Hello Wedding Lovers, 

It's Leslee here!  I'm hoping to help put the ease in planning for your big day's festivities - party planning festivities, that is.  

 

I have helped brides-to-be for over 20 years with their wedding wine lists.  The first question I get is: Do I have to select the wines our wedding venue is forcing us into from their own list? My reply is: definitely not!  

 

Before you make any decisions, check with your venue on a corkage fee.  

At Sip Better, you always win with amazing wines that not only taste great and are healthy for you + your guests, but live at a price point that everyone can afford—yes, even when buying for 100 to 200 people. We have oodles of whites + reds that cost between $11-$15 a bottle that I recommend all of the time for summer weddings. Bonus! If you're an active member at Sip Better, you'll receive an extra 10% off on all of these wines!

 

 

 

Here's the deal: If you pay these (Sip Better) prices for our wines AND the venue charges you a corkage fee between $15-20 per bottle, you are STILL winning with your wedding wine budget. Most large venues will force you into brands that are equal to Yellowtail or CK Mondavi for an average of $25-30 a bottle. Wouldn't you rather have wines that YOU selected for your group and your dining options that actually taste good + will give everyone less of a headache the morning after (​depending on consumption, of course) versus drinking a factory-made wine for the same price from a venue that is making a potential margin of 10x per bottle on (sorry) pretty bad wine?

 

Yep, we thought so.  

 

 

If it's hot out, folks will sip up a lot of white and rosé. Because our team is not there pouring for you, an average bar staff will offer heavy pours – netting betwen 4-5 pours per bottle. For hot weather, account for 60-70% white drinkers. For a fall wedding, flip this into 70% ish red drinkers.  

 

 

Let's stay away from Prosecco for this one. Go with a sparkling rosé. (Trust me, everyone loves it + it's better for pictures!) Southern France is always great value for pink bubbles. Account for every single person raising a glass, so you'll want to take your wedding count divided by at least 4—that equals the minimum number of bottles you'll need.  

 

 

I always say, select one light-bodied white (like Sav Blanc, Grüner or Pinot Grigio), one light-bodied red (like Pinot Noir or Gamay) and one full-bodied red (Cabernet or other). If your friends are pink fans, add a rosé to this order. Find all of these recommendations here. 

 

 

Add another 6-12 bottles of each wine if it's raining + cold on your big day. Or, if your group is BIG into wine!

 

Account for cocktails + beer drinkers. If you're hosting a full bar, most guests will go for spirits first. Cut your wine quantity down by 10% if your peeps drink dranks.  

 

 

Most venues are trying to make that money on 'bottles opened'. Have someone on your wedding team keep an eye on things. Ask them to open a handful of bottles to start, then as the heaviest part of the cocktail hour dies down, instruct them to open 1-2 bottles at a time as needed.  

 

Hopefully this helps you feel less stressed on your big day!

I have helped oodles of wedding parties for years pick their wines – everyone always comes back saying: Wow, my guests loved the wines you picked AND we ended up saving money!

But don't take my word for it—read Ms. Addy's testimonial from her own wedding this past fall down below.

 

—Clink Clink!

 

 

Planning a wedding comes with a million decisions, and for us, the wine selection was a big one. With a wine collector for a father and several guests with more wine knowledge than me, I wanted something special for our reception. Enter Leslee, our wine fairy godmother!