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Summer-Wedding-Cocktails

Summer Wedding Cocktails

Written By Chateau Briand | 04/26/19 | 4 min read

Your average Long Island Wedding is easily an above-average party. Besides the ceremonial centerpiece, weddings often bring old friends and family together for the first time in ages—meaning that everyone is ready to party.

What better way to celebrate nuptials than by imbibing with an alcoholic beverage? But though Long Island has some incredible breweries and wonderful wineries, beer and wine can only go so far to heighten the marital bliss. That’s where creative cocktails and sensational spirits fit into the wedding plan.

What better way to celebrate nuptials than by imbibing with an alcoholic beverage?

Most Long Island wedding venues have fully stocked bars with capable bartenders serving up drinks like dirty martinis, whiskey sour, old fashioned, and more. However, lots of brides and grooms these days are going the extra mile of taking a classic mixed drink and making it their wedding’s signature cocktail—either serving it with its original recipe or placing their own playful spin on the ingredients.

With the warm weather on the horizon, here are five inspiring starting points for classic cocktails to serve, making your wedding a true party.

Classic Daiquiri

When you hear the word “daiquiri,” the first vision you’re likely to imagine is a thick, frothy drink that tastes overly sweet and delivers an instant brain freeze. But in reality, the daiquiri began its life as a much more reserved and refined drink. Consisting of a mere four ingredients—including ice—the Classic Daiquiri is the refreshing summertime cocktail that kicks off your wedding’s festivities in a classically cooling way, while being simple enough to churn out quickly for multiple guests. All it takes is white rum, lime juice, and simple syrup to transport your wedding to an island resort of the mind. (Get the recipe here.) Of course, if a sticky-sweet daiquiri is what you’re into, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! Go for a bright and refreshing strawberry daiquiri for a cool punch of ice-cold fun.

Piña Colada

Any cocktail that’s had the honor of being named Puerto Rico’s national drink is definitely one you might want to consider as your summer wedding’s centerpiece beverage. Another simple preparation with three main ingredients—white rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice—the piña colada is great when you’re looking for something that can be made quickly and in large batches. The components can be blended with ice until smooth, or simply poured into a chilled cocktail glass over ice—the version you choose depends entirely on personal preference and what is most convenient. Just don’t forget the tiny umbrellas to achieve the full piña colada aesthetic. Get the recipe here.

Frozen Margarita

Tequila seems to lead a double life as a hard liquor. On one hand, as an ingredient it can add a sharp twist to mixed drinks as an instantly recognizable spirit that matches perfectly with lime and other citruses. Then there’s tequila’s dark side as a shot, or more typically, multiple shots. Straight tequila shots are the enemy of any wedding party you were hoping to keep under control, so with that in mind, stick with tequila as a component, particularly in a frozen margarita. This drink, with an icy-cold slushy texture that melts in a “second drink” as it warms, might be the quintessential summer wedding cocktail. Remember to salt the rim of the glass, using lime juice to help it stick. Get the recipe here.

Sangria

What changes wine from meal accompaniment to party drink? Answer: cut up pieces of fruit and add brandy or triple sec. This deep-red drink, usually served in pitchers and generously poured along with those refreshing chunks of fruit, is probably the most famous and popular Spanish drink. As a wedding cocktail, the historically imprecise ingredient measurements mean that the wedding party can take part in concocting it, dumping entire bottles of wine and brandy, along with chopped fruit, into a large vat from which it can be ladled into party cups. Of course, there are many variations of this drink, most notably sangria blanca, which is made with white wine and an array of different fruits—a version of the ubiquitous drink that might be more suited for a daytime summer wedding. Click here for a red sangria recipe, and here for sangria blanca.

Hurricane

Any cocktail invented in New Orleans has to be an intense party cocktail—and intense is definitely one way to describe the hurricane. It’s a high octane bomb of fruit and a double serving of rum, traditionally served in a tall, curvy, and wide hurricane glass. This is the absolutely perfect drink if you want your wedding or afterparty to encapsulate the vibe of summertime in the French Quarter—it’s bright, it’s loud, and it’s as musical as the city of its birth, with tart fruit and plenty of mood-enhancing alcohol. The drink combines light and dark rum with lime and orange juice, along with passion fruit purée (or juice) and grenadine, along with a garnish of an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry. Find a great recipe for it here.