Looking for a Unique Signature Cocktail for Your Wedding? Consider These Five Inspired Ideas

Work with your caterer or bartender to dream up something that's special to you and your partner.

By Claire Sullivan March 16, 2021

Credit: Johnny Miller

An inspired drink will give guests a festive first impression of your reception and get them mingling. Ask your caterer to create something highlighting a local ingredient—or a cocktail you and your fiancé always order. Consider the season and your venue, too: A beer-based bev is fitting for fall (or a wedding in Wisconsin); margaritas scream, "Summer!"; and Champagne cocktails or aperitifs always feel celebratory.

Honey-Ginger Champagne

First make gingered-honey syrup: Heat ¾ cup honey and 1½ cups water in a saucepan, stirring until simmering. Remove from heat, then add 3 ounces sliced fresh ginger. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Strain. To serve, divide 1½ cups gingered-honey syrup and 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger among 12 glasses. Top each off with chilled Champagne (from two 750-milliliter bottles).

Orange-Wheat Shandy

Combine 48 ounces wheat beer, 1 cup fresh orange juice (from 3 to 4 oranges), and 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract in a pitcher. Stir and serve.

Pineapple-Rum Cocktail

In a large pitcher, stir together 1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice, 2 cups spiced rum (such as Kraken Black), and 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 6 to 8 limes). Refrigerate until chilled, then serve over ice.

Chile-Citrus Margarita

Place 2 halved jalapeños, 1 strip lime zest, and 750 milliliters silver tequila (1 bottle) in a jar. Refrigerate for 2 days, shaking daily. Strain; discard solids. For each drink, rub a lime wedge around the rim of a glass; dip into a dish of coarse salt to coat. Add 3 ounces chile-lime tequila, 1 ounce triple sec, 2 teaspoons agave syrup, and 2 ounces each fresh lime and orange juices to a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake well; pour into glass.

Aperitif

Whet guests' appetite for a delicious meal with a chilled (or on-the-rocks) lower-alcohol wine, like Lillet served with an orange-peel twist. Post-dinner, a Sauternesor late-harvest wine, with its gorgeous golden hue, is a special way to cap a meal at a vineyard event. It's easy, too—simply uncork and pour.