Every aspect of a wedding is an opportunity to get creative. Whether it’s incorporating their favourite colour and flowers, playing the couple’s first kiss song as their first dance song, or serving an element of the food that they ate on their first dance! Everything has potential; right down to the beverage that your guests sip on! Doing a signature cocktail at a wedding is a great way to feature a personal touch, extend a colour palette, and add another feature of the wedding theme that guests can “oo” and “awe” at.
But time after time I see the same recycled “Gin Fizz” or “Vodka Martini” on a signature cocktail list. It’s time to switch it up! Here are some of my favourite signature cocktail ideas for the parched and looking to get festive!
And don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom where I’ve featured some of my favourite cocktail recipes! Drink up, pretty lovers!
Flower Power
This was one of my favourite details from a bridal shower I designed last month at the fabulous The Chase restaurant in the heart of downtown Toronto (featured above!). The design was based around pretty pastels and would lend itself to the pop up flower market, candy station, and the signature cocktail! We took a fresh pink lemonade concocted by the amazing bar team at The Chase and we topped it off with ice cubes filled with edible flowers. Does tit get any better than this? The pretty colour of the pink cocktail matched the peonies on the table and the lemons echoed the light in the room. So pretty, and delicious!
Keep it Seasonal
What better way to honour the date of your wedding than with a seasonal cocktail? Having a wedding in the spring? How about a fresh “English Lavender Lemonade” to awaken the senses and get your guests ready for a summer of love. Getting married in the fall? How about tickling taste buds with something other than pumpkin by doing an “Apple Cider Mimosa” or a “Maple Bourbon” with crunch maple crystals along the rim? My mouth is watering…yum yum!
Show Some Personality
If going with something more straightforward seems totally boring to you, then show off some personal flare! How about naming your signature drinks after your favourite song or adventure? Show guests your creative side and let them in on a secret joke or memory. How about the “Sweet Disposition” with vodka and sweet cherries? Or perhaps the “Nights in Capri” as a take on the memories of your first trip together with lots of blood orange and Campari? Delizioso!
Looking to create some of these delicious cocktails from above? Check out some of my personal recipes below.
English Lavender Lemonade
3 oz freshly squeezed lemonade (Bonus points if you make your own simple syrup and squeeze your own lemons!)
1 oz Lavender infused Vodka (Make your own! Steep lavender in a small mason jar of vodka and leave in a cool dark place for at least two weeks)
1 Fresh sprig of lavender as garnish
Stir the lemonade and vodka with ice in a Collin’s glass and top with the lavender sprig. Easy peasy.
Apple Cider Mimosa
3 or 4 oz Sparkling Wine or Prosecco
1 oz apple puree
Cinnamon Sugar for garnish
Rim a champagne flute with the cinnamon sugar and pour in prosecco or sparkling wine. Top with apple puree and give a light stir. Enjoy!
Maple Bourbon
2 oz Bourbon
½ oz Canadian Maple Syrup
½ oz fresh orange juice or lemon juice (or both!)
4 dashes bitters
Pour bourbon over large ice cube in a rocks glass and mix with maple syrup, juice, and bitters. Stir gently, and top with either a maple candy or an orange slice. Drink up!
Sweet Disposition
½ oz Cherry Juice
½ oz Lime Juice
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Vodka
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake, Shake, Shake! Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a long stem cherry and a wedge of lime.
Nights in Capri
1 oz Gin
½ oz Cointreau
½ oz Campari
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 Egg White (Optional)
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Strain into a sweet little coup glass or a stemless martini glass. Garnish with some strips of lemon zest or perhaps an orange.
Did you have a favourite cocktail? Let me know!