Has anyone had a POSITIVE dry wedding experience?

I was the MOH in a dry wedding. The wedding was dry for religious reasons, and most of the guests didn't drink anyway. It was very well done. The reception was beautiful. There was no cocktail hour (obviously), we went straight from the ceremony location to dinner. They did not have a dance floor - just music playing lightly in the background. The food was delicious - this might have been the best wedding food I've ever had. Mostly it was just a nice dinner. People left after a couple hours. It wasn't a bad experience, it was just different. Felt similar to a family reunion or work party, but a bit classier. Would a glass of wine have been nice? Sure, but it didn't ruin my night or anything.

Jenny, by Persian I meant with the rituals and all. Not that they are necessarily Muslim.

After reading all the comments, I noticed that most of the ones who do not like dry weddings went to ones with other problems(poor food quality/quantity, drink wait time, etc).

So the question becomes- Is the reason you didn't like the wedding because it was dry, or because of the other issues? Would you have minded the dry wedding provided the other things were not poorly done?

I already told my family we were doing a dry wedding next year and their response was "Yeah we figured." "Sounds like you" "I wouldn't expect alcohol with you anyways" and my favorite "well yeah, you can't drink it so why serve it?" Yep they know me well enough to know.

I was MOH in a dry wedding too, and that was terrible. The only reasons were cheap and poor hosting. The first thing that happened was only about half the people who were at the ceremony came to the reception, and then almost everyone else left after dinner. At 8pm. So at 8:10, there's around 10 people left, and the bride is pissed because they have the venue and dj till 11. We danced for about 30 minutes, then helped clean up (seriously, cheap wedding) and went home. She still talks about how mad she is at the people who left 2 years later.

Now, not one I went to, but heard from a friend... Dry wedding at 2, then refreshments and cake, and the bride had a ton of board games set up for people to play. My friend said they grabbed cards and played euchre the whole time. Wedding was over by 4:30/5, and friend went out for dinner afterward. Since most people don't drink between 2-4 anyway, she said it was more fun than they thought it'd be!

I have not been to many weddings but the weddings that I have attended that were dry were far less fun to me personally than the ones that were not.

In general I feel like this is your wedding and if you want it dry, do it. Otherwise, have some alcohol available. The religion of your guests shouldn't matter IMHO. Medical reasons - same thing. If you are on medical restriction then you should know your limits. The AA guests are kind of in the same boat, but I feel more for this as you don't want to be the one that temps them.

If you are interested in having some alcohol why not make it a light bar - beer and wine?

With all that said if you are set on a dry wedding then I think you have to make sure you plan out other things to keep the guests entertained. Food needs to be top-notch. Drinks (even if non-alc) need to be different and delicious. Games for guests to play on their own. Games for the guests to play with/against the wedding couple. Lots of sugar and caffeine.

GL!

Honestly, even if the food is good and everything else is comfortable, a dry wedding will just never be as fun as a regular one. The dry weddings I've been to haven't been torturous, but I also didn't enjoy being there either and have been waiting until it's socially acceptable to leave every time--even at ones where I was the designated driver and wouldn't be able to drink anyway. Even at weddings where a lot of guests know each other, weddings are events where people meet after not having seen each other for a while, and people experience all the conversational weirdness that often accompanies reunions between a large group of acquaintances. Most people are just kind of tense and awkward in such an atmosphere without booze, so if you want a party vibe, you won't get it.

I've been to one dry wedding and it didn't get fun till the last half an hour. Before that everyone was sitting around. My FH and I were outside by the bar for a decent amount of time and I so wanted to crash the other wedding that was going on! lol cause the DJ they had was awesome!

The DJ at the wedding I was at was boring and what killed my mood was the bride was over an hour late for the ceremony! So after the ceremony everything was pretty rushed after that so it could end on time so yeah and the soft drinks were serve yourself....

I'm sure your wedding will be great though!! If your in an area where dry weddings are common.

Yep! I don't care about dry or wet weddings. I have never understood this "people won't dance unless there is drinking and music." I am the DD for my friends, and I know I have fun with no alcohol involved when I'm at the club. A good DJ can make anyone dance!

I've never been to a dry wedding. But I'm not sure I would dance. However your food options sound great, and I'm all about food. I'd stay for a little while but maybe leave after dessert

@Nonna, well I thought we were talking about alcohol sorry. Obviously for Muslims it's one of the pillars of their religion, and many Muslims take it very seriously, so that's why it was dry.

I've been to two dry weddings.

One was awful - my cousin got married in a park on a rainy day and had BBQ catered in.

One was last year - 4pm wedding with a 5pm dinner was over by 8. The food was great (we're using the same venue which does their own catering), they had a large candy bar and dessert spread, and the cake was fabulous. The DJ was awesome (a personal friend of mine, small town and we're totally using a friendor) and FH and I danced every chance we got. There were quite a few on the dance floor, but mostly the younger college age crowd (but granted the bride and groom were 22)

FH and I are having our reception at the same place with the same caterer and the same DJ, so I know the food will be great, the DJ will be awesome, and everyone will have a chair to sit in, a plate of hot tasty food, a slice of delicious cake, and a refreshment. Dry weddings are normal around here, and we are choosing to do so because of religious reasons - not because we're cheap. None of our guests would bat an eye at a dry wedding, and those who do drink know ahead of time and will have the option to attend the hosted after party my non-religious mother is throwing at a local bar.

I did, but the reception was so short, there really wasn't any time to drink. This is the only way I can imagine it to somewhat work.

Reception immediately followed the ceremony (except for about a 30 min break, with apps, no drinks so we can't call it a cocktail hour).

Then they did speeches, highlight dances, dinner &a cake. Almost 15min after everyone was done eating, it was send off time. It lasted maybe 2.5hrs?

I went into it thinking it would suck, but upon arrival I learned that all of the guests, but about 5 of us, didn't drink... so I had a bit more understanding for it.

I've been to one dry wedding. It was at an outdoor venue in the middle of nowhere in July. The heat was miserable, the food was mediocre and the dollar dance went on forever. Nearly everyone left early. All I remember thinking was how I wish I had known it was going to be dry beforehand so I could've brought a flask in my purse.

I think you will be fine. If your friends don't really drink anyway, they won't feel the need to consume alcohol in order to have a good time.

I would make sure you pair people well at tables keeping good conversation in mind (similar careers, for example, might enjoy a table together). Make sure you offer lots of variety in refreshments, not just soda but soda, water, coffee, tea etc.

I think, considering your area, that your wedding will be fabulous!

I have been to two dry weddings. The best thing I liked about one of them is that they had really creative mocktails that were really good.

I have and we left after eating and one dance. To each their own but it wasn't the greatest time.

All weddings and parties for me are dry because I've had one sip of alcohol in my entire life and never drank it again (I'm 28). I always have a good time.

I went to one and everyone had a great time! We all knew beforehand itd be dry with no dancing

Celia- for me(Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), it is because alcohol changed how your brain acts. It affects you, although temporarily and makes you more susceptible to the negative and immoral ideas of the devil. To us, those substances are to be avoided as to avoid those that are immoral and keep us choosing the right so we can be with God in Heaven again.

That's why drinking is not permitted. And while that may not be true for every religion it is for mine.

I have been to 1 dry wedding. It was my mom's to my step-dad, but they had a cake and punch reception that lasted 2 hours and was in the church. No one minded because it was so short and the cake was banging.