Dry wedding

I would either state that in the invitation or don't say anything at all. A friend of mine went through a similar thing and is because her husband is a recovering alcoholic. They had a dry wedding. Ask other people's opinions but maybe in the invitation you can put no alcohol to be served. You don't need to say why because at the end of the day people are there to see you both tie the knot.

Do you need to blatantly state it?
If he's a recovering alcoholic, people should respect that.

If you feel the need to be a little more blunt, you could consider a daytime reception and call it a cake and punch reception. That way people would only expect cake and punch.

Br upfront! People will complain but they can figure it out for themselves. Unfortunately (and I say this as a heavy drinker) in the USA people have an expectation of alcohol at weddings, so you need to reset those expectations ahead of time. Otherwise people will show up and be unreasonable about it. No need to explain, but include in the reception information that the wedding will be dry.

I just told my fmil and she just spread itword of mouth

I agree with PP.. you don’t HAVE to really say anything - people are there to celebrate you guys not to party and get drunk. Maybe have a brunch wedding ?! That might be a good idea or state “non alcoholic beverages will be served” ? 🤔

Our wedding had no drinks, it wasn’t a problem for us. The people that came drank what was there. Of course some people made remarks but it didn’t bother us, we don’t drink, it’s our wedding so that says everything that needed to be said. His family drinks and they’ve always tried to get him to at dinners and things I always found it so annoying but he just said no flat out and left it at that. On the back of our invitations we changed the “cocktail” menu to a simple “Join us for our reception”.

You definitely don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to, but if you do, word of mouth or maybe a wedding website if you have one. You’ll always have a few people that judge you, but this is your wedding not theirs, and you plan it however you want!

We had a dry wedding. I just didn't say anything at all. The people who are going to complain about it are going to complain regardless of how they're told.

I had a dry wedding too. Just told a few people and word spread so no one showed up looking for a drink. And no one said a word about it.

We are both in recovery and are having a dry wedding. We aren't going to state it on the invitations, and people can do what they want to do afterwards. The rehearsal dinner is at a bowling alley (we're renting the whole place out) and they have a small bar. We shared with folks that if they really want to drink, they can pay for it themselves, but that's not the focus on the night at all.

Likely, no one you invite to your wedding is only coming to get drunk. However, as a guest you want to know what your evening looks like. Just like you would say "ceremony on grass, don't wear heels" or " bring a sweater, dinner is outside", I would tell people on your wedding website that there is no alcohol being served. I think it's best to tell people ahead of time on the website so they aren't disappointed on the day of.

We are having a dry wedding (FH doesn't drink at all, and my family has a few people who shouldn't be drinking) we are spreading the news with word of mouth by telling my FMIL, a bridesmaid, and my mom. That way everyone who needs to be told will be. We are also not having a "cocktail hour" instead we are having "coffee and tea time" to make it clear what is being served.