Marriage Mixology

Youve designed every aspect of your reception from the menu to the décor, the songlist to the favors. You deserve a toast, so why not do it with your own signature cocktail? It can be the highlight of your bar offerings or, for couples on a budget, a standout drink to accompany the wine and champers.

Didnt major in mixology? No matter–you can consult any bartenders guide and start experimenting. Take an established cocktail and tweak it or start from scratch and take it for a taste drive. When you concoct a winner, give it a romantic or sassy name and youre ready to impress your guests with yet another display of your fabulous skills.

Your potential ingredient list draws from dozens of delectable spirits and liqueurs. Generally, theres one constant in your creation: make it sweet, to match the sweetness of your love.

Here are a few tips to inspire your creative concoction:

• Get colorful. Have the main ingredient reflect your décor palette or, at the least, give it eye appeal.
• Complement the cake. Blend Godiva white chocolate liqueur with Chambord to re-create in a glass your white-chocolate cake with raspberry filling.
• Be seasonal. Make a refreshing fruity drink for an outdoor reception; a brandy cocktail will warm winter-wedding attendees.
• Try the latest flavors: cranberry vodka, sour apple schnapps, cinnamon liqueur.
• Pair flavors that go together well in desserts: chocolate and Cointreau, coconut rum and pineapple, vanilla vodka and espresso.
• Concoct a cocktail redolent of your weddings style, be it a dark-chocolate mint julep for your Southern celebration, a limoncello martini for your Italian wedding, or a mead highball for a medieval-style affair.
• If yours is a sizable affair, keep the cocktail recipe simple or easily mixed up in pitchers so your bartender can keep up with demand.

One more thing: Dont make your signature cocktail overly strong. You want your guests to leave the reception with a clear head. No one wants a hangover permanently connected to your wedding memories.

– Lisa Costantino, Amazon.com Wedding Expert

Tags: Bartender, Clear Head, Rings, Wedding