Summertime Wedding Signature Drinks, Oh So Refreshing!

As we prepare for the high nuptial season, nothing says summertime wedding like a Signature Drink, which is also a great way to add a little personality and even culture to your reception. Choose something fun, festive (think mini umbrellas and a pretty garnish) and relatively easy to prepare. It can star your favorite liquor, match your color scheme, or just sound delicious.

Thanks to our Facebook Fan Sonia for the reminder that these personalized libations are a must have accessory this season. We would be honored if you would become our Facebook Fan too! Just click the LIKE button.

Here are our top ideas for signature drinks that are refreshing as well as cultural.

Sangria - Spain, Latin America
Sangria is the classic Spanish accompaniment to summertime meals and an excellent choice for a hot summertime wedding.  I actually had Sangria at my wedding made by my husband on our wedding day. It was rather warm and the sweet wine, fresh fruit and cold ice were a refreshing and delicious way to cool off.

Photo Credit: Andrea's Recipes

Sangria is relatively easy to make, wine, fruit and a spritzer, although a bit time consuming. Sangria style is up to your taste, traditional with red wine or Sangria Blanco made with white wine. Any combination of fruit will work, peachs, pineapple, oranges, apples and even strawberries. The great thing about Sangria is you sort of throw it all together, pour over ice and enjoy. Here's a great recipe to get you started but creating your own  as you go along makes this your very own wedding drink.

Caipirinha - Brazil
This is a great drink to help get the dance party started, especially if the DJ is spinning some Samba! The caipirinha is a national cocktail of Brazil, and is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. Once almost unknown outside Brazil, the drink has become more popular and more widely available in recent years, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça, Brazil’s national liquor similar to rum. A Caipirinha is fairly easy to make and only requires a few ingredients: limes, Cachaca or rum, superfine sugar and crushed ice. Here is a great step by step Caipirinha recipe.

Photo Credit: Qualidade de Vida

Mojito - Cuba
Cuba is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. Cuba's answer to the mint julep, this drink is perfect for a hot summertime wedding. Mojitos have been around since at least the mid-1800s. Traditionally made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, sparkling water and mint. Its combination of sweetness, refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to complement the potent kick of the rum. Try this mojito recipe.

Photo Credit: LaaLoosh

Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail's origin. Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos, was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar. There are several theories behind the origin of the name Mojito; one such theory holds that name relates to mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes. Another theory is that the name Mojito is simply a derivative of mojadito, Spanish for "a little wet", or simply the diminutive of "mojado"
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Rum Punch - Caribbean
Depending on whom you believe, planter's punch was either created by the wife of a Jamaican plantation owner, or at the Planter Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Regardless, this fruity punch has become a popular beverage to serve to guests throughout the Caribbean. Recipes vary widely, but they all contain rum, lime juice and a sweetener or other fruit juices. Found on most major Caribbean islands, this punch is refreshing and fruity without being too heavy on the alcohol. Easy to follow punch recipe.

Photo Credit: Examiner

Signature drinks are just that, YOUR signature! Name them, mix them, have a great time with trial runs....there is no right or wrong. The only requirement: Refreshing and Delicious. 

Go with the good stuff!