, we don't want to pay for it, if you need alcohol to have fun you're an addict and it'll be a wonderful party anyway' discussions coming up. Because every time a dry wedding discussion is posted, that's what happens.

Have it early, it will be short and then people can go out. To a bar. I don't think it's reasonable to consider a photobooth a logical alternative to alcohol.

Yea.. like others have said, if you're set on this, then consider a low-key lunchtime ceremony and reception. you're unlikely to have much dancing, if any, and dont expect your reception to last as long as an evening ceremony with alcohol. most adults enjoy a drink with dinner and to loosen up at a party - without it, most people will duck out early.

OP - not to be a bummer, but the vibe will be different without alcohol. As long as you are ok with a more low-key reception it will be fine.

Dry weddings are the norm and expected where we are both from. People in my hometown talk about weddings with alcohol as something very scandalous. Dry weddings may not be all evening affairs but if you want a low-key reception and you are serving good food and non alcoholic drinks, I wouldn't haven't a problem with it. If you want more fun, interactive things at the reception, a photobooth would nice but it's not necessary.

We are having a dry wedding as well. Like Jessica & Steven said its norm for where we live and 90% of the people we are inviting don't drink. Our venue doesn't allow it and it's actually a little hard to find a a venue here that does allow it.

We are having lots of dancing, and honestly with many of the people we are inviting we don't really need any alcohol present to have a great time. And for the people who do want drinks, they can bring a flask or pre-game haha.

Also if you don't drink your friends shouldn't expect there to be liquor anyways. Tell them to meet up at a bar before hand and they'll be just fine.

If you want your dry wedding, have it. However, a wedding really isn't the time to try to teach adults that they shouldn't require alcohol to have a good time (it's preachy and useless -- those same people will not go to the next wedding and say, "Hey, let's skip the bar. Remember what a great time we had at that dry wedding we went to?"). The reasons that most couples choose the dry route is due to budget or venue prohibitions; the "it's best for us" tagline comes after logistics or budget have made liquor a non-negotiable. I'd just be honest and say we couldn't swing it. To say that the decision was made because "it's best for us" says that your guests weren't much of a consideration -- or at least enough of a consideration. It's a fact -- guests like and expect a drink at a wedding, and unless the couple is devout, people will whisper to each other (and deal with it via flasks).

As far as substitutes for alcohol, I'm not sure a photobooth is up for the challenge. In fact, it would be a far more amusing element with a few drinks.

I'm with Celia. Have your wedding earlier in the day. An afternoon wedding without alcohol won't seem as odd as an evening wedding without it. Plus, she's right -- your guests, many of whom will be people who don't get a chance to get together on a regular basis -- would probably welcome the chance to leave the wedding around dinnertime and head to a restaurant/bar to continue the conversation.

I'm honestly curious, this isn't a dig, but where are dry weddings the norm? I've never heard of a dry wedding ever in my life. I'm hearing about a lot of wedding things for the first time ever on these boards.

Our venue is extremely meaningful to me and is the only place I ever considered, but it's also dry by their rules. We put it on our website so that there would be no surprises. We've also mentioned it to some of my friends who are pretty big drinkers and would be traveling far to this wedding so that they know what to expect when they're deciding whether it's worth it to come.

Our wedding is at noon with a lunch reception, and we'll have games after. I don't think most people love sober dancing.

@Kvalentine I agree I never heard of a dry wedding. I've been to weddings where the family is very religious but they still had wine and beer

To answer your question spread the word to your guests before the wedding or put it on your wedding website. As a guest I would want to know this beforehand, so I could make the decision to attend or not. Honestly, if you weren't super close family or friend, I would not take the time to travel, buy a dress and gift to go to a dry wedding.

Honestly, this would be a deal-breaker for me and I would never have picked a venue without a liquor license.

However- this would be good info. for you to put on a wedding website. The only dry wedding I've ever been to, lots of people brought flasks and bottles and hid them under their tables. It was suupppper tacky. If your venue doesn't allow alcohol vs. your choice not to have alcohol, it would be important for your guests to know that because you could potentially be shut down if guests bring their own.

Dry weddings are best done during day time hours, and unfortunately they will not have a party atmosphere or last as long as receptions that have alcohol. You might want to consider a photo booth or something to keep guests occupied. Also, you may want to consider having a shorter reception and then meet up with your friends and family at an informal "after party" at a local bar.

And- change your avatar to something other than the rings! They are associated with spam/trolls so it will help you get more responses.

I also consider dry weddings better suited to early afternoon weddings but I've been to evening dry weddings and while it's a different atmosphere I've had fun. But either way, you can't replace alcohol with things to do. Alcohol is more a relaxant and social lubricant, not an activity.

@Future Mrs. Elliott, same. My Nana was a very religious Irish Catholic and I can only recall a handful of times in my life not seeing her with a glass of wine in her hand. When I hear 'in our area' it's normal for a wedding for some reason the only thing that pops into my mind is Utah, that's why I was curious where the people saying they are the norm are from.

I don't think it's really the area it's the group of people. Maybe there are people who have bars at their wedding in that area

I've heard of dry weddings; I've been to two, but both were very conservative Christian couples. It was no surprise. What would have been a surprise -- actually, a shock -- is if either of them had served alcohol. Both ended early -- not by schedule, but by guest decision.

We routinely hear "this is normal in my area" -- whether it's cash bars, dry weddings, Jack and Jill fundraisers, etc. I often think that those posters may be half right -- it's normal to them, but it's normal because these behaviors are acceptable in their social groups as opposed to the population of an entire area. I actually believe many of the posters who say they've never been to an open bar wedding. Why? Because in their social environment, it's perceived as normal to charge for drinks at a wedding. For another bride, in the same area, who is part of a different social group, a cash bar at a wedding is an anomaly and would be embarrassing to host. Each time somebody defends a behavior by saying that it's normal in their area, there are plenty of people from that same area who say that it is not normal.

There is no place on this planet where dry weddings are the norm except possibly Salt Lake City. It's not the region, it's the social group.