5 Tips for Serving Non-alcoholic Drinks at Weddings

In honor of Dry January, I’m going to do something crazy and talk about NON-ALCOHOLIC drinks at weddings and events. I’m getting really wild, I know. 

Gathering around good food and good drinks is one of the best and most special parts of any event. And it’s one of the biggest things your guests will remember! I’m always an advocate for making your menu as inclusive as possible – even the drink menu!

There’s plenty of reasons why someone may not drink alcohol. Maybe they’re a mama-to-be or a designated driver. Maybe they live a sober lifestyle, or are just taking a break from alcohol. Regardless of “why,” it can be such a kind gesture to provide non-alcoholic beverages other than water and a motley assortment of leftover drink mixers.

So, I love the idea of providing either a mocktail or other thoughtful option for the non-drinkers. Something they can happily grab from the bar, instead of resignedly ordering club sodas all night.  Even if it’s something simple like fresh lemonade, the gesture will still go a long way! And if you’re creating a custom cocktail for your event, it can be super easy to adapt the recipe to a mocktail. 

To provide some dry inspiration for your own event, here’s five easy-peasy ideas for offering non-alcoholic drinks.

1. Create a “sparkling water bar” with various sparkling waters and fresh fruit or juice to mix-in.

2. Offer a high quality sparkling water or soda to make it easy to turn your custom cocktail into a mocktail.

3. Offer a sparkling soda for the non-drinkers to use instead of champagne during the champagne toasts (great way for any kids to partake in the toasting, as well!)

4. Make an assortment of infused waters available.

I ALWAYS recommend making water readily available to guests. (As in don’t make them have to stand in line at the bar just to get a glass of water.) This is especially important when there’s drinking going on, or if you’re hosting a summer event. And to make that H20 even more appealing and refreshing, it’s super easy to offer large batches of infused water (which is literally just water with fruit and/or herbs tossed in!) 

Here’s some ideas for infused water recipes 

5. Create a custom mocktail for your event!

If you want to take it a step further, go ahead and offer a specialty mocktail for your event! Here’s some ideas for recipes:

• Easy Elderflower Mocktail recipe from Salt and Lavendar
• Grapefruit Citrus Sparkling Mocktail from a Beautiful Mess
• Orange Mint Coconut Water from Healthy Nibbles and Bits
• Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail from Kleinworth & Co.
• Ginger Lime Fizz from Naturally Ella
• Easy Apple Cider Mocktail from Nourish Nutrition Blog