Non-Alcoholic Alternatives

Also..... People with substense abuse get cut off. Leave and go and get a bottle all there own and drink it straight. Telling a person with an addition to only have a taste is like holding a suicides person's shoes while they jump.

I don't think alcohol is necessary at all. We're not having it but we're also have a day time wedding so I don't think anyone will think about it too much. I think taking his family history into account is such a responsible decision and I wouldn't worry about it all just have regular drinks or google some fun non alcoholic cocktails.

Why is the word "punish" used so much when disagreeing with WW "hosting" rules....?

I think mocktails just make it more obvious that you aren't having alcohol. Serve soda, lemonade, tea and punch.

Sweet tap dancing Jesus Pia; these aren't ""WW hosting rules"...they are the expectations of adults at a party, and yes; if I'm going to get dressed, travel and bring you a gift? I want a glass of wine, and punishing me with cute soda is, well, yes. Punishment. I don't expect to 'drink a bottle in a corner"...FSS.

And you obviously have no grip whatsoever on how recovery works.

This has just gotten stupid. NWMFT.

I am having a daytime wedding and reception and having a full liqueur open bar. I don't drink and FH only drinks beer but we will have it if anyone wants it

Afternoon or morning reception and more casual style food

Find something classy like sparkling juice or mocktails

I honestly grew up in an area where most receptions were cake and punch and it was scandalous to serve wine let alone have a full bar

I have a new business plan that I think is going to make a killing. I want to know where all the dry weddings are at and have a mobile bar set up outside the doors. Play some music, serve some real drinks. I think I could make a killing off your weddings. Sad thing though? Chances are the guests are going to have to take their gifts back to afford the drinks they want. Oh well. None of you care about them anyways!!!!!

CASH BAR!!! Jk.

Thanks for all the advice, fellow brides! I really appreciate it. I've talked to the FH about the situation and we have worked it out.

Pia, are you a professional wedding planner, or are you one of those women who does what you do for your friends and family members? I ask because you wrote, "I literally just did a mocktail bar for a couple who decided on no alcohol 2 weeks ago. It was cool. And her dad appreciated it, as he is a recovering alcoholic." No professional wedding planner would ever suggest that the couple serve soft drinks because one individual on the guest list was a recovering alcoholic. No professional wedding planner would put her stamp of "cool" on such an etiquette faux pas that impacted so many gift laden guests.

And by the way, while you're focused on the word "punish" (something I didn't see on this thread) and "WW rules", it would behoove you to spend some time reading posts that have nothing to do with dry weddings, but rather focus on poorly written professional websites. The word is "substance", not "substense". The other word you wrote, "addition", is something with which my second grade grandson is familiar. Actually, it's the subject of his homework, three times a week. "Addiction" -- the word you meant to write, is something he isn't familiar with. As for the "suicides person's shoes" phrase, well, you'll have to figure that out yourself.

@rachel, can I just say I love reading your comments. You hit the nail on the head.

We are doing a dry wedding. It is fine. We are having coffee, tea, water, soda, and lemonades. Just because it is something your supposed to have does mean anything. Now on your drinks just go simple, don't do anything crazy.

Future Mrs B -- this is your stated advocacy for dry weddings?: "Just because it is something your supposed to have does mean anything"...well, alrighty then...that's compelling. I'm convinced, and just changed sides..

Future Mrs B is right, don't do anything crazy... like mocktails. Serving mocktails would be crazy. Let your guests have some real drinks.

I've never heard of so many people with alcohol (or "subtense abuse") problems or physically violent relatives until WW.

Unless you're Mormon, alcohol is a must. No way around it.

That is your choice, you have your reasons. You're allowed to have a dry wedding, people do it all the time. I think that people have a problem with open vs. cash bar which I understand but if you are against alcohol then I think a dry wedding is fine

OMG...really? I just read several posts that talked about "fun mocktails". LOL...really, LOL. Am I reading the title of latest idiotic "fake it till we make it" magazine article? What the hell is "fun" about an alleged adult beverage that is typically served with a shot of alcohol, but when you, wedding guest, swallow it, you get that burst of fun when you realize that the diabetic delight you're ingesting doesn't include the priciest ingredient: alcohol. Oh, the fun is unimaginable, isn't it? If that's not where the fun is, is it going to hit the guests while they're standing on line for their junior prom drinks? No? Well, is the fun to be found in the attractive guy/girl serving the bait and switch drinks? Is the fun found in the shape of the glasses, or perhaps the fun is revealed in the color of the soft drinks? Where's the fun? Where the hell is the fun in a silly mocktail?

Is the fun experienced as you, wedding guest with a gift, approach the bar because...oh, I don't know...maybe you want an adult beverage...and instead you get sugar, sugar, soda, cream, colored fruit juice, crushed iced and a cocktail napkin with the couple's names and wedding dates imprinted on it (YAY! Funtime funny fun! Isn't the miracle of printing so much fun?). Does the fun present itself when a few guests take a sip of their soft drinks and say, "OMG! This tastes just like what it isnt'! God, this is fun! I could swear this was a Margarita, but it isn't because there's no tequila in it...but who cares because the fun is so much fun? This is so close to the genuine article that I want to jump up and down while squealing with delight -- because that's fun!"

Stop deluding yourselves, and stop diluting your drinks. Fun, at a long, dry wedding, is someone pushing up against you on line at the bar and saying, "You know, this is the kind of stuff you can buy for your kid at the mall, right? Wanna chip in a few bucks and enjoy a real bar we're setting up?" That's fun. Mocktails are a joke, a sad, pathetic, joke.

Okay, guys, some of your comments are starting to get really aggressive for no reason. You could have just said, "Alcohol is pretty standard. I don't think mocktails are a good idea. I'd just go with serving alcohol," rather than insult my intelligence, which I don't appreciate. We are all brides here and we all have stresses in our lives. We should be building each other up rather than tearing each other down. That doesn't mean you have to agree with me. Just please be respectful. No need to name call. Furthermore, I never asked for opinions on whether or not I should serve alcohol. I asked if anyone had any ideas for non-alcoholic beverages we could serve. No ideas? That's fine. Disagree with the choice of a dry wedding? Fine too. In fact, your responses are helpful in understanding just how much of an expectation having alcohol at a wedding is. It's the name calling and disrespect that I'm not okay with. This comment thread does not have to be a war zone.

Vivian, I've read through the thread. I'm not sure where you're seeing the name calling? That's against the Community Guidelines and would have been flagged.

This is not a war zone. This is a typical Thursday night on WW.