Because an Open Bar Isn't Quite Enough

We're having an open bar at our wedding. That's just the way it has to go. Too many of our guests are looking forward to gratis drinkage. I'm not planning on getting drunk at my wedding reception because I want to remember all the details as much as I can, and because I'll probably be so high on life I won't need any alcohol (I'm getting bad flashbacks to high school health class now). Mr. Unicycle won't get drunk because he's not big into drinking. But our guests? I hope they're completely shit-faced. However, just because we're having an open bar doesn't mean we can't have signature cocktails, right?

I love the idea of offering a signature cocktail or two because it gives guests an idea of what they can order at the bar. I personally am always at a loss for what to order at a bar. I'll drink pretty much anything besides beer, but I don't know enough about bar tending to know what to ask for. Enter the signature cocktail! I wanted Mr. Unicycle and I to both have our own signature cocktail to offer, as another way of infusing our personalities into the wedding. His favorite liquor is rum, so he immediately chose a Rum Old Fashioned as his drink.

 

Image via Drink of the Week

An Old Fashioned is basically just liquor with bitters and sugar, plus myriad garnishes. I friggin love garnishes, by the way. Mr. Unicycle is a classy dude, and this drink fits right in with our retro theme.

I had a much harder time picking my signature cocktail. I liked the idea of having a champagne cocktail, and I wanted something pink. Why pink? Not sure. I realize pink isn't one of our colors, yet I'm still wearing pink shoes and serving pink cocktails. Maybe I'm just starting to regret not pinking my original color scheme.

I browsed pinterest and came up with the following ideas:

Lemonade Sparkler:

 

Image via Valley & Co.

Pink Grapefruit Margaritas:

 

Image via There Goes the Cupcake

Barbie Shot:

 

Image via Lovelyish

Pear and Cranberry Bellini:

 

Image via Martha Stewart

Coconut Margarita:

 

Image via Martha Stewart

Okay, so they're not pink. But they have coconut around the rim, which I love even more than garnishes.

Grand Champagne Cocktail:

 

Image via Food Network

French Martini:

 

Image via The Knot

Starlight Royale:

 

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

I sent the drink recipes to the catering manager at my venue and asked which would be allowed under our contract, and she said the Rum Old Fashioned, the Pink Grapefruit Margaritas, and the Starlight Royale were all doable. So Mr. Unicycle had his drink, but which should I pick? While margaritas are kind of my thing, I couldn't get over the fact that the Starlight Royale had a sugared rim. It looked so pretty and girly! The only problem? It contains gin, which I had never tried before. It was the final frontier of liquors for me. So this weekend Mr. Unicycle and I went to a cool cocktail lounge in Milwaukee called Bryant's to celebrate our 5th (and final!) dating anniversary, and I ordered a Starlight Royale. The bartender ended up making me a French 75 instead, which doesn't have any grenadine in it, and thus isn't pink, but I still really liked it, gin and all!

So that settles it! My signature cocktail will be a Starlight Royale, and Mr. Unicycle's will be a Rum Old Fashioned. I'd love to give them wedding-themed names for the signage. If we were doing a White Russian I'd totally steal Mrs. Labrador's "Caucasian Mail Order Bride."

What are your suggestions for cutesy names for these cocktails?