Coffee not alcohol

BRILLIANT IDEA. I love this.

Try this--> https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/black-swallow-espresso-and-coffee-catering-ann-arbor/e8eeb42310b5d79b.html

I don't have any ideas but I think it's pretty cool!

We went to a wedding last year that did this. Great idea but make sure you have enough room. They had it at cocktail hour in a small room where not everyone could fit and 1 8 ft table for over 200 guests.

The place has a bar already so instead of a normal bar service we have the coffee bar there. We need to call or go and see what the bar has if it have sinks and ice bins and outlets. I'm hoping it has everything they'd need.

How do I say this? I'll just say it. There is no "bar feeling" unless a buzz follows a trip to the bar. You can't fake it. If you want the bar feeling, it can't be a let down (which it will be if you're serving the beverage of every AA or NA meeting). If you're serving flavored coffee instead of alcohol, own it. Don't try to disguise flavored coffee with a bar feel (and thereby remind the guests of what they weren't offered). It's a dry wedding -- your choice. Own it.

I'm not trying to be offensive, but "fun" that consists of hot chocolate and flavored coffee will never reach the levels of at least a Bailey's Irish Creme shot hosted at a coffee bar. Of course, you're free to do whatever you want as far as coffee/hot chocolate/tea and/or alcohol is concerned at your wedding. I'm hardly an alcoholic, but personally, by the time your faux bar, coffee service was introduced, I would have left my envelope and said my good-byes (judge me, or don't. I'm far too old to rewrite the wedding customs). However, with countless weddings under my belt, I can say, with confidence, that my personal and professional experiences have proven that cocoa and coffee ceased to be noteworthy once the guests hit the age of adulthood. Flavored coffee at the end of a party is nice -- add tea selections, and you're likely to interest a few more guests. Hot chocolate? Sure. However if you aren't serving a drop of alcohol, you'll have to to accept a few truths. The first truth is that a majority of your guests will be leaving earlier than the official end time (argue if you want to, but I've attended and serviced a ton of weddings -- enough to last me a lifetime. Unless it's a devout, church-centric wedding with guests who would never drink a drop of alcohol, a majority of your social drinker guests will eat, spend another half an hour at your wedding, and then take off). A dry wedding will never be the same as a wedding hosting cocktails (Yes, I know -- at least five brides will say that their dry weddings were the best the guests ever attended). A coffee bar is a lovely idea, but I'd suggest you set it out shortly after the meal is cleared. Guests who were expecting cocktails will have, by this point, realized that they are attending a dry wedding. Those individuals -- the social drinkers -- will never rate a coffee-centric reception as highly as they would have rated a bar serving at least one cocktail (no offense intended-- it's just what I know to be the truth). Offer interesting coffees after dinner and a decent percentage of your guests will remain in attendance for another 20 or 30 minutes. Yes, they'll likely take advantage of your coffee bar. Just remember, once the coffee bar is introduced, that's your "good night and thanks so much for celebrating with us" message.

Starbucks? I know they cater to businesses, maybe they have something like that for private parties too?

I'm not wasting the effort to side-eye anyone who thinks soda, water, and coffee are the ingredients to a great, multi-hour party. Have at it. I have no investment in a stranger's wedding. Live with the results of expecting a five or six hour party to thrive on zero alcohol and countless urns of coffee (flavored or not). I've seen it time and time again. People leave dry weddings -- politely and early -- because it's a little boring to drink six cups of coffee over a period of five hours. That's why the average party includes some kind of alcohol. That doesn't make the guests who leave a dry wedding "shallow" -- it makes them a little bored (something they'll tell each other in the car, but never tell the hosts). They are average, non-alcoholic, non-devout individuals who thought they were attending a wedding -- a social party -- not a coffee-klatsch.

Fight the majority if you want to and be indignant, but the average is what it is.

Why not mocktails? I don't drink, so when I see a restaurant or bar with mocktails I get so excited. This still won't excite people like Centerpiece who want a buzz to feel like it's a party, but I think you can drink a few mocktails and enjoy them, whereas it's hard to imagine people having more than one or two coffees.

Oh, here we go. I, as an individual, would like some kind of cocktail -- that I don't have to pay for -- at a Friday or Saturday night wedding. I won't need to be taken out in an ambulance, but I'd at least appreciate the few glasses of champagne that I would expect at a New Year's Eve party. It was the OP who floated the silly idea that a coffee bar could mimic a real bar -- and that's ridiculous. I gave you my unique perspective as an individual who has serviced and gotten feedback from hundreds of weddings. Ignore if you want.

Holly, believe me, I have far better things to do with my days off than driving around town waving a banner that says, "Great Weddings Require Alcohol". What I've said is what I've observed. In my family, cocktails are served at weddings -- without limit, without question, and whatever you want -- from 24 Proof to 80 Proof -- and free of charge. I have never once, in 41 years of attending family weddings featuring open bars, seen a single fight, a single vomiting individual, a recovering alcoholic falling off the wagon, or single guest being escorted from the venue premises because they were an embarrassment to themselves of the bridal couple. Never (and I come from an Irish American family who loves to party). I might have three or four cocktails over the course of six hours, but I'm not getting trashed -- I'm getting happy.

We've dealt with countless brides -- full top shelf open, limited, and dry. I have heard from almost every bride who chose to go with no alcohol after her wedding. You may not believe me at your pre-bridal stage, but overwhelmingly, the dry-bride experienced woman shares with us stories that begin with "damage done to the venue (that the couple is responsible for) because eight assholes purchased alcohol, drank straight vodka in the parking lot, got trashed, and threw two chairs through plates glass windows" to "everything looked so pretty and we spent so much money. Why were there only 45 guests left when we were making our grand exit?" The brides who served some kind of limited bar have told us that making room in the budget for alcohol was something they did not regret -- and I'm talking about wine at the tables and beer. Granted, their guests were not 90% church folks, and the couple realized that their guests believed they would be attending a party. Argue the points or accept them. It makes no difference to me or my life. However, I'm telling you, I've seen these scenarios play out time and time again. I'm not taking the fall for human nature. In my mind, it makes sense to offer alcohol, even soft alcohol, at a lengthy party, and it makes sense to have a licensed professional monitoring and cutting these guests off when they are about to cross the line.

I'm giving advice for a better over-all experience (a very expensive experience), which is all vendors can do on this page. If you want a dry wedding that includes social drinkers, go right ahead...serve them flavored coffee and hope that that the bar backdrop is a total faux-party for them. As I said, I'm not invested in that affair, but I will give those brides a perspective from the other side of the fence. Whether they take it or not won't change an iota of my life or successful business.

@ Centerpiece is right (as usual). In addition to her points, I think it's also impractical. How long does it take to make coffee drinks with decorative toppings? Unless your wedding is pretty small, I think a barista would have a hard time keeping up. Most coffee shops have several people working during busy hours, and patrons are still usually stuck waiting for a drink. May I ask why you're having a dry wedding?

It's not fun. It's not a 'bar feeling'. And it takes forever; have you been to a Starbucks at 9 AM on a Saturday? Mulitply that by 200. People think it's a bar. But surprise, it's not. We actually had an espresso caterer who shared our space for a while, but I doubt that even a pro would be prepared to be the primary drink provider for four hours, especially at the 'after ceremony' crush. And you'll be flat out stunned when you find out how much it costs.

As soon as I personally navigated the line and found no drinks? I'd be gone. I'm an adult and I have certain expectations (low ones, seriously) of what it means to host. It doesn't make me shallow; it makes me an adult. I don't want to spend a Saturday night having six cappuccinos with kittens drawn on the top. I want a glass of wine or two, and I want it soon.

And while you're thinking how adorable this idea is, the majority of people who left early are in the car thinking, 'what was that?" It doesn't mean they need to be in rehab; it's just that unless this is a room full of people whose religious beliefs prohibit them from drinking, it's not a good way to entertain a group. (As a Unitarian? I don't get this, honestly...this notion that God doesn't want us to drink wine. It's all over the bible......but that's another post...) They will never tell you, they will tell each other. And they will leave early. Probably to find a bar.

I think a coffee bar is a great idea for a morning wedding, but not so much for an evening wedding. I could never drink more than half of a coffee in the evening.

Related weird story. My cousin had an apple martini fountain during cocktail hour...and then no alcohol inside the reception...except for the small bottles of wine they provided as favors, forbidden to be opened during dinner. Guess how many of us found our way into those bottles during dinner? And still left early? ;-)

I think Centerpiece and Celia nailed it! I'm not a big coffee drinker and I know a lot of people who won't drink coffee after a certain time. A coffee bar is a neat idea, but I think a coffee bar is only fine for a 10am wedding. If you are having an evening wedding, I think less people will go to the coffee bar than you think. Unless there is a religious reasoning, I would use the coffee bar money towards wine and beer. If you are still dead set on a dry wedding, then I do agree mocktails might be the way to go, but guests will still leave earlier than they would at a wedding with alcohol.

I think it can be a cool idea, but @Celia brings up a great point about guests waiting in line. Also, coffee will not replace a bar feeling- so don't expect it to. your guests will have, what, 1 coffee? Can people really drink more than that? I don't drink coffee and you should also think about guests that may not drink coffee.

Is your wedding an evening wedding? I LOVE coffee (I have three cups a day) but I certainly do not enjoy having it before or with dinner. But I never even have it after dinner at weddings, because my cut-off for caffeine is 3pm. And I personally do not trust anyone to give me decaffeinated coffee unless I am personally making my coffee at home, because I have been given caffeinated tea and coffee before and assured decaffeinated. I could see a coffee bar being something similar to a candy bar, which adds a little fun after dinner. It does not replace alcohol.

And yes, most friends and family will come to the wedding regardless of alcohol. They will come to the ceremony, watch you get married and be excited to be part of the moment to support you, drop off a card at the reception, possibly eat dinner, but if they are social drinkers, most will leave after that. Or they will feel obliged to stay for a bit longer but will not dance and they will talk about your wedding being a dry wedding the entire time.

I like coffee but I think it will be novel for about a second and soon after, just like at a coffee house, people will get bored and move along. I despise these dry wedding posts. There is never a good reason (besides religion) to do this to a group of adults. Sorry.

Centerpiece, I didn't intend that to imply judgement or arguing with you in any way. I was trying to point out that my suggestion would not solve the issue that you brought up, but it might solve the problem that other people brought up of caffeine etc.

I assume you guest already know its a dry wedding (I have been to 3 dry weddings in my family and every one was aware before hand due to religion and one due to the age of the bride and groom).

I agree with centerpiece and celia to a point. Coffee/ Hot Chocolate/Mocktails, are not as fun as alcohol. Unless its a day time wedding and/or you keep you guest busy with activites lots of people will leave shortly after dinner. I would worry more about what your guest will do then what they will drink.

Oh and they didnt get drunk in the bible the wine back then was faaaar less strong then it is now. Wine was for the priests and people of importance so the wine represented wealth.

But to add if you are going to do a dry wedding embrace it! I like the fancy coffee and hot chocolate :]]

Unless you're in AA/NA or it's a deeply-held religious belief shared by the majority of your guests, please host something. I'm guessing it's not a cost thing because this whole coffee bar thing sounds expensive (well, maybe cheaper than top-shelf open bar, but probably on par or more expensive than beer and wine). This sounds like a good idea during dessert or a brunch wedding, but as a coffee drinker, I'd be done after one, MAYBE two. I'm also not that sensitive to caffeine.

If you're doing a dry wedding (and please reconsider if it's not for one of the reasons I listed above), I'm with previous posters who suggested mocktails. People will be able to drink more of those than coffee. We had various flavors of sparkling juice for people who didn't want alcohol. But, regardless of your reasons for the dry wedding, keep in mind the points made by Centerpiece, Celia, and others-- people WILL leave early and you won't have a party atmosphere. And, serving all of this at the bar is just a tease.

Not exactly true Beka, but how would any of us know anyway.....