Your venue may not allow you to bring in your own alcohol but if they do then this is an area where you can save. Some venues let you bring in your own wine but will charge a corkage fee. It is good to do this as long as the corkage fee is not too high.
The corkage fee is the amount of money the venue charge to remove the cork from your wine and serve it. You must watch out for corkage. Some corkage fees are expensive, as much as £12 per bottle. Take this into consideration because it really does add up. We spent more money on corkage than actual alcohol at our wedding.
We got our wine imported from a wonderful organic farm in Tuscany called Fattoria La Villa. A number of guests said it was the best wine they had ever had at a wedding. Not surprising considering how many awards Fattoria have won for their wine. We did a general review of their amazing food and wine here: http://www.frostmagazine.com/2013/09/fattoria-la-vialla-review-organic-italian-food-fresh-from-the-farm/
We got prosecco instead of champagne. Far from being a cheap version of champagne it can taste better, is a lot cheaper and is easier on the head as it has fewerbubbles. A great alternative for those on a budget. If you have a big budget and still want champagne then I recommend Sainsbury’s Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Champagne which is amazing and costs £22.50 per bottle (although it tends to be cheaper around about Christmas time when Sainsbury’s drop the price) or if you really want to blow your budget: Taittinger champagne. The Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus NV is especially divine but cost upwards from £49 per bottle.
The best time to stock up on champagne/prosecco/cava is at Christmas time. This is when supermarkets cut their price. Buy in bulk and you will save a fortune.
Another tip to save money is to have cocktails at your wedding. We had Buck’s Fizz (prosecco and orange juice) and Bellini’s (peach puree and prosecco) but you can mix sparkling wine with most things or even make a special cocktail for your big day and name it something sweet and personal. This is a nice touch that guests will remember. You will probably also want to keep the recipe handy to share it with guests.
Keep the reception short.
Buying in bulk always make things cheaper.
Cut the number of guests.
Go to France and buy in bulk. A surprisingly cheap option and you don’t have to pay any tax as long as it is for personal use or a gift.
Wine clubs and retailers such as Naked Wine or Virgin Wine tend to have good deals.
Don’t be scared to go into your off-licence and ask for advice. If you are buying in bulk they could also cut you a good deal. If not then just go somewhere else.
The venue might not let you bring in your own alcohol, if not then make sure it is worth going with that venue. Some venues are reasonable but others will overcharge. Ask them what is inclusive of the venue charge or what you will be charged extra for. You don’t want any nasty surprises after the wedding.
Although very few people can afford to pay for large quantities of alcohol for hundreds of people all day, you should make sure your guests get some free drinks. However, a cash bar in the evening or if they want something off-menu is fine.
At our wedding we had more bottles of wine than guests, and some of those guest were teetotal, not old enough to drink or driving home so were taking it easy. Despite this the amount of alcohol we had left at the end of the night was zero. A bit of a bitch on the corkage fee but we were just glad our guests had a good time. So here is my advice: never underestimate how much people drink because it is A LOT.
During the wedding breakfast, guests will generally drink half a bottle of wine each. Have a mix of red and white on the table. We also included rosé which was a huge hit. However some guests won’t drink, or will drink more or less. Drivers, for example, will be drinking less. Obviously if you have invited children to your wedding they will need soft drinks.
A standard bottle of champagne of 75ml gives six champagne flute glasses.
A bottle of wine generally gives five glasses of wine.
A litre of alcohol will break down into 40 shots.
If you are really struggling then there are alcohol calculators online. All you have to do is put in the amount of guests and then what they like to drink, it then does the hard work. Put ‘alcohol calculator’ into a search engine.
You can have an open bar or a paying bar, or even combine the two. Although some people complain about having to pay for a drink at a wedding, caring, decent people will know that you are not rich and should understand if they have to pay for a few drinks.
At our wedding we bought a lot of wine but if guests wanted anything else other than that they had to pay. We thought this was fair as we didn’t have a lot of money and had already supplied tea, coffee, soft drinks, a three course meal and a considerable amount of wine.
Prosecco is very underrated. It is cheaper than champagne and has fewer bubbles so you don’t get as drunk. Prosecco is a sparkling wine from Italy, much like champagne is a sparkling wine from the champagne region in France and cava is a sparkling wine from Spain. It is possible to get a wonderful prosecco that is reasonably priced and your friends will not think that you went for the cheaper choice. Just choose carefully. We got our prosecco straight from Italy and made sure we tried a bottle first. It went down a treat and our guests loved it.