Smartass V Dumbass: Cocktail hour

http://wedding.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Weddings-at-the-Wildflower-Center/G0000x6Z4i5a6PCM/I0000gk51mhxJZCQ

 So this is a new little weekly post I’m going to do when I post things that are amazing (smartass) or not so great (dumbass). I apologise for my Americanism but smartarse just didn't have the same ring to it!

Smartass

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/270160/susan-and-rob-new-marlborough-massachusetts/@center/272506/destination-weddings#/268996

 Wedding cocktails! A good wedding is going to have an arrival drink for guests (usually bucks fizz or sparkling wine) but upgrading it to a personalised wedding cocktail makes your event seem that little bit more special and gets guests really excited!

Stylemepretty.com via http://pinterest.com/pin/135037688796439755/

 Coming up with a cocktail name can be really fun. You can choose something quirky based on a mutual love of yours or something from your relationship history such as a holiday or a date. 

http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-photos/real-weddings/south-carolina-barn-wedding/i/c2fcef50f9b7c6c7-ef122df1d20fc9cd/126e03732ec6d448

 

I’ve seen some weddings with 2 cocktail choices, one from the groom and one from the bride and a cute idea for those cocktails could be your porn star names. You know when you take your first pets name and then your street name, so mine would be called Dino Joules and the boy would be Buster Loseley haha. I think it’s great to have something personal, you could even run a mini cocktail hour game to see if guests can guess what your cocktail name means!

http://www.massiv.no/artikler/695/helgens-drinktips-fra-massiv

 The presentation of the cocktail can be dressed up really easily. By adding some fruit or rimming the glass it looks really different without much effort and I’ve done a post previously on DIY drink stirrers. 

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/224471/mint-lemonade?center=272419&gallery=228871&slide=151280

http://www.snippetandink.com/photo-features/preppy-modern-charleston-wedding/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/photo/beaux-arts-photographie+142889

 

Even presenting the cocktails in different containers such as mason jars or bottles are really fun and adding little name tags make the guests feel like they’ve received a cute little favour to take home.

http://www.sugarandcharmblog.com/2011/05/watermelon-mojito-pops.html

erineverafter.blogspot.com via http://pinterest.com/pin/164451823862699185/

For summer weddings I think the idea of cocktail pops are AMAZING! There are loads of recipes out there for different flavours and they are definitely something that would get the guests talking.

http://styleunveiled.com/blog/2011/3/7/clever-cocktail-napkins.html

 If you had cocktail ice pops you may need napkins and that is something that can be customised. I love the trivia fun facts idea and I’ve found an Etsy shop called terequade that you can buy them from or The Garter girl have a little DIY tutorial for how you can make your own!

Dumbass

 

Be mindful of your guests in the cocktail hour. Usually this is the time that the bride and groom go and have their photos taken and the guests can be left a little clueless as to what’s going on. I’ve been at some weddings where you’re stood there literally not knowing what’s happening. So here are a few tips:

• Make sure there is drink and if it’s an afternoon wedding give your guests some kind of canapé because they may have travelled and be starving!

• In the wedding program or invitation it can be nice to give guests a heads up to the timing of the day. If they know they are sitting down to eat at 5pm then they can sort themselves out accordingly but if they are waiting around with no idea when they may be eating or moving onto the next room they may be agitated.

• Have something to entertain them or be a talking point. Cocktail hour games can be good and if you are having an outside wedding I’ve seen so many cute options. It may be that this could be a good time for your wedding party to get guests to start on the guestbook. I think another great idea is the wedding photo booth. That’s something we’re having at our wedding and it will bring an element of fun to the party.