When you imagine your wedding day, you probably want your guests to have lots of fun, leave with beautiful memories, and celebrate your love with the two of you by dancing all night. Besides a good party, what makes a good wedding reception is the catering as well. This time, we are not going to talk about the classic menu and traditional catering. Rather, we are going to provide a fun option – a cocktail hour.
Choose a theme
Choosing a theme of the cocktail hour doesn’t necessarily have to set the tone of your whole wedding. It serves to simply narrow down the list of cocktails you are going to serve because you will have a tough time deciding between so many as it is. Cocktails often remind us of a tropical beach, sea, and dancing so you can go for lighter, fruity, and fresh ones. If you want fancier ones, to go with your formal wedding reception, you can opt for those with scotch, and brandies. You can do variations of these with sodas, freshly squeezed juices, ice, and even coffee, and other liqueurs, so we are sure every guest will find something to fit their taste.
And while we are on the subject, make sure you have a couple of non-alcoholic drinks for your guests who want to stay sober. Something you should incorporate in the theme is music, especially if you choose to have the cocktail hour before the food arrives. Opt for mellow music that sets the mood, but still makes your guests comfortable enough to mingle while they sip on the cocktails.
Hire professionals
If you want everything to be perfect, and if you want to relax and enjoy some of the top world’s cocktails, you should invest in professional help. The New York scene is well-known for following the newest trends, and making tasty cocktails. So if you want to surprise and delight your guests, you can’t go wrong by letting them enjoy the amazing mixology the NYC is so famous for. And the best thing is that if your guests don’t like something from the menu, a professional mixologist can mix something right then and there. The decoration is another thing that will leave a big impression on everyone, which is one more reason to hire help. And if you want another fancy touch, a variety of cocktails have colour-changing foam, frostings, and different fruit and flower garnishing, so it will look cute as well.
Create a cocktail station
Instead of having waiters serve and carry cocktails, why not make a cocktail station. It is a fun detail that will look amazing, plus it is practical, and your guests will love taking pictures next to it. They can see how the cocktails are made firsthand and choose what they want. Make extra time to decorate the station, and choose the look that fits the rest of your wedding decor. Around the cocktail, the station makes sure to leave enough room for people to mingle while they wait for their cocktails, which instantly creates a cosier and friendly atmosphere.
Pair them with food
The cocktail hour shouldn’t last the entire wedding. Rather, opt to do it while everyone is waiting for the bridal party, or after the food when the party starts. This is why you can pair the cocktails with some finger food that matches them. Again, the best choice is to look for professional help, but think along the lines of cheese, prosciutto, bruschetta, hot sauces and dips, and maybe a fish appetiser depending on what combination goes well together. Citrusy flavours go well with fish, margaritas are even tastier when paired with grilled meat, and fried food mixes well with beer or bourbon cocktails. Stronger ones that have whiskey or brandy go well with red meat. And light, fruity, or bubbly ones complement the deserts or fruit.
Cocktail gift bags
You can be endlessly creative with cocktails, and if your guests love the cocktail station, they will love the gift bags as well. You can choose cocktail shakers, recipes, bottle key-chains, mini glasses, or even cocktail DIY kits and supplies to help them make their cocktails at home. You can be creative with the colours, designs, and have fun preparing gifts for your guests, and it will complete the whole cocktail hour atmosphere.
If you are looking for something to impress your guests, serving cocktails is definitely it. It is versatile enough to fit everyone’s taste, and it is a fun and cute idea to make your reception even more fun. Just make sure you hire professionals and organise all the decor and station on time.
