MemberI’ve been to one–the venue was a historic building that did not allow alcohol. It was a daytime wedding though, so it wasn’t that big a deal. Then there was a planned after party at a local club that most people went to afterwards.
MemberGrowing up in Utah, I attended a lot of weddings w/o alcohol. Personally I could careless most days. Although at my wedding I am planning on having a bar since most guests attending do drink.
MemberIf I recall correctly, my brother’s wedding was dry. i wasn’t of age at the time so it didn’t matter. now, i prefer it, but i understand if the couple chooses not to have it for whatever reason; it’s their wedding. i’m not going to drink; i’m going to celebrate with them.
MemberI have been to way more weddings without alcohol than with because most of the weddings I’ve attended were family weddings, and my family is very conservative for religious reasons. It depends on your guests’ expectations whether they will be bored or not. I wasn’t bored because I treated it more like a family gathering than a big party. However, those who have that in mind would certainly be let down.
Our wedding had a brunch reception that was dry, and it was short and sweet and my family was comfortable. We had an after party with drinking and dancing and it was a big fun party. Best of both worlds!
Having said all of that, if you or your family do not oppose drinking for moral/religious reasons and you don’t have problem drinkers in your family, I think it is nice to serve something, even if it is just champagne, because that is what many people expect and enjoy.
MemberI have been to both wedding with alcohol and weddings without. My opinion: it isn’t missed at all. I’m one of the last of my friends to get married and a large majority did not have alcohol and the dance floor was full the whole night and most people stayed until after the bride and groom left!
I’m a religious person but I have no problem with alcohol… just people getting drunk. Our wedding will be alcohol free because there are a few people coming have problems with alcohol and who would get drunk and cause a scene. My opinion is that the people we love and want at our wedding would be happy to celebrate with us despite lack of alcohol.
MemberI belong to a social circle in which alcohol is not a normal feature of parties. It’s not for religious reasons–it’s some combination of economics and prior issues with alcohol. So I honestly don’t think my guests would have cared very much if we’d done without alcohol. It tells you something that the venue owner (who knows this group) offered me an open bar for 60 people for five hours for $250. He knew that even with an open bar, people were not going to drink much.
However, there is certainly a wide disparity in how people view alcohol at weddings. I know that many of my relatives would leave as quickly as possible if there were no alcohol. (Since those same relatives are the ones most likely to overindulge, I was just as happy not to be inviting them.)
So I think this is a situation in which you just have to know your guests. If most socializing in your circle involves alcohol, a dry wedding may be a hard sell. Otherwise, it may be no big deal.
MemberI have never been to a dry wedding, but I think if the party is kept alive, it would be just as fun. Fiance and I are not having alcohol at our reception for a number of reasons. People have joked around about it, but in general they have not seemed to care.
MemberI agreed with the idea that the supply of alcohol definitely relates to your social crowd. The weddings that I have attended which have had alcohol are also the people who if I were at their house would serve wine, beer, coolers, or drinks on a regular basis. Those who did not include liquor at their events… don’t normally have it at their house. My family is a mix of this mentality, so going to different events just seems normal… I do think that it is strange to read that some people have never experienced a dry wedding. But I also know that some social circles are very limited. I remember being shocked to find that a friend had never been to a wedding before… and we were in college. Meanwhile, I had probably been to at least 50 weddings of all sorts by that point in my life.
MemberI’ve never been to a wedding without alcohol, but if it’s a traditional dinner and dancing reception, I do prefer a glass of wine with my meal.
For cultural/religious reasons, or daytime weddings, I wouldn’t miss the alcohol, but I probably wouldn’t be up dancing as much!
MemberI have been to a few dry weddings, and have respectfully gotten over it because I am there sharing in the day with the bride and groom. They chose to include me on their day, and I honestly do not understand why people think alcohol must be present to have a good time. I would personally be heartbroken if I did not have the funds to provide alcohol at my wedding, and people left early and judged me for it – especially since the people who come to your wedding are “supposed to be” the people you are closest to.
MemberI think it’s such a “norm” in my circle to have open bars that I expect a good reason not to have it. I’ve never been to a wedding where religious or other mores precluded drinking, but I have been to weddings where budgets and/or “personal preferences” meant no alcohol, and I felt pretty slighted. I’d rather have no chairs than no drinks.
MemberI’ve been to one dry wedding out of the dozens of weddings I’ve attended in my lifetime. We knew in advance that it would be dry. We actually had a cooler in the car with some Smirnoff Ices and Mikes Hard Lemonade and things of that sort and would go out, have a drink and return. oops. 🙂
There were many many things wrong about that wedding (e.g. no A/C at the venue and it was in August, keeping the guests waiting for dinner for 2+ hours so that B&G could go “consummate the marriage”, etc.). Maybe it’s colored my perception of dry weddings. But it was terrible.
MemberI’ve never been to a dry wedding either. According to the poll, serving alcohol seems to be the more popular option.
MemberWhy in the world are so many of the people who don’t drink/aren’t used to weddings with alcohol implying (or outright saying) that people who prefer it “can’t have fun without it”?
If you read the majority of the posts from those of us who prefer alcohol, we said that if we care about the couple, alcohol won’t make a difference to us. It’s clearly a social norm in some areas and circles. As others have said, in some places it’s rare to go to a party without some form of alcohol. It has nothing to do with not being able to have fun without it, and everything to do with personal and cultural preference.
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