Did you know that according to the NC Solutions 2025 Sober Curious Survey, nearly half of all Americans said they plan to drink less alcohol in 2025. And that number has gone up every single year for the last three years running. While Gen Z are leading the charge, and over half of millennials say they're actively cutting back, this shift is spreading across every age group, and it's absolutely showing up at weddings too. Today we're talking about the alcohol optional wedding bar, or as I love to call it, the Mocktail Menu Glow Up. And I know what you might be thinking, Camille, are you seriously trying to convince us to not serve alcohol at our wedding? Absolutely not. This is not a sobriety manifesto. However, this is about something way more exciting. You elevating your guests' experience. Because here's the reality. The sober curious movement, which started with Gen Z, who drink around 20% less alcohol than millennials did at the same age, has well and truly gone mainstream now. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z say they're planning to drink less, but 49% of Gen X's and even 30% of boomers are saying the same thing. Why am I sprouting statistics at you? And what the hell has it got to do with your wedding? I'm so glad you asked. This all means right now a real chunk of your guest list, and I say guess lists quite deliberately to include everyone, but please don't forget these are the people who mean the most to you in the world. Your loved family and friends. So these guys either don't drink at all, are cutting back, are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant, are trying to take their health more seriously, will want to drive, or are in recovery. And the standard offering, a warm can of coke and some orange juice next to the bar, is a pretty poor option these days. The good news? This is actually one of the most fun and creative decisions you get to make in your whole wedding. And in this episode, I'm going to show you exactly how to do it beautifully. You're going to learn how to name your mocktail menu so it stands completely on its own. Plus, I've got 10 name ideas that you can steal directly. You'll learn how to tie it to your love story so it feels personal rather than performative. How to make it visually appealing so all of your guests actually want to try a non-alcoholic drink and post about it. And the one briefing conversation with your bar team that will make or break the whole thing. Plus, the four steps you can take this week to go from soft drinks on the side to a signature sips menu for your guests that they will be raving about. Let's get stuck into it. Unbridly is a community of pro-wedding vendors who believe in freedom and integrity in weddings, giving you options, solutions, tips and tricks to create the experience and memories that you and your fiance really want and deserve. Because we believe that weddings are a team sport with how-to's, stories and interviews with recently married couples. We find out what went right and what they'd change if they could go back and do it all over again. I'm Camille and welcome to the Unbridly Podcast. So, first up, I want to talk about the mindset shift you might need to make before we go any further. Because I think we need to reframe alcohol optional as a hosting upgrade and not a remove all the fun from the party or fear of seeming cheap or some sort of family flashpoint downer. And so I need to start by naming something. If you're considering a mock town menu or reducing the alcoholic offerings at your wedding, I know that there is a very good chance someone in your life has already had an opinion about it and shared it with you. Maybe it was a but people expect an open bar kind of comment. Maybe it was a raised eyebrow and silent judgment. Maybe it was your mum. And I want to give you a little permission slip right now. I've got it, I've got it right here. I'm gonna slide it across to you. Your wedding bar is yours to design. Full stop. And it's not a fleeting trend. Far from it. Sans drinks, who ignited the non-alcoholic drinks revolution here in Australia in 2020, are now a huge online retailer that specializes in non-alcoholic options. On their Instagram page, Sans Drinks shared that according to CNBC, non-alcoholic beer is set to overtake ale as the second biggest beer category globally by volume in 2025, even ahead of traditional ales. While total beer sales dropped by 1% last year, non-alcoholic beer grew by 9%. It's showing no signs of slowing down. But more than that, I want to flip the script entirely. Because when you create a genuinely beautiful, thoughtful, non-alcoholic offering, you're not restricting your guess. What you are saying is I thought about my pregnant friend, that person who's in recovery, the one who just doesn't love the taste of alcohol, or sadly, what it does to their body afterwards. And yes, I'm looking at you, sleepless nights and crippling anxiety, the designated driver, or the person who actually wants to remember your wedding. And that is care, consideration, and extraordinary hosting. And it also just makes the drinks more interesting for everyone. Here in Australia, with our massive drinking culture, there is still a fair degree of resistance in certain circles. But I can see the shift and the change, even within my age group. So now that we've reframed the why, let's get into the how. And you might have already guessed, I'm not fresh out of uni or college. I am not backpacking around the world and rock climbing with my mates on the weekend or spending most of my discretionary income on concerts and festivals anymore. But I used to. At this stage of my life, and please stick with me here, my body has decided that a bottle of wine on the weekend is just not possible without aching muscle pain and other associated downsides. And at first I was pretty bummed, because slightly tipsy was how I spent a lot of my 20s and 30s. But it's all caught up to me now. And so a gorgeous, longtime friend and fellow celebrant, the incredible Vicky Flanagan, recently sent me one of the most thoughtful gifts I think I've ever received. It's a hamper that she made up with a couple of fancy ass glasses, a couple of marble coasters, and a couple of bottles of dedicated non-alcoholic spirits from the Liars range. And that's not L-I-A-R, it's L-Y-R-E, Liars. So before I get into the framework, I want to give you something super practical. Three actual drink recipes you could hand to your caterer tomorrow. Now I've been a fan of the Liar range for a little while, and if you haven't come across them, they make premium non-alcoholic spirit alternatives. So think gin and bourbon rum, aperitivo, etc., that are genuinely crafted to taste like the real thing. And they are the reason, and there are other brands, of course, but they make a mocktail menu hold its own next to a full bar. And so here are three Liars recipes that I think are absolutely perfect for a wedding. And number one is the Amalfi Spritz, your cocktail hour hero. Now, this one is gorgeous for summertime arrival drinks or cocktail hour because it's light, beautiful in colour, and incredibly easy to batch. It combines Lya's Italian spritz, which has those classic bittersweet orange and rhubarb notes of an Aperol spritz with Lyra's Classico. Classico Classico? Classico? Which is a non-alcoholic sparkling wine alternative. Pour it over fresh cubed ice, it looks incredible, photographs beautifully, and genuinely every single one of your guests will want one, whether they're drinking alcohol or not. The ingredients, Lyas Italian spritz, Lyas Classico sparkling, and fresh cubed ice. Literally, those three things. You're done. For glassware, if you use like a large stemmed balloon wine glass or a wide-limbed Copa glass, that big bowl shape, it shows off the colour and the ice, and it's instantly recognizable as a spritz, which makes guests feel at ease picking it up. They kind of know what they're getting. And then for garnish, just a wheel slice, you know, fresh orange on the rim, plus a little sprig of fresh rosemary tucked alongside the ice. The rosemary adds like a botanical, slightly elevated feel and smells incredible when the guests bring the glass to their lips. If you want to go extra, you could try a twist of dried orange or a dehydrated citrus wheel, and these can be prepped, you know, days in advance. For the bar decor, this drink calls for Mediterranean sun drenched vibes. So terracotta, warm linen, a few trailing or a few trailing olive branches or eucalyptus, a handwritten menu card in a simple frame, little glass bowls of extra orange slices and fresh rosemary sprigs, just sitting out, looking beautiful, doubling as easy self-serve garnish toppers as well. Delicious, right? But wait, drink number two, the espresso martini. This is your post-dinner crowd pleaser. So the espresso martini, you know, it's had a massive moment over the last few years, but Lya's version is made with their coffee originale, a coffee liqueur alternative, and their white cane spirit, which mimics Vodka. So you add a fresh shot of espresso, you do a dry shake first to get that crema on the top, and then you shake it again hard with ice and strain into a glass. It's elegant, it feels special, and guests who are drinking and not drinking alike will be lining up for it. So your ingredients are just the Lyas Coffee Originale, Lyas White Cane Spirit, Fresh Espresso Shot, and ice. The glassware, the classic coupe glass, is um yeah, looks beautiful. That wide shallow bowl show it shows off the crema layer perfectly and feels glamorous. And if coopes aren't around, a traditional martini glass works just as well. You want to avoid anything too tall or thin because you really want that wide surface at the top. For the garnish, the three coffee beans arranged in the centre on the top, that's the classic presentation, and it's classic for a reason. It's simple, it's graphic, it looks great. You can also add a light dusting of cacao powder over the top of the cremer for a slightly more decadent look. You could use a stencil over the top, maybe with your monogram letters or something like that, or a single shaved piece of dark chocolate resting on the rim for a really luxe presentation. For the bar decor, you can lean into the moody after hours, intimate evening atmosphere, dark linens, candles, warm Edison bulb lighting, small chalkboard or a card with the drink name, and a little arrangement of whole coffee beans in a low bowl. You could do a little coffee display for that cafe at midnight energy, just yeah, or keep it super simple. But yeah, it's a it's a classy way to wrap up the night. And recipe number three, the pink gin fizz. Light, floral, very pretty. It's made with Lyra's Pink London Spirit. It's their pink gin alternative, plus Lyra's Italian orange, some fresh citrus juice, and tonic water. And you just build it in the glass, stir gently, you're done. It's pink, it's floral, it photographs really beautifully, and it's simple enough that a bar team can make it at scale. Perfect for a spring or summer wedding, and honestly, any wedding where you want something that looks as good as it tastes. Your ingredients, Lyas Pink London Spirit, Lyra's Italian orange, your fresh orange juice, some tonic water. A tall highball glass is perfect. The height shows off that beautiful blush colour and it gives room for the tonic bubbles to do their thing. Garnish with a a sprig of fresh mint tucked in the ice so it sits tall above the rim, uh, a thin wheel of pink grapefruit, a curl of a lemon zest or something like that, or a couple of dried rose petals floating on the top. For your bar decor, this drink is made for a light, romantic aesthetic, so white or blush linen runner, fresh florals in bud vases, uh roses, sweet peas, maybe a small arrangement of the garnish ingredients laid out beautifully, and a little glass of mint brigs. Perfect. It looked like something out of a magazine and only takes a few minutes to set up the whole look. So I'll link all three recipes that are on the Lyers website in the show notes so you can grab the exact measurements and just pass them straight on to your caterer. If you had a sweary, chocolate addicted wine-sipping fairy godmother who could help you with your wedding planning, what would you wish for? Perhaps no more waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, wondering what you've forgotten, or fretting about your RSVPs? Maybe no more spreadsheets or post-it notes or endless to-do lists. Well, I can help you with all of that. WedSites is an Australian wedding website builder, guest management software, and wedding project planner all in one. Why is this such a game changer for you? Well imagine everything to do with your wedding being in one place, updated in real time in the cloud, shareable to anyone else that's helping you, password protected for your guests, with notifications to tell you what needs to be done next and by when. It's amazing, right? I love how easy websites is to set up a news and how there are no ads on the platform yelling at you to spend more money on your wedding. To get started on your very own free wedding website, just head to Wedsites.com, that's W E D S I T E S dot com and enter the code unbridlypod, that's unbridly P O D, to get 10% off their paid planning tools. The link is in the show notes. So let's get stuck into the Mocktow menu glow-up framework. Four parts. Very, very easy, but important that you go through each one. So number one, you want to give your non-alcoholic offering a name that has nothing to do with what's missing. So the biggest mistake I see is calling it the non-alcoholic menu or the alcohol-free bar. So you're leading with what they're missing out on, you know, the absence. So instead, name it something that stands on its own. It should be fun, a vibe, an offering, not a consolation prize. So here are ten names to get your brain going. You know, feel free to steal any of them. The first the garden bar fresh, floral, elegant, summertime, outdoors, gorgeous. Number two, the botanical sips menu. Herbie, sophisticated, a little bit wild, maybe it's all your gins in there. Number three, sunset sipper station. So think warm golden hour energy, perfect for your outdoor weddings as well. Number four, the still and sparkling bar. Simple and clean, it works for any aesthetic of wedding and just you know, highlights the fact that there are other things available. Number five, and I think this is great, Zero Proof Lounge. It's modern and cool, and it could be great for a relaxed or even an industrial style venue. The apothecary bar, mysterious. Sciencey, slightly vintage, beautiful for dried florals, glass decanters, thinking, you know, those sort of laboratory vibes. Number seven, the wildflower sip station, romantic, whimsical, um, great for a countryside wedding. Number eight, the elixir bar, a little bit magical, bit playful, pairs beautifully with a sort of fairy light aesthetic. Number nine, the seedling bar, fresh, great for the eco-conscious couples. And number ten, morning dew sips menu. Soft and dreamy, perfect for an early day wedding, like a you know, a brunch wedding, something like that. So you get the idea. Pick some adjectives that feel like you, or use these bar names as a springboard and invent something entirely your own, maybe something that connects to your love story, which is actually the next step. So, number two, you want to anchor the name of your mocktail menu to the story of you guys. So it's a gorgeous opportunity to personalize your wedding in a way that a lot of couples completely miss. So think about where you first met or where you got engaged, a place you love to travel to together, or a flavor that means something to you both. So build your drink menu around that. So thinking things like a Lisbon-inspired sparkling elder flower with lemon, a New Orleans style spiced hibiscus fizz, maybe it's a drink named after your dog. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, it's the connection that matters. So this is the stuff that your family and friends will remember and they'll talk about. Number three, make it visual. So a beautiful drink in a beautiful glass with the garnish that photographs well is going to be picked up by your guests, whether it has alcohol in it or not. So work with your caterer or bartender on the presentation, dried citrus slices, fresh herbs, edible flowers, quality glassware, these things matter. If it looks like a cocktail, people will treat it like one. And number four, brief your bar team. This is the tip that most people skip. And then they wonder why the mocktail menu or the non-alcoholic options fall flat. Your bar staff need to be briefed on the drinks. They need to know what's in them, how to describe them, and how to offer them proactively. Rather than someone coming up to the bar and they're saying, Do you have anything that doesn't have alcohol in it? And then the bar staff just point to a sign. So, what would be best if during cocktail hour they're walking around with a tray of the non-alcoholic offerings and saying, Can I get you a botanical spritz or a spiced hibiscus fizz to start with? That is a completely different experience, too. There's a non-alcoholic list over there. So, what you can actually do this week to get a start on this and yeah, let's make this actionable. So, here are the things you can do right now. Step one is having a look at what you've currently got. You want to audit your current bar plan, the offering that you were going to give before you've really thought about this. So pull up your catering or your bar quote and have a look at what's currently planned for non-alcoholic beverages. Is it just soft drinks? Is it only water? And if so, that's your starting point. There's room to upgrade. Awesome. Step number two, write a short list of three signature mocktails. You don't need ten different options. You only need two or three really good ones. Something that's light and refreshing, usually, and something that's a bit more complex or herby, and maybe one that's festive or something sparkling. Go to Pinterest, Pinterest is awesome. The Lyre website has got lots of recipes on there as well. Or your local cocktail bars mocktail menu. Start doing some research. Um, write down what speaks to you. Yeah, get some recipes together and have some fun. Step number three is to talk to your caterer or bartender so bring your shortlist to them and ask them two questions. Number one, can we make these? And number two, can we make them look beautiful? Because most good bartenders are genuinely excited to create something new. And you know Mocktail menu is fun. It's a craft challenge and most will love it. If your caterer is resistant or maybe a bit dismissive, to be honest, this could be useful information about whether they're the right fit for you. So suss out your options first and take it from there. And then number four, you get to name it and you get to put it on a menu card of some description. So even a simple printed card at the bar with each of the drinks names, a one-line description and some sort of little visual element makes an enormous difference. And Canva has three templates that look great. You don't have to spend a fortune on it. You don't have to go and get a whole bunch of things printed. This is a one hour job that will completely transform how your guests experience your bar. Okay, so just to recap, please repeat after me the alcohol optional wedding bar is not a compromise. It's a choice to be a more thoughtful, inclusive, intentional host. And when you do it with the same love and attention you're putting into every other part of your day, it can become one of the most memorable, visually enjoyable and tasty parts of the experience for your guests. So name it then anchor it to your story make it yours make it playful make it beautiful and then brief your team that's it four steps. And so I'd love to know are you planning a mocktail menu for your wedding? Or has this episode convinced you to think about one, have a look into some options to add one? Send me a message over on Instagram at Umbriadly and until next time celebrate your people. That about wraps it up for this episode of the Umbridly Podcast. For the links and resources we mentioned please head to the show notes and if you love the show please review and subscribe on the podcast platform you're on now so you don't miss out on a single episode. Thanks so much for listening and remember weddings are a team sport. Catch you soon