Planning
Wine for Your Wedding
If your place
of wedding reception is a catering hall, you
should 
ask
at the location if they allow people to bring in their own wine
before you purchase your wine for your wedding.
Some locations require you to purchase your wine
from them. If you are allowed to bring in your own wine you should
also ask if they have a corkage fee and how much it is. The corkage
fee can be as high as $12.00/ bottle which will really bring up
the cost of your wine.
Don’t be intimated by all the wine
choices available to you for your wedding reception.
Generally, people's preference in wine will require
you to order 40% of your wine in white and the
remaining 60% in red wine. Find a winery
or a wine supplier that is knowledgeable so they
can help you choose the appropriate wines for
you and your wedding reception.
It's always best if you can
taste test the wines for your wedding
before making a 
purchase.
We have some wonderful wineries in our region
that produce great wines. Trust your taste buds
when taste testing the wines. If a wine
taste good to you and to whomever is doing the tasting with you,
chances are your wedding guests will enjoy it
to.
The amount of wine
you will need to purchase will depend on the number of wedding
guests you are expecting and if you will be supplying wine for
the wedding reception dinner, for the cocktail
hour while the guests wait for you to arrive, at the bar during
the dance and/or for toasting. The usual rule for calculating
the amount of wine you will need is about 2-3
glasses per guest. Depending on the amount of wine
you pour into each glass, on average a 750 ml bottle of wine
will serve 4-5 glasses and a 1.5 liter will serve 8-10 glasses
of wine. The cost of wine varies
greatly. Usually wines start at about $8.00 a
bottle and go up to about $60.00 per bottle. So the total cost
of your wedding wine can really fluctuate depending
on the cost per bottle and the number of bottles you will need.
You can also buy wine in boxes. They come in
sizes from 3 liters to 16 liters depending on where you buy your
wine from. Usually the 
larger
the box of wine, the better the savings will be. Keep in mind
that you can usually return unopened bottles and boxes, so if
you have a large box opened at your wedding reception
you will not be able to get any money back for the unused portion.
Another advantage boxes have is the plastic liner holding the
wine collapses as the wine is
used, keeping out any air and preventing the wine
from oxidizing. Unused wine will keep for 2 to
3 weeks in a box, compared to unused bottle wine
will only keep for 2 to 3 days when refrigerated. If there are
parties or holidays shortly after your wedding,
you may be able to use the left over wine if
it is in a box. Because the boxes have spouts on them, you can
pour the wine into carafes for the tables and
let your wedding guests serve themselves or have
the wine poured in the kitchen into wine
glasses on trays and then serve them to your wedding
guests.
You may wish to have a sparkling
wine or champagne for the toasts at your wedding.
This will make the toasting a little more special. When calculating
the amount you will need, you should allow for one glass per guest
of sparkling wine or champagne.
Wedding
banquet halls sometimes require you to purchase your wine
from them. If this is the case, ask to taste their house wine.
This is quite often a nice wine that is reasonably
priced. Ask them if they have a liquor licence or if you are required
to obtain one for your wedding yourself.
Some couples decide to give
bottles of wine to their wedding
guests as favours. You can give the standard size bottle of wine
or special small bottles are also available. On the labels you
can include a thank you note to your wedding
guests with your names and wedding date.
If you are buying your wine
from a retailer or wine supplier don't forget
to tell them the wine is for a wedding.
Ask what their return policy is on unopened bottles or boxes and
see if they have any other discounts available to you. Some wine
suppliers are now offering to pay for a percentage of your wine
glass rentals to encourage you to buy from them.
Making Your Own Wine
You can also make your own wine for your wedding.
There are many places in Ontario where you can
purchase kits to make your own wine for your
wedding. If you do this, find a location that
is both knowledgeable and helpful. If you plan
to make your own wine, keep in mind that the
taste is not guaranteed and it may be a little different from
bottle to bottle. A nice touch is to have customized labels made
for your wedding placed on the bottles.
Planning
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