Champagne and wine serves a small, but elegant,wedding reception
Dear Joy, My daughter is having a small, elegant wedding in April. As this is her second marriage, her mother and I think her plans are appropriate and we want to be supportive.
We are going to have a champagne and hors d’oeuvre reception (for 20) in our home after the ceremony and we want to do it right. We have also ordered a small wedding cake from a baker.
What we are confused about is the champagne toast and the wine to serve. We decided not to have a full bar set-up-just champagne and wine.
Do you have any suggestions regarding the type of champagne and wine to serve at this event? George
Dear George,
You have called your daughter’s reception a “champagne and hors d’oeuvre” reception, so you shouldn’t scrimp on the type of bubbly you plan to serve. If the bride and groom have special champagne which they enjoy, you may want to serve that, as many couples like to save a favorite bottle of Champagne from their wedding to celebrate a future anniversary.
Champagne from France with Heidsieck in the name is quite elegant for around $25 a bottle. California Champagne is a little more affordable (about $15 a bottle) if you choose Piper Sonoma or Domaine Carneros.
You may want to offer Champagne for the toast and serve wine for the remainder of the event; however, a few open bottles of champagne should be available on the table beside your wine selections.
You are always safe serving a Chardonnay white wine, so you may want to consider serving a Cambria Chardonnay-a reliable American wine. Better yet, a Macon Chardonnay is French, affordable, and may taste better with food.
Most of your guests will feel comfortable with a Merlot red wine. Benziger Merlot is a good choice.
How much should you buy? As a rough estimate, realize that your guests will probably drink at least three glasses, which is equivalent to half a bottle.
Though most of your guests won’t drink that much, you can’t be sure which wine they will drink-so you need to have plenty of both red and white. I believe more guests prefer white to red, so I suggest you buy two-thirds white, one third red.
Make sure you provide non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, and bottled water for your guests. Do not use plastic cups for your wine, champagne or beverages. A rental store can provide you with glassware that will be appropriate and elegant for your event.
Joy’s Bridal Idea:
Here is a delicious recipe for Stuffed mushrooms to serve with your wine and Champagne:
3 packages of whole mushrooms
1/2 cup of salad oil
1 can of flaked crabmeat, drained
2 cups of flavored bread crumbs
1/2 cup of grated cheese
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of butter
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms. Mince stems and saut’ in butterfor five minutes. Mix with other ingredients in bowl. Stuff mushrooms and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Stuffing ingredients can be frozen.
K. Joy Schaeffer is a bridal consultant. E-mail bridal questions to
bridejoy@yahoo.com.