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Simple Hacks To Keep Your Wine Wedding Costs Down

“To buy a very good wine nowadays requires only money. To serve it to your guests is a sign of fatigue – William F. Buckley.” Wines in weddings can cost a significant amount depending on the number of guests and types of alcoholic drinks you are serving. One of the most important questions that you need to ask is if your chosen venue allows you to bring your own wine for a corkage fee that ranges from reasonable to expensive. If you can bring in your own, you can opt for a selection of wines that you source yourself. Signing up for wine tours and reducing items served in open bars are other ways to help bring down expenses.

Budgeting for an open bar

Setting aside a budget for your open bar is the first step to ensure that you are spending within your means. You don’t want to go beyond your budget especially if you have troubles restructuring student debts or credit payments.   But to arrive at this figure you need to estimate drinks consumption at the reception. Event Planning estimates that an open bar will cost 10-20% of the wedding budget plus 20% tipping max for the bartenders. To arrive at consumption, assume that a guest will drink an average of 5 drinks throughout the reception. You would need, therefore, 14 bottles of wine, 67 bottles of beer and 4 liquor bottles to serve 100 guests per hour.

How to get your wine bottles

Of the 3 types of alcoholic beverages you’re serving, wines can make a significant dent in your budget. However, there are ways to decrease the costs if you’re buying the wine yourself. One is to go on wine tours in the Niagara area. Ontario produces some of the finest wines in the country. In 2014, production was 23.4 million liters or 2.6 million cases. As of March 2014, there are 150 wineries operating in the area. Most of the wines produced in Ontario come from the Niagara Peninsula. Niagara on the Lake, a charming town, hosts over 20 wineries where you can taste and buy delicious wines at decent prices.

Overall, Canadian wines are cheaper than American or Italian bottles with white wine costing an average of CAD14.95. Sparkling brut is around CAD 24.95 while a Cabernet Merlot is CAD16.95. You can even add something different for you bar such as the ice wine. What is also interesting is that you can taste different wines before buying for your wedding giving you an idea of what is good to pair with your food menu. Plus, most of these wines are not readily available in supermarkets so you are nearly sure to be serving something unique.

Wine plays a special role in wedding receptions giving the celebration meaning as your guests enjoy dining with a good bottle. Although the beverage can set you back a lot of money, you can trim down costs by shopping for the wine yourself during wine tours or purchasing online from local wineries. Limiting your open bar to beer and wine also reduces costs.