Buying Champagne in Bulk for a Wedding

Marriage: A time for much celebration and what for many is the most important and most proudest day of their lives – The day a couple unite together to exchange their vows and become a married couple. A whole new journey lays before them and exciting times to be enjoyed from those couples of spring years to those in their autumn – Marriage is a great time for friends and families to get together so why shouldn’t’ their be plenty of celebratory bubbles involved?

“There were 242,842 marriages in England and Wales in 2017, a decrease of 2.8% from 2016.” source gov.uk

Weddings can also be a bit of a nightmare and especially for those footing the bill! Rarely is anything desirable cheap and there are a lot of factors that go towards making that perfect day go smoothly that will certainly cause someone to be tapping plenty of numbers on the calculator! From venue hire to wedding dresses, from DJ’s to limousines, surely a wedding day must be one of the most costly of our lives!

“The data in the report shows that the current average cost of a wedding in the U.K is now 16,005, compared to last year’s average cost of £15,171.” source purephotoni

In the UK the average wedding is said to cost over £15,000 and that surely factors in much planning and shopping round for best prices. There is so much to consider when putting on a wedding and many businesses have been set up to aid families during these busy times with a 12 month plan being a common agenda for many.

“During my years of filming certain society weddings I have seen quite a variation of wines on wedding days from supermarket won brands (why not as sometimes they have amazing discoveries) to some of the finest vintages. Champagne is usually the wine which frequents weddings from morning time and then throughout the reception. I worked alongside a senior society videographer and I usually took the role of filming the ushers lunch (that usually contained Champagne and pints of beer believe it or not) whilst he took to filming at the brides house where Champagne on ice during the morning and pre wedding was common. I think that this era of my life really got me hooked on Champagne as so much was flowing throughout the day and boy how we took advantage of a glass or two after filming had stopped… ” Christopher Walkey

 

Where to buy your Champagne for your wedding day:

Now this will be decided on the likes of budgets and volume required. If you are purchasing for bigger numbers then we need to consider bulk prices which opens up much more choice of better quality Champagne for you. If you are only ordering a smaller amount of Champagne then it is unlikely you will get a bulk order (sometimes known as trade) prices so the price you see per bottle will be the price you pay. Bulk orders can see a big discount on the RRP.

Depending on the time you have to prepare and how much of it you are able to put towards the ‘Champagne’ for the wedding day then options can include popping over to France to help reduce your cost per bottle. Buy taking a day trip to France to be it Calais and the wine supermarkets there or even the three hours or so drive down to the Champagne region itself then avoiding UK excise duty on every bottle of Champagne you purchase will come in to play. Another big factor to consider when purchasing directly from the winery itself is that there are no middle man fees so no extra percentages to pay for transport / admin / handling / commission for retailers and merchants etc. Yes, you need to consider your own travel costs and time, but bulk orders will usually see this option to be in your favour price wise (or enabling you to increase the quality of Champagne from your budget).

Should I buy wedding wines from the supermarket?

I think we can give a thumbs up here to this option. Supermarket wines have improved immensely in recent years as have the choices on offer, it is no longer simply cheap table wine on to choose from only, we can now select from award winning examples or those recommended by top wine experts. The Champagne section is usually fairly well represented and on many occasions, if you time it right, promotions can take place with appealing reductions that will give you great value for money and perfect if you purchasing less volume. Sometimes Champagne that is quite reasonable in quality will be as low at £10 per bottle or even less with the likes of the supermarket wars being a constant thing. You can also if stored correctly, purchase your Champagne months ahead of that wedding day if you see a tempting promotion, these wines are fine for being kept long times before serving.

Just keep in mind that you should always put the quality first. Even if Champagne of reasonable quality costs more, you’d better opt for it than looking for a cheaper but questionable alternative. Luckily, you can find various affordable options in the Champagne section in almost every supermarket, so you’re more likely not to have to take out wedding loans to buy enough bottles for all your guests.

How many bottles of Champagne do I need for my wedding day?

Of course, guest numbers here are important and if you have time, working out the type of guests you have such as by age / sex could also help. Champagne will generally appeal to ladies during a reception and especially if other drinks are on offer, younger to middle age will also likely drink more than senior guests.

It is important to make sure that you have enough for all your guests even if that means you may be left with a few bottles untouched. It is said that a bottle of Champagne will serve around 5 full pours, 7 decent pours and around 10 to 12 tasting sized pours. Champagne is usually served as the aperitif wine and people will usually stick to one glass or possibly two if there is a great atmosphere going. If thereafter you have other drinks / wines planned then for 100 wedding guests you should think about having around 20 bottles (1.5 decent pours per person).