Could You Have Fun at a Wedding Without Alcohol?

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TresAnnie

Saved 5/19/10 to Wedding Talk

Could You Have Fun at a Wedding Without Alcohol?

I recently attended a friend's wedding in France. Both the bride and groom originally come from Turkey, so they followed many of the Turkish wedding traditions. On the Thursday before the wedding, they held a big party to prepare the bride, which felt almost like a wedding itself! There was a DJ, dancing, and food, but one thing was noticeably missing: alcohol. The hosts and many of the guests were Muslim, so it's not customary for them to to have alcohol at parties.

Without a glass of champagne, it definitely took an extra effort to mingle with strangers or get out on the dance floor, but I did appreciate the lack of hangover the next day.

The bride and groom did however provide alcohol at the wedding, where the Raki was flowing all night (for those who wanted it). Seemed like a good compromise to me!

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mystof 2 years 29 weeks

Also... If you do have a wife / husband I hope that person cheats on you. Because you clearly do not ''deserve'' a marriage

mystof 2 years 29 weeks

to the guy who said 'It's not ridiculous when people don't provide alcohol for their guests, that's tacky and rude for the guests to believe they "deserve" it. ... Of course they deserve it.. They go out of their way to show up for the COUPLES sake... They show up for support... And you saying ''It's tacky and rude for the guests to think they deserve it''.. In that case.. im going to say it's tacky and rude for the couple to think they deserve a room full of people to support the marriage. You just created a new type of attention wh*ring If i ever had a wedding.. and i had alot of people there for me. I would give them whatever they wanted and make sure they were comfortable.. After all.. They would be there for me.. Not the other way around.

amber512 2 years 47 weeks

If you can't have fun without alcohol, isn't that a sign that someone has a problem? =P

JessieSP 2 years 47 weeks

Absolutely. You don't always need alcohol in order to have a good time, and I do mean at any event.

2 years 49 weeks

Its already part of culture even around the world..Its up to you if you want to get drunk! there's a lot of choices you can do during the party.. Campfire

Giasbash6260 2 years 50 weeks

Sometimes when I go to weddings I wish I drank because they can be quite dull... but most of the time there is no need for booze because I just dance the night away!

danakscully64 2 years 50 weeks

It's not ridiculous when people don't provide alcohol for their guests, that's tacky and rude for the guests to believe they "deserve" it.

2 years 50 weeks

I think its rediculous when people do not provide alcohol for their guests. Lighten up people! As long as your controlling the amount you drink then your fine!

2 years 51 weeks

Other than for religious reasons, I could not fathom a wedding without alcohol. In saying that, I also abhor "drunks" at weddings (the person who is falling down, drawing negative attention to themselves). I come from a place where drinking is very much the norm (for weekends, weddings, etc etc. It's the island of kitchen parties), yet I don't get fall down drunk. There have been many parties I've been the DD and still had a great time, however, i've never gone through an entire wedding without drinking. So, I would think...to each their own, but I can say with some certainty, that in my hometown and in my group of friends, and LARGE extended family, I most likely won't be attending an alcohol-free wedding. :)

zeze 2 years 51 weeks

my comment referenced those people I know who say they CAN'T have fun without alcohol. If you can't have fun without dessert then you probably have some type of eating disorder, so regardless of the guilt association...a need like that is not healthy. And I would go farther and say a dependency on alcohol at a social function for fun is worse than a dependency on dessert. Alcohol alters the mind and reality while desert does not have anywhere near those effects. So even if someone claims they CANT have fun without desert, it would not signal the same dependency as a need for alcohol (which many people seem to have who don't necessarily think of themselves as alcoholics). By the way I'm referring mostly to people I know in real life, not necessarily signaling anyone here. To see a slightly exaggerated depiction of what I mean, watch Cougar Town, "Turn This Car Around" - so many people are like this that it not funny at all!

danakscully64 2 years 51 weeks

I didn't say dessert. There is still a difference between enhancing and "needing" alcohol to have fun. I think for some, alcohol can make any function MORE fun, but if you can't have fun without alcohol, regardless of what type of wedding it is.... I think that's what the others are referring to. And sometimes, enhancing can be a bad thing if people misuse it (never been to a wedding like this, but that prevents some B&G's from choosing to have alcohol at their wedding).

AbbyHintz 2 years 51 weeks

"Everyone" was only a blanket statement -- I was referring to the people who provided puritanical responses like "I think it's sad that people need alcohol", "you must be immature," "you must have a disease", etc. Dessert is really not a necessity. LIke desserts, hot chocolate, soda, fried appetizers, and many other things not essential to life, alcohol can enhance a function.

kea718 2 years 51 weeks

I'm not a fan of weddings... even less of a fan when it's my own family who's having the wedding... With that being said, alcohol helps weddings suck less. I wouldn't consider myself a big drinker and don't need alcohol in order to socialize and relax, wedding are the exception. I really haven't been to that many so maybe after I go to many more I'll feel different about them, until then, vodka cranberry please.

AmberHoney 2 years 51 weeks

I enjoy alcohol in many forms and places, but abhor drunks at any function. Agree 100% with HoneyBrown. Everything in moderation!

shaima 2 years 51 weeks

@AbbyHintz: your comparison is really not relevant! As danakscully wrote " alcohol is not a necessity, food is"!!!

insanitypepper 2 years 51 weeks

I'm sure it's possible to have a fun wedding reception without alcohol. I've only been to one where it wasn't served, and that party was boring for a multitude of reasons. Booze would not have improved it one bit.

danakscully64 2 years 51 weeks

Everyone's answers? Mine too? Alcohol is not a necessity, food is. If it's a short wedding, it could be fun without food. If it was long, people get hungry. People don't have a growling stomach with no alcohol or have blood sugar issues/headaches without alcohol. The 2 don't compare.

AbbyHintz 2 years 51 weeks

I think everyone's answers are sad and immature. Let's change it to something with which you have less guilt-association. How about food and dessert? Would you think a wedding was less fun if it didn't have food and dessert? Of course, a wedding wouldn't be as fun without food and dessert.

zeze 2 years 51 weeks

I think it is kind of sad that people feel like they need alcohol in order to have fun. Being that dependent on something in order to enjoy yourself is like a disease.

pharm_chick 2 years 51 weeks

my family is muslim too so of course we dont have alcohol at our weddings or any parties, and like a pp said, the fun or not fun from the wedding never needs to stem from alcohol lol.

HoneyBrown1976 2 years 51 weeks

If you need alcohol to have fun, you're immature and in need of some help.

stellaRuby 2 years 51 weeks

I also hate weddings and I am not a big drinker, so it wouldn't really make a difference to me.

onlysourcherry 2 years 51 weeks

I agree that if someone is a recovering alcoholic or their religion prohibits drinking, I would come planning not to drink and it would be fine. But if someone just cheaps out, I think I'd be annoyed with them and wouldn't have fun because of that.

danakscully64 2 years 51 weeks

Alcohol makes me tired and sometimes gives me a headache, so it's easy to go without. I don't need alcohol to have a good time. Even though I'm not the most social person around people I don't know, if there are friends there, I can have a good time. Weddings can go either way, I think it has less to do with the alcohol and more to do with the atmosphere. If I'm waiting around an hour for the B&G to show up to the reception, 2 hours after the ceremony to eat, or I don't know anyway, then I'm probably not having a good time, alcohol or not.

bluebellknoll 2 years 51 weeks

I agree with ticamorena about hating the implication that alcohol = fun. What's the big deal if there's no booze? I suppose I should also note that I drink and I like to drink at social events but if they aren't serving I'm not going to die. Also, I think it would be tacky to take a flask to a wedding/reception if they weren't serving alcohol (especially for religious reasons).