Stag Parties

Champagne at your wedding

How much will you need?
You can offer your guests champagne right through the reception, in which case you should allow about half a bottle per guest – some will drink less but generally others will make up for them.
Otherwise you can serve it when guests arrive and later for toasts and when the cake is cut, and serve other wine in between.
There are six normal sized champagne glasses per bottle so you will need to calculate accordingly.

Don’t go for expensive Vintage champagne unless money is no object or your guests are more than averagely clued up. A sound non vintage brut will be fine

Other wine

If you decide not to serve champagne all the way through, you will probably want to serve a dry or medium dry still white wine and a not over-heavy red. You will want wine that is sound but at a large gathering there is little point in serving expensive wine of very high quality if many of your guests will not appreciate it.

Corkage

If you are holding your wedding at a hotel or other licensed premises, they will routinely expect to charge ‘Corkage’ if you wish to bring in your own Champagne. Their thinking is that if they had sold you their own champagne, they would have made a hefty mark up. Their corkage charge is to compensate for the loss of this mark up and is a charge for opening and serving the wine. The rates charged can vary from £5 to over £20 per bottle

It will usually be possible to negotiate a favourable rate, but you must do this before making the booking – the venue manager or caterer will be much more amenable if the booking depends on it. You are unlikely to get anywhere if you bring the matter up a month before the wedding, when you have already made the booking

If your wedding is at home or in hired premises, and you are using a caterer, again, you will need to be clear on the arrangements for providing and serving the wine and other drinks

Either way, make sure that the arrangements you make are clearly agreed in writing beforehand

Even with a corkage charge, it will often be better value to bring in your own champagne, and you will obviously wish to if you want to have personally labelled champagne

Champers Limited

Champers offers Personally labelled champagne –a prestigious and distinctive touch to a special occasion, and also a range of good quality suppliers label champagne, at reasonable cost

For details contact
henry@champers.net
01284 386348
www.champers.net

Back to Wedding Checklist | Next >>

For more information or to request a brochure, please contact us