10 Best Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Weddings

Ten Budget-Friendly Non-Alcoholic Drink Ideas For Wedding Receptions 

Are you planning on having a dry wedding, ergo, a wedding without the open bar or alcohol being served? We don't blame you! Dry wedding receptions have gotten really popular in recent years. Not only can having a dry wedding save you a TON of money, but it can also help you avoid all sorts of shenanigans on your big day. Not to mention the numerous other reasons people may opt to avoid alcohol at a memorable family gathering like a wedding. 

With that being said, if you will not be serving alcohol at your wedding, you will need some great drink ideas to offer to your guests. Not to worry, in this guide, we will cover 10 great drink ideas to serve at weddings, plus a few other helpful little tips that can save you money as you plan to celebrate your special day. (And yes, obviously we recommend having great coffee at your wedding!) Let's dive in. 

10. Serve Craft Wedding Mocktails

We are going to jump straight into it with mocktails (mock-cocktail). As you probably have guessed, mocktails are basically cocktails that don't include alcohol. You will still get to enjoy delicious flavors, fruity garnishes, and a posh aesthetic, just minus the booze. Mocktails can be great for those who want to celebrate their big day in style and serve guests something extra special. 

However, mocktails are number 10 on this list because they can get pretty spendy, especially if you will be accommodating more than 30 guests. If you want to save money, you can offer Arnold Palmers (tea and lemonade). Or, if you have the budget, simply have your caterers offer one or two pre-selected mocktails on the menu. 

9. Offer Healthy Kombucha 

Yep, you read that right! Kombucha is a posh option for the health-conscious couple. In fact, it has been trending as a wedding beverage since 2019. Kombucha is great because it's full of natural probiotics and cultures that can help improve your gut health and give you a great energy boost on your wedding day. You can make very tasty kombucha lemonade drinks, kombucha teas, punches, and so much more. 

This is a wonderful electrolyte-filled drink for hot summer weddings, too! Plus, it adds a little bit of color to your wedding table. The only big downside is that making your own DIY kombucha can be a slightly complicated process for beginners. That, and some guests may not like the sour flavor of Kombucha. 

Tip: If you will be serving kombucha as a primary wedding beverage, it may be wise to also offer tea or water as an alternative for those people who don't appreciate the unique (slightly vinegar-like) flavors of this fermented drink. 

8. Make Freshly Prepared Fruit Coolers 

Fruit coolers are another awesome option for sober weddings. You can make fruit coolers easily by juicing fresh fruits and then adding the fresh-squeezed juice to ice and filtered water with a few other simple ingredients. 

Watermelon cucumber coolers, for instance, are made with simple ingredients like watermelons, cucumbers, filtered water, cane sugar, and ice. These electrolyte-rich fruit drinks are healthy, tasty, and great for adding color to your wedding table. 

Tip: If you plan on serving DIY fruit coolers at your wedding, be sure to prepare them fresh the night before and have some help on hand. Juicing in bulk can be quite an undertaking! 

7. Get Store Bought Fruit Juices to Serve in Nice Glass Receptacles

If you don't want to go around juicing your own fresh fruits right before you get married, you can always serve good old-fashioned juice at your wedding as well. Yes, juice in its simplest format, right out of the bottle, is totally fine to serve at your wedding, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Now, for aesthetic purposes, you will want to dump that juice in a nicer container. Still, juice is juice and you can buy some great flavored juices at the grocery store and serve them at your wedding. it's simple, it's cost-effective, and your guests are unlikely to complain! Since some people don't appreciate how sugary juices are, you will probably want to offer ice water as an alternative as well. 

6. Offer Ice-filled Coolers with Bottled (or Canned) Drinks 

If you have an outdoorsy wedding, there's nothing wrong with bringing a cooler full of canned soda and ice. Canned soda is perfect for casual weddings where many guests will be attending or those with no RSVP list. For fancier events, use wooden barrels or aluminum tubs full of ice with glass-bottled drinks. 

Old-fashioned root beer, cream soda, glass bottled coke, and so on, add a vintage touch to your wedding. You can even have a mini cooler or tub with juice pouches for the kids (if any children will be attending your wedding reception)! 

5. Mix Up a DIY Wedding Punch 

There are so many amazing wedding punch recipes. Your options here are virtually unlimited. Wedding punches can be made with ice cream, sorbet, ginger ale, different types of soda, fruit juices, sparkling water, and pretty much anything in between. Here is a list of a whopping 300+ wedding punch recipes on Pinterest! Wedding punch is a classy, socially accepted, convenient-to-make crowd pleaser.

Another great thing about wedding punch is that you can make it match the colors of your actual wedding for an aesthetic vibe at your tables. As far as the cost goes, apart from the ingredients, all you need for wedding punch is a big ‘ol punch bowl, a ladle, and some glasses (or plastic cups) that people can use to serve themselves. 

4. Freshen Up with Fancy Lemonade 

Lemonade is another fantastic choice for your wedding. This is especially true if you will be having a summer wedding! There are various ways to make delicious lemonade. you can include blueberries, strawberries, or even floral blooms of lavender and lilac! In fact, you will find some great tips on how to make lilac lemonade in one of our other articles. Just check out our blog section. 

Lemonade (or limeade) is affordable and can easily be made into an upper-echelon option with a little bit of effort, some garnishes, or fresh fruit. Not to mention, preparing lemonade in bulk isn't particularly difficult. For this reason, lemonade is definitely on our list of the top five best non-alcoholic drinks to serve at your wedding. 

3. Serve Top-Notch Iced Tea

Iced tea is another crowd-pleaser for your wedding! Easy to make in bulk, affordable, and full of antioxidants, iced tea is perfect for spring or late summer weddings. We recommend buying high-quality loose-leaf tea in bulk (like what you will find sold here at www.one greatcoffee.com). You can serve flavored tea, tea infused with fresh fruit, herbal tea, and so much more. 

Even if tea isn't the main beverage you plan to serve at your wedding reception, it doesn't hurt to have it available as an option for your guests. Remember, the best tea for wedding receptions will be of high quality and have a great flavor. Going with fresh loose-leaf tea and brewing it yourself beforehand can help you take regular iced tea to the next level. 

2. Offer Detoxifying Fruit-Infused Water

Another fantastic option for your dry wedding is infused water. Fruit-infused water, herb-infused water, or even water garnished with lavender and mint can be a nice addition to your wedding. After all, everyone drinks water! 

Not to mention, infused water lets you add color to your wedding table without too much stress or complexity. All you need to make infused water is water, ice, and then the fruit or herb garnishes you plan to add. Edible floral infusions of rose or lilac can also be used to impress your guests!

1. Have a Coffee Bar

Most people in the US drink coffee. If you will be serving cake at your wedding, you should plan to serve coffee (in both regular and decaf variations). This is a good way to keep your guests energized and happy! Since you're going to be serving coffee anyway, you might as well kick things up a notch and have a coffee bar! If anyone in your wedding party has past experience as a barista, chances are they’ll be happy to run the coffee bar at the reception for a bit. 

Or if not, you can simply offer an array of flavored coffees (you can find exquisite pre-flavored coffee options in decaf and regular here at onegreatcoffee.com) for your guests to sample. As an added bonus, you can also prepare cold brew coffee in bulk the day before.

Tip: Offer cold brew at your wedding as an alternative to hot coffee if you will be having a daytime wedding in the heat of summer! 

Non-Alcoholic Wedding Drink Ideas: Final Thoughts

So there you have it! Hopefully, this list has been at least a little bit helpful as you try to come up with great non-alcoholic wedding drink ideas for a spring or summer wedding reception.

Tea, coffee, and water are pretty much wedding reception staples that you should probably plan to serve no matter what. Then, you can add a special drink like lemonade, punch, or fruit-infused water to give your reception something colorful and special!

Remember, great coffee and high quality loose leaf teas can elevate your wedding without breaking the bank! Plus, they pair perfectly with wedding cake.