Best Wedding Cocktails for Your Big Day
What makes a wedding memorable? An amazing gown, live music, delicious food, and a knockout drinks menu. And what makes a knockout drinks menu? Fabulous wedding cocktails, of course!
Elevate the mood of your wedding from mediocre to amazing with a shake or a stir.
Creative and delicious cocktails (or mocktails) scream fun! You know you’re going to have a great time sipping beautifully crafted drinks presented in eye catching glass wear with striking decoration.
No one has ever had a boring time sipping a cocktail.
Whether you hire the services of a mixologist from a mobile bar or you pre make large batches of your favourite drinks, offering cocktails to your guests is a sure fire way to get the party started and create a memorable celebration.
Seasonal flavours
Make your wedding drinks selection based on the time of year. Summer wedding? Choose fruity, ice based cocktails that cool you down and keep the palette light and fresh. Garnish with fresh fruit and choose light spirits that blend well with tropical flavours.
For spring wedding cocktail drinks, take inspiration from flowers and the pretty colours of fresh blooms. Think coloured spirits or floral inspired liqueurs such as Elderflower. Garnish with edible flowers, herbs, and fresh vegetables.
Autumn and winter weddings call for something a little warmer. Spicy or bitter flavours are a hit with darker spirits taking centre stage. An Espresso Martini, Old Fashioned, or even a Hot Toddy, are excellent cocktails to offer your guests on a frosty winter’s night.
Signature sips
A signature cocktail is perfect for a wedding celebration. Get creative or engage the expertise of a professional mixologist to blend a unique recipe for your special day.
Use your wedding theme to choose a colourful cocktail that will look aesthetically cohesive in your photos. Pink coloured spirits such as a gin and vodka are fabulous to base your cocktails on and provide a soft, rosy hue to match with blush tones in your gown and flowers.
Champagne or white spirit based cocktails are perfect for neutral toned weddings. For outdoor weddings that draw on the beauty of nature, garnish your cocktail creations with fresh herbs and native fruits.
Creating a signature wedding cocktail together can be a fun pre-wedding adventure for you and your partner. Just be sure to stay hydrated and have some Panadol ready for the following day.
Classic mixes
Keep it simple and classic with tried-and-true cocktails that everyone will know and love. Ideal cocktails for weddings include Martinis, Bellinis, Mojitos, or a refreshing spritz. These are easy for your bar staff to make to order or can be pre-mixed and served in decorative dispensers to make life a little easier.
You could even channel a little bit of kitsch for your party with a classic punch. Offer your guests both an alcoholic and mock version and serve it up in retro punch bowls with cute vintage glasses.
Loving local
Add a boutique quality to your celebration by sourcing your wedding beverages from local distilleries, wineries, and breweries. Supporting local has never been more important and a wedding is the perfect opportunity to show your love for a small business.
Choosing boutique brand beverages creates a beautiful narrative for your special day as well as putting a big smile on the face of a local artisan.
Here on the Gold Coast, we are spoilt for choice with a plethora of local distilleries, breweries, and wineries creating high quality spirits, beer, and wine for your wedding celebration.
For delicious spirits, try Wild Flower Gin Distilling or Granddad Jack’s Craft Distillery. These fabulous producers create small-batch spirits to wow your guests with quality and flavour. Have some pre-wedding fun by visiting them for a tasting experience with experts who know how to create a delicious cocktail for your special day.
If you are all about a DIY wedding, why not try local champions, Mr Consistent, to create classic cocktails for your celebration. Mr Consistent offer fresh and tasty cocktail mixes to expertly, but easily, blend with your favourite spirits. Take a cocktail class or find out more about how they can provide delicious drinks for your wedding.
Beverage Necessities
You’ll need wine and beer for your wedding, as well as bubbles for toasts and champagne-based cocktails. The Gold Coast region boasts a large number of excellent wineries and breweries for all your beverage needs.
Mount Nathan Winery produce a beautiful sparkling wine to use for toasts and cocktails. Other amazing local vineyards include O’Reilly’s, Witches Falls and Cedar Creek Wineries. Take a winery tasting tour and create a short list of your favourites to share with guests on your special day.
Beer is another essential for your bar. Offer your guests something better than big brand beers with a selection of craft options from one of the Gold Coast’s many small-batch breweries.
Black Hops Brewing, Burleigh Brewing Co, Lost Palms Brewing Company, Balter Brewing, and Fortitude Brewing, all produce delicious beers for guests to discover and enjoy. Want to incorporate beer into your cocktail menu? The humble shandy is always a good idea, especially for a summer wedding.