Toast Drink

prettyinpink

We are wondering to have a toast drink (drink of choice) for everybody on the day. We are having a champagne reception (as we got free corkage for champagne) For the meal we have wine from the hotel and they are including two top ups per person ... Would we need to buy everyone a drink of choice as well? At €6 a drink it will set us back another €1200. Everyone's opinion is appreciated.

stinkle

I would say there's no need. I'd actually never heard of such a thing until a friend mentioned they wouldn't be having it at her recent wedding. On that occasion we all had lovely punch from the drinks reception and plenty of wine at dinner to toast with, a bit like you've described for your day. It seems like an unnecessary extravagance if budget is tight

Monife

stinkle wrote: »

I would say there's no need. I'd actually never heard of such a thing until a friend mentioned they wouldn't be having it at her recent wedding. On that occasion we all had lovely punch from the drinks reception and plenty of wine at dinner to toast with, a bit like you've described for your day. It seems like an unnecessary extravagance if budget is tight

+1. Absolutely unnecessary expense. 1200 is unreal just to give people a drink to toast with, they will have wine in their glasses for that. And people will go to the bar to get their own drinks too if they want more.

schoolhouse

totally agree that a toast drink is unnecessary when wine and top-ups provided.
I have been to weddings where toast drinks were offerred and some think its a great opportunity to order brandies and whiskeys only to leave them untouched on the table after the meal. very poor form but there is no accounting for some people:mad:

Moonbeam

We are not going to bother as there is wine being provided with the meal .

watna

My package includes an extra drink for the toast for each guest, on top of the wine but if it didn't I wouldn't be paying extra for it. Like other posters have said, you're providing wine so they'll have a drink to toast you with. 1200 euro is crazy money.

btw, does the best man do the toast as part of his speech or is it normally a separate thing? Who does it?

Gatica

From what I remember at weddings, there usually are toasts throughout speeches, i.e. many of the people giving a speech had proposed a toast.
So I don't think it matters, but I believe most of the time it's the father of the bride or groom that raises their glasses specifically to the bride and groom.

Nead21

I'm so glad that the general opinion is that it's an unnecessary extra. I was wondering about this myself, and to be honest, it's something that's not going to get a look in if we want to keep our wedding within our budget.

Realityhits

I'd say it is an unnecessary expense. From what I have experienced at weddings most people will go get their own drink if they want something other than wine and when a complimentary drinks order is being taken a lot of people actually don't want a drink and only order one for the sake of it. Possibly offer some fizzy drink for the children present when offering the adults wine or even better just have a jug of orange cordial on the tables as well as water.
Congratulations to you on your upcoming nuptials

Sunny Dayz

We decided we weren't going to have a toast drink at our wedding. Toasts would be made after the meal, most people would have a drop of wine or water in their glasses. We were having a punch reception before hand (included in the hotel package). Have seen people take advantage of the toast round plenty of times!

Then, just before we went in for the meal, a hotel employee came around taking my order for the toast drink! My jaw dropped - I told her we were not buying drinks for a toast!! Much confusion arising between me, my new husband and the hotel employee...

Then my dad landed over, said he was looking after it, said it would save him trying to buy people drinks later on at the bar! Shock!

Still doesn't change my opinion that toast drinks are unnecesary but there was nothing I could do at that stage as we were the last to order!!

fuddy1

This is something I just assumed i'd be doing until I read this thread! At any recent weddings I or family have been to a toast drink was always provided for the guests. That was seperate to wine with meal. When I talk to my parents, weddings they went to 10 yrs ago or so, toast drinks were never provided. They tell me its a 'boom time thing'. Now i'm not sure what to do. We intend to give the guests 2 glasses of wine with dinner and will also be having a drinks/nibbles reception on arrival. After reading this thread i'm starting to think the wine with dinner would be enough to serve as a toast drink as the speeches will be at beginning just before dinner. would save us a big chunk of cash!
Anyone been to a wedding and been disappointed a toast drink wasnt provided??

Realityhits

fuddy1 wrote: »

Anyone been to a wedding and been disappointed a toast drink wasnt provided??

I am usually slightly surprised when they come around to ask about toast drinks and can't say I would miss it because the wine is usually enough and most of the time the toast drinks are left behind on the table half touched.
My advice would be to get a top up on wine before toasts so everyone does have a drink in their glass.

Gatica

Certainly noone should be expecting anything if they are going to a wedding where their meal and quite often drinks are already provided.
No one is gonna think less of you if they don't get a toast drink. Stand half a bottle per person with meal is enough for most people and usually serves just as well for the toast drink. If you can afford it, sure top up the glasses if you want, but I wouldn't worry about it.
I'm not doing drink of choice, we've decided to go with single serving of sparkling for toast, but that's our choice, simply cos we'll enjoy having that for the toast ourselves.

prettyinpink

Thanks for all your replies we have decided to ditch the drink as the cost total is almost exceeding €20k

Karen23

It's definitely not expected , it used to be done a lot but seems to be dying out and just as well cos its an uneccessary expense. We didnt have it at ours but we did have wine. Only one wedding I've been to in the last couple of years has had the drinks toast as well as wine.