Congratulations! The big day is quickly approaching and there seem to be a thousand different decisions to make! From picking out the location, venue, flowers, music and last (but not least) your partner- it can feel like a lot to manage! If you're a wine lover and looking for ideas on how to incorporate wine into your wedding, you've come to the right place! Read below for at least ten ways to include wine in your wedding!
Venue
1. One of the most fitting choices is to get married at a winery or vineyard. I had considered doing this and looking back, I wish that I had! Part of the decision comes down to the time of year you plan to get married. In the Spring, the vines will just be budding and leaves opening. Summer will arguably be the best scenery and background for pictures as vines are in full bloom with growing grapes bunches. Fall is prime harvest time where you could have a very rustic, romantic aesthetic for your pictures. Note: It's worth asking the venue if they bag grapes prior to harvest so it doesn't end up being part of your pictures. In Winter, the vines will be dormant but on a snowy day could also be very romantic!
2. Reserve a bus or limo to have your rehearsal dinner or your bachelorette/bachelor trip at a vineyard or winery. What a really fun and relaxing day it would be to go wine tasting with family and friends!
Ceremony
During your vows at the ceremony, many couples chose to do a unity ceremony to show their love and dedication to one another. For example, if you're getting married at the beach or the ocean has a special significance to your relationship, you may each chose to pour sand into a vase. Other traditional ideas include lighting a unity candle or tying a knot.
3. Wine pouring, however, is a very beautiful unity celebration (not to mention a chance to release some of those nerves!).
Below are are several ideas you could try:
- Each choose a wine from where you consider home, whether that's local to your town, state or country. By pouring the two wines together into one carafe, it symbolizes the unity of your two homes and cultures into one. The picture above is from my wedding where we chose a wine from each our home areas with personalized glasses and a carafe made from Etsy.
- Each choose your favorite wine to pour symbolizing your individual and unique tastes merging together.
- Choose a white wine and red wine to represent two different lives and paths merging together.
- Pick a wine you both enjoy or has special meaning.
If you chose to do a wine pouring unity ceremony, below are my suggestions to bring along:
- Two glasses
- Two wines of your choosing
- Bottle opener (bottles should be opened before the ceremony so you can get right to pouring)
- A carafe or decanter to pour in
- Table (linens, flowers, etc. are an added bonus- see what your venue can provide or you can also look at local rental shops)
There are really great finds on Etsy to personalize the glasses, wine bottle or carafe.
4. Another ceremony option is choosing a bottle of wine that either ages well or has special meaning to you both and seal it in a wooden box to open at a later special day- such as an anniversary or significant milestone. You could add personal notes to one another, your written vows, or a memorable token from the wedding itself to bring yourselves back to this special moment again one day.
Hors d'oeuvres, Dinner and Party Time
This is a really fun part of the day where you can pick wines to serve wedding guests for hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and toasting!.
5. If you plan to serve hors d'oeuvres for guests while you take pictures and get ready for dinner, this is when your signature drinks will start going out to guests. Besides a bottle of wine, you can be creative by serving wine cocktails such as sangria, spritzers, or martinis with sparkling wine.
6. If your picking wine for a traditional dinner setting (whether a seated dinner or buffet), I recommend choosing at least 2-3 wines; one white, one medium-bodied red and one full-bodied red. It depends on your guests though- if you know that most of your guests prefer sweet wine then serve mainly sweet wine! Also consider serving local wines and/or setting up a special pairing with the food that's being served.
Depending on the venue, you may have the option of an open bar or BYO drinks to serve. If you BYO, you'll be bringing home the leftover bottles so pick wine you like!
7. Then there's the champagne toast! More than likely, not everyone will drink the champagne but everyone will raise a glass to toast the newlyweds. In terms of sweetness level, Brut is the most popular but you can also find great sparkling wine such as Prosecco to serve guests. For those who don't want to drink champagne, it's nice to offer a non-alcoholic sparking juice option. Trader Joe's has great options.
Table Setting
Wondering how to decorate the dinner tables?
8. You can create (or buy) wine cork name or table number holders. If you plan on making cork holders, you can buy corks at a craft store or start collecting them from your own stash. Once you have enough, take the cork and a sharp knife (such as a box cutting knife) and cut a thin piece off longways to create the flat surface for it to sit on the table. Turn the cork over to the opposite side and use the knife to make a slit longways for you to stick the paper into for display.
Another idea is to gather or buy a plethora of corks and add them to vases with flowers/greenery/under a candle, etc.
Wedding Favors
9. Want to gift a bottle of wine with a personalized logo? There are several sites where you can either create or buy personalized logos for wine bottles. If creating your own wine label, you can buy sticker paper (whichever size fits the bottle you'd be gifting) and use that paper company's software to create the logo of your choice (ex. Avery). There are also several websites such as Zazzle, Canva and Etsy where you can design your own label and they'll print for you based on their template. It's a really cute idea in which you can add a few key wedding details to gift your guests.
If that's not up your alley, you could also gift personalized wine bottle openers, wine bottle stoppers, or wine glass charms.
Honeymoon
10. Although not technically part of your wedding day, why not plan a wine-themed honeymoon! A few bucket list places to travel to include Napa Valley, Provence, Tuscany, Greece, South Africa, and Australia. The list could really go on! Many destinations offer beautiful accommodations and honeymoon packages.
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