I would supply champagne and a non-alcoholic alternative and call it good.

You can't make everyone happy. Have a bottle of champagne plus a bottle of sparkling apple cider on each table. Have one person in charge of opening both before the toasts start; it could be a mess to have each table opening their own bottles. People can toast with an empty glass if they so wish, then get their own favorite drinks afterwards. As for wine, get a red and a white (more white than red) just get wines with good recommendations. And let it be.

Keep it simple!

I am one of those cretins who doesn't like champagne either-- the bubbles just rip up my stomach-- I can drink tequila or bourbon neat but no champagne lol. That said I wouldn't expect a wedding toast to cater to my needs-- they are champagne toasts by tradition!!

I can't vouch for it but my sister has fallen in love with this sparkling wine-- and while not champagne, I think it is a very pretty bottle and worthy of a celebration. I recommend you give it a try first but it is VERY affordable. Listed here-- and it IS in PA State Stores (remember, their stock is limited). I am running late for a meeting so didn't look it up on PA Liquor Control Brd site but my sister buys it locally.

I agree. Champagne, sparkling apple cider or grape juice, and water. Guests can choose any of the above for the toast. Perhaps have a trusted person make an announcement 5 minutes in advance for everyone to get a beverage to be ready for the toast.

I agree champagne and sparkling cider or grape juice. They can drink or not and actually a bottle of champagne barely will go around a table for 8. You might consider an Asti (sweeter) type of bubbly -- people who do not like bubbly will drink the sweet stuff. However, whatever you chose, it should be the same on ALL tables.

I agree, one bottle of sparkling cider and one of Prosecco on each able.

I like LaMarca and this brand too

On the table - a bottle of champagne (Cooks brut is good and affordable), with a little cute tag saying something about waiting for the toast before uncorking.. I don't see a reason for a juice, those who don't want the champ can fake the toast by raising an empty glass.

Agree on the sparking wine/champagne along with a cider/juice. Do you have a plan to keep these chilled on the tables? I wonder if it would be easier to keep the bottles chilled behind the bar and then before toasts are to begin have someone open and distribute to each table. Maybe I'm making it more complicated than it needs to be but having them chilled would be important to me. Also, did you consider just offering beer and wine for the reception rather than a cash bar?

Love the Sofia wine Funky posted! I also like this bubbly from Trader Joe's for $9.99 and there is always these sparkling wines in cans or mini bottles with straws.

ETA: Love the prosecco idea and the mini bottles are really pretty.

I've had the Sofia stuff, was good. We may go with a sparkling MI wine if we can find something affordable that folks will like for the most part. I didn't think about the chilling part, but ice buckets on the tables might be cute and I actually have a set of plastic buckets at work! We're having a very uncomplicated cash bar, beer, a few wines and a few mixers. The cash part is to pay for it all although we will give everyone a free drink ticket. It might be a long night as our friends are coming from far away and some haven't seen each other in over 25 years! We wanted to keep everyone happy for quite a while. But it's so informal, more like a backyard barbecue than a dinner reception. It's going to be in the dining hall of a camp. The bartender is just to watch the supplies. While most won't overindulge, I guess there are always a few in every bunch. Or so I've been told.

I was recently at a celebration where it was done exactly as you describe. Bubbly apple juice and Champagne (or Proseco, I can't remember) was passed to each table along with the glasses, just before toasts. Someone just announced to please open and pour, prepare for toasts. If you pass the bottles just before, they can be kept chilled.

Will you have flutes or will you use disposable glasses? If flutes, you could have them on the tables with a ribbon tied around the bunch of them to prevent people from using them for other drinks, then just pass the bottles.

I would offer a sparkling wine and a non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava Brut is around $10 a bottle and is a decent Spanish bubbly. Chill ahead using your ice buckets. One bottle per table of each is enough for a toast. You must be delighted to be celebrating with an entirely different group of friends for this occasion. Enjoy!

Just remember to either bring the MI sparking wine with you or consult what you can get in PA. No Trader Joe's wines in PA … I know, we're archaic here but you can look up on the PA LCB web site what wines are carried where.

For the kind of reception you are talking about, I kinda love the cans-- though again, remember that I don't drink it so I may be swayed by the colors lol. I don't even drink soda out of a can! Still, they'd look cute in antique tubs (I say this because that's how I serve water at my parties-- I use my grandma's old white enamel wash tub!)

I realize it is an informal buffet with no servers, but I wonder whether there would be a way to manage the toast without the bottles at the tables. I can't orchestrate it exactly because I don't know the flow of the event or see the room. But what I am thinking is glasses of champagne pre-poured, along with an alternative drink, also already in glasses, and set out somewhere strategically for everyone to grab.

We're actually just using washable plastic cups that they use for water and drinks at the camp. We also have paper cups. Not fancy but I am avoiding all plastic and seeking to minimize disposable stuff as much as possible. Initially I was going to order monogrammed glass champagne flutes for wedding favors, but have decided to forgo that luxury because just don't have the dosh for something nice and folks here pretty much convinced me that it was not necessary. Actually the paper cups I special-ordered and they are kinda swanky - gold trimmed! ;)

I just priced out champagne. We are having eight tables, but only one has 8 chairs, the rest have 7 chairs. So that's roughly $80.00 for the champagne and I don't know if it will all get drunk. Having second thoughts on the bubbly fruit juice. It's nice, but we are having regular cider at the pre/post wedding appetizer buffet. And offering soda pop in cans for guests if they want bubbly stuff with dinner or after. There will be an ice water pitcher at each table. So I'm thinking maybe two of the smaller champagne bottles at each table, which will run me about 60 bucks. Just a taste. It's not that I'm cheap, I just would hate to have all that champagne go to waste . . . I love the stuff but I don't know about the rest of my crowd. I can't drink the dry, so would probably go with something like prosecco. MI has a lot of fruity sparkly wines, but then the guys will probably feel obligated to turn up their noses . . . Going for something middle of the road.

I'm hoping I have enough experienced champagne poppers amongst my crowd to do the pouring. I have a lot of bossy-pants teacher peeps so I'm thinking they will take the ball and roll with it. Many of them used to work at the camp so it's going to be second nature for them. But then they could end up hogging all the bubbly . . . ;)

I attended a rather informal wedding here in TX last year where they had a bartender who served beer or Margaritas. The beer was in cans then poured into a plastic cup and the Margaritas came from a machine and also served in plastic cups. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Who is supplying the liquor for the cash bar? Don't they buy back whatever is unopened? I think the least wasteful idea may be for someone to pour out a table of them and have people go get them before the toast.

We are supplying the alcohol and are serving what we like to drink so we'll use whatever is left over - except for the champagne. That's why I posted, champagne is fun and traditional and I like it but it is problematic for serving. Once opened, the bottle needs to be finished and unopened bottles won't get used. One bottle maybe. Same with sparkling fruit juice - I still have an unopened bottle in my fridge from a party last summer.

Send the unopened bottle(s) home with a guest!

Most wine stores (and grocery stores) will accept unopened bottles back for a refund.

Have anyone in mind Sushi? ;)

I really wanted to try and see some of my Gardenweb friends but this trip is getting more and more hectic with little time to see even friends and family. I have to leave a day later so I can go to the heart doctor here with my dad, sigh. Now I'm fussing with trying to find a way to get a friend from Britain back to Newark Airport on Sunday to catch his flight home. And both my Aunt and dad are day to day.

I vaguely remember hearing that toasting with water is not a good thing. I googled it and it's true!

I'm still chuckling over the suggestion that non alcohol drinkers "fake the toast" by raising an empty glass!

Don't forget to price sparkling wine, champagne, bubbly juices, and spirits at Costco. Depending upon your state's laws, you can buy top shelf alcohol at Costco prices.

If you don't want to spend the $ for bubbly wine of some kind + a non alcoholic option, why not just buy all sparkling juice and toast with that? It's probably $4 or less a bottle. If there is some left over, just donate it to a food bank.

No Costco in my state but I might peruse Aldi. Don't know about their quality. I just got the paper cups in tonight for the toast. Hubs says drinking champagne out of paper cups is tacky but I am not doing plastic, no way. Initially I was going to buy glass and give them out as wedding favors but the costs of these two weddings are setting me back about 1/4 of my yearly salary already. So I guess this is one of those "conventional or not?" dilemmas.

Trader Joe’s used to sell Zonin (sp?) prosecco for like $6 or $8 a bottle. Good hooch too.