Wedding Reception Signature Cocktails

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The “signature drink” approach is common at large wedding receptions and, in addition to helping couples (or the bride’s father) save on their bar tab, it is almost the only practical way to serve 100+ guests quickly and efficiently in the 60-90 minutes between the end of the wedding ceremony and the serving of dinner.

Because as soon as the ceremony ends, all 100+ guests head straight to the open bar. They get their first drink, it is usual for them to come back for a second, and a determined few will angle for a third before the start of dinner service. I not making this up.
Typically, there are two signature drinks: a “His” (groom’s), which is frequently an Old Fashioned; and a “Hers” (bride’s), which is almost invariably some sort of foo foo cocktail like vodka, lemonade, a bit of blueberry syrup, with a garnish of 3-4 blueberries. On one occasion there was also a “Theirs” (an Aperol spritzer).
On that particular evening, guests frequently ordered a “His,” “Hers,” or “Theirs”—as opposed to using the name of the drink itself. Which was fine except that each name was a single-syllable word, and amid the excited chatter of 100+ guests, it was difficult to hear their order and you usually had to lean in close, cup your ear, and ask them to repeat their request.
Incidentally, although bar service typically continues for 5-5.5 hours, about 70-75 percent of drinks are served in the interval between the ceremony and dinner.
Bar service is usually suspended for about 20-30 minutes during dinner time, which provides a welcome interval in which to re-stock the other drinks—in addition to signature cocktails, guests may order beer, typically 4 kinds of beer (plus White Claw or something similar) and a red and white wine (usually one red and one white; but sometimes two—for example, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pino Grigio, and Chardonnay).
Afterward comes the champagne pour, which the caterer staff usually handles, followed by a round of speeches by the best man, maid of honor, and fathers of the bride and groom. (Some speeches verge on filibusters.) Only once the speeches conclude and there is the obligatory First Dance do guests return to the bar for what amounts to a second major round of bar service—always brisk traffic but seldom a repetition of the initial onslaught when the ceremony, from a bartending perspective, comes across a as a mere prelude to the main event, the open bar. Where, to repeat a point, the use of signature drinks is invaluable.

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