When planning your wedding menu, don’t forget about the wine. Of course, you will be serving a champagne toast but most couples also like to serve wine with dinner at the reception. A poor wine can leave a bad taste in the mouth of your guests (literally!).
Consider your your budget. Obviously you don’t want to spend a fortune on the wine. To cut costs, ask you caterer if it’s permissible to buy your own wine separately and bring it to the site. Many vendors will allow you to do this. However, if your caterer doesn’t allow outside beverages, try to negotiate a deal with the catering company on wines in your price range. Let the caterer know exactly how much you’d like to spend and ask him/her to recommend a variety of different wines from their wine list for you to choose. Arrange a time to taste each of the wines.
Take into account the season. Depending on what time of the year you are getting married, some wines may be better than others. People tend to drink more cool whites in summertime and choose red wines, including Cabernets and Merlots in the winter. Take into account the time of your wedding. If your reception is in the afternoon, people will drink considerably less wine than they will drink at an evening event.
Figure out how much wine you really need. Are your guests wine drinkers? Do they normally enjoy a glass of wine with their meal or will they just take a courtesy sip. If you have a high percentage of wine drinkers on your guest list, plan to purchase more wine.
Consider your menu. Your caterer can help you match the type of wine with the food you are serving. In general you should choose reds, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, for beef and meaty pasta dishes. White wines, such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, are ideal for seafood, poultry and pasta in cream sauce. If you are serving a buffet menu, opt for both a red and a white wine and let your guests make a choice. If you are serving just appetizers or dessert, a sparkling wine or line dessert wine is fine. The bottom line is that you should pick a wine that you like. If it’s a wine you have had before and like a lot - choose it. After all, it’s your wedding.
Pick wines to match your wedding colors. Well not exactly - more so this is relevant to the time of day. If you are having an evening wedding with bridesmaids dresses and decorations in deeper, darker colors, you can should probably choose a heavier wine too. If you are using light colors and having a daytime wedding, light wines are the best.
Splurge on the champagne. If you need to cut costs on your wine selection, splurge on the champagne. Nearly everyone at the reception will drink a glass of champagne as a toast. Don’t go for cheap champagne, rather choose a mid-priced variety that will be enjoyed by all your guests. To help save money on your wedding check out some cheap wine wedding favors.
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Father of four, Rhys Ap Dafydd has been engaged to his fiancee Elaine Griffiths for two years. However, financial troubles caused the couple to cancel their wedding plans previously because he had been laid off from work.
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