Wedding Planning Perks

Adam and I have discovered our absolute favourite part of wedding planning: taste testing wines and ciders! Actually, my cider taste test is making it a bit challenging to write this post (I'm writing this the evening before it will actually appear on the blog).

We were a bit stressed out about choosing wines to put on the tables for dinner. We knew we wanted some 'free drinks' but we're no experts when it comes to wine and had no idea how to choose. On top of that, we wanted wine that was either local to Vancouver Island, or at the very least, local to BC. Add in our budget and we had quite the challenge on our hands.

We did some research of local wineries and found that most were over our budget. We also don't drink the stuff so we wouldn't even know which type of white (or which type of red) to choose. This all led to a very exciting conversation about breaking the boundaries! Why have two bottles of wine on the table when I, especially, wouldn't drink either? After all, it's our wedding day, we should be able to provide drinks that we'll both enjoy. (There will also be a bar, so if guests don't like our choices, they can purchase anything they like from the bar!) So, we decided to go off the beaten path (well, more like one foot on and one foot off...) and provide a white wine and a cider. You see, I like cider. I like cider very much! Even better - we already knew of two local cider producers that we could taste test for the occassion. So, we checked into where we could buy them locally, trekked to the good ol liquor store and bought 1 bottle from each cidery.

And the winner is..... Merridale Estate Cidery (Cider House pictured above!). Their cider comes in a 1L bottle (about 1 glass more than the average wine bottle) and is right on track with our budget. And I love it! So I will happily fill my glass with cider instead of wine on my wedding day. Not groundbreaking by any means, but a decision we're quite proud!

The next dilemma is which white wine to choose. Adam is currently spending this evening taste testing a bottle of Calona Chardonney, but since we're not experts, he's not sure if it would be considered good or not by more knowledgeable winos! :)

If you have any tips of local to BC white wines that are around $15 for a 750mL bottle, drop us a line!

Wedding Etiquette Says....

 A good host always has an open bar. {Begin rant:} Well, tough luck wedding etiquette, I think that's a load of you-know-what. Most bar service companies offer either an open bar, a cash bar or a toonie bar (where guests pay $2 per drink and you foot the bill for the rest). Quite frankly, I'm not willing to pay for people to get overly drunk, messy and annoying at my wedding so an open bar, or toonie bar are out of the question. This is a celebration and I do want my guests to have a good time; however, I believe this can be done with limited or no alcohol. If a particular guest feels alcohol is needed for them to enjoy themselves, then by all means they can foot the bill for their thirst quenching habit.

This is only one of the many services or traditions that wedding etiquette attempts to demand from couples getting married. Don't let wedding etiquette make you feel guilty for a decision that is ultimately personal. It is your wedding and your choice! {End rant!}