Key Takeaways
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had custom beer cans made for his wedding, featuring his face and his wife’s face on the label.
- Customized and personalized drinks are a growing trend for Australian weddings, with couples offering unique experiences for their guests.
- There are several ways to create custom drinks, including offering cocktails, "white labelling" a bottle of wine or can of beer, and brewing an entirely new style of beer.
- Local breweries and distilleries are happy to create custom drinks for weddings, making it a relatively easy and cost-effective option for couples.
- The trend is expected to continue, with more couples likely to follow in Albanese’s footsteps and create their own custom drinks for their special day.
Introduction to Custom Wedding Drinks
When Pat McInerney, the founder of Sydney brewery Willie the Boatman, named one of his first beers after Anthony Albanese over a decade ago, he didn’t anticipate catering the future prime minister’s wedding. However, that’s exactly what happened when Albanese asked McInerney to create custom beer cans for his special day. The bespoke pale ale featured Albanese and his wife Jodie Haydon’s faces on the label, making it a truly unique and personalized drink for their guests.
The Growing Trend of Custom Wedding Drinks
According to Darcy Allen, a former wedding planner and now general manager of vendor listing service Easy Weddings, customized and personalized drinks are a growing trend for Australian nuptials. Couples are looking for ways to create unique experiences for their guests, and offering custom drinks is a great way to do so. There are several ways to create custom drinks, including offering cocktails, "white labelling" a bottle of wine or can of beer, and brewing an entirely new style of beer. Allen notes that "white labelling" a bottle of wine or can of beer is a common practice, where the couple’s names or a special message are printed on the label, making it a lovely keepsake for their guests.
Creating Custom Drinks for Weddings
Michael Chiem, owner of Sydney cocktail bar PS40, launched a mobile cocktail van earlier this year for weddings and events. He and his team serve a limited menu of cocktails, tailored to the wedding party. The process of creating custom drinks is similar to getting a wedding suit or dress fitted, where the couple visits the bar for a consultation and talks through their favourite cocktails. Chiem notes that he likes to have at least one drink on the menu specifically for the bride and one drink specifically for the groom, making it a truly personalized experience for the couple.
Breweries and Distilleries Offering Custom Drinks
Local breweries and distilleries are happy to create custom drinks for weddings, making it a relatively easy and cost-effective option for couples. Rachel Stone, general manager of Archie Rose distillery, notes that they create personalized spirit bottles for "hundreds of weddings every year". Josephine Perry, winemaker and owner of Dormilona in Margaret River, started offering custom labelled wines for weddings three years ago, after a friend requested one for his wedding. Australian company White Label Brewing specializes in making bespoke beer cans, and owner Ashley Dionysius notes that bespoke wedding beer cans are a growing market.
The Future of Custom Wedding Drinks
The trend of custom wedding drinks is expected to continue, with more couples likely to follow in Albanese’s footsteps and create their own custom drinks for their special day. Dionysius notes that the only barrier to this trend is traditional venues having restrictions on outside food and drink, but more and more people are moving away from traditional venues, making it easier for couples to offer custom drinks. As the trend continues to grow, it will be exciting to see the unique and creative ways that couples choose to personalize their wedding drinks. With the help of local breweries and distilleries, couples can create truly unique and memorable experiences for their guests, making their special day even more special.