Buying wine for our wedding reception

skinnylenny

Hi Everyone,

My girlfriend and I are getting married next summer and was looking at the option of buying the wine for our reception ourselves to save a bit of money. we have asked the manager of the venue and she said this would be no problem and would not charge us corkage. so i was just wondering has many people done this and where would be the best place to buy wine from at a good price. we went into the likes of lidl and supervalue and tesco to see if they would give us a deal if we bought 200+ bottles of wine off them and there was no room to bargain. Does anyone know any places we could bargain with?

Thanks in advance for any ideas suggestions

368100

skinnylenny wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

My girlfriend and I are getting married next summer and was looking at the option of buying the wine for our reception ourselves to save a bit of money. we have asked the manager of the venue and she said this would be no problem and would not charge us corkage. so i was just wondering has many people done this and where would be the best place to buy wine from at a good price. we went into the likes of lidl and supervalue and tesco to see if they would give us a deal if we bought 200+ bottles of wine off them and there was no room to bargain. Does anyone know any places we could bargain with?

Thanks in advance for any ideas suggestions

You're very lucky not being charged corkage. Go to France on the boat, no comparison with buying here.

Clareman

Most large chains won't be able to bargain cause of the central purchasing that they do, a local off license might be able to help. Personally I'd hold out until there's a wine promotion in Tesco and fill your boots, they do 20% off 6 bottles type deals the whole time. When I got married we got the wine through the Sunday Times Wine Club but with the way the currency is now I'd imagine that wouldn't be an option.

Either that or book a holiday to France and have a ball

cplwhisper

368100 wrote: »

You're very lucky not bring charged corkage. Go to France in the boat, no comparison with buying here.

Obrien off-licence are negotiable

GalwayGrrrrrl

We bought our wedding wine and champagne in France. We had to pay corkage but it still worked out cheaper than using the hotel for wine.

skinnylenny

Ya we were thinking tesco but that offer hasn't come up in a long time. We would like to try and buy it here less hassle rather than traveling. Might try the off licences thanks

enricoh

We bought our vino in a local wine shop, I know sod all about wine but the missus is into it. Worked out e8 a bottle red n white. A lot of people commented that it was top class n the missus was saying it was well worth the extra euro on Aldi, super valu stuff which she tried a few of. The guy was selling both for 12.99 in shop.
We had 170 at wedding n went through 80 odd bottles. So for under e100 it was well worth it.
Looked into France but wasn't worth the hassle we thought. Wine shop was in Drogheda, n I expected it to be pricier than it was.
Try your local shop, u might be surprised

jluv

skinnylenny wrote: »

Ya we were thinking tesco but that offer hasn't come up in a long time. We would like to try and buy it here less hassle rather than traveling. Might try the off licences thanks

I'd nearly bet money that the 25% off 6 bottles will come up right before Christmas in Tesco. And as it's for a wedding I think it's nice to be able to recognise the wine you are buying. Wold be nice to get something on offer for about 8 euro and then the 25% off..

80s Child

We bought all our wine in Super Valu. I knew the guy who was over the off licence in our local one. They do deals if you buy large quantities, I think there was a brochure in the store.

We bought 55 btls of Proseco, 90 white and 60 red.

The proseco was Grifon, we had Brancott Estate Savignon Blanc, and a 'nice' Rioja, or so I'm told!

Our total bill came to €1655, delivered to the venue. We had a wedding of 266 ppl and we had a few btls of each left over, nothing serious, maybe a box of red and white and a few of the proseco.

I know nothing about wine but a friend of mine who considers herself to be somewhat a 'sommelier' said they were excellent choices and she wouldn't be one to spare us the truth!

fits

We got ours in o'briens. We found them good to deal with.

ThunbergsAreGo

We went to Aldi/Lidl for ours, was cheap enough so didnt feel the need to bargain.

Got to do some good "research" as well

afatbollix

All the UK supermarkets are starting their own 25% off deals if you want to go up North.

stickybookmark

We got ours in the offers in Super Value. I suggest go into your local super value, ask to speak to the manager. He tipped me off when the next offers would be coming up. I then dealt with the off licence manager and she was excellent as well - gave me free bottles to taste for example. She also held the wine in their warehouse until my wedding date (that was only 2 months or so though). The wine worked out at 6-7 euro something a bottle (but we had to pay 12.50 corkage) we saved just over 300 euro by bringing it in ourselves.

You better make sure to buy your wine ASAP before Vradkar brings in that minimum 12 euro for a bottle of wine law?? Otherwise you'll have to go to France (assuming sterling exchange rates don't change in the meantime)

fits

stickybookmark wrote: »

We
You better make sure to buy your wine ASAP before Vradkar brings in that minimum 12 euro for a bottle of wine law??

What??? When?

Milly33

We purchased all the wine for our own wedding and it was defiantly worth it, without a doubt it ye don't have to pay corkage..

Surprised Supervalue were not more helpful, might be worth calling to another one maybe..

We went down all routes, we priced wine in the cash and carry, we priced how much as such it would be to get from France (since we would not normally go this was not really and option). Came down to getting the deals like buy 6 get 10% off... Supervalue is cheaper than Tesco's in this..

Then of course you have the wine decision, if ye aren't wine lovers or do not want a specific brand Id say work away with Aldi or Lidl but get one that is recommended, after that then go to Supervalue if you want the more main stream wines.

Below is what we got and what we paid from Supervalue. The one we went to was very helpful they held the wine in all until we needed it.. Also the Processco which in fairness the Grifin one is the best value around, is cheaper there when the deal is on. And watch as the pink one is slightly cheaper than the reg one.

Campo Viejo rioja = €263.88 (for 36 bottles) (108 glasses) /3
Wolf Bass Chardonney = €422.82 (for 54 bottles) (162 glasses) /3
Total = €686.68

We were buying wine for lets say a weekend event and we had plenty and in too much, based for around 100 people haha we were drinking wine for weeks

Black_Knight

We went to France on the ferry to get our wine! Brilliant idea, and great fun. No need for a stay over if you want to save on expenses, we sailed on a Friday, landed Saturday morning, and sailed back Saturday evening.

You've missed the last ferry from Roslare to Roscoff for 2015, but they start up again in May. Its off season for France, so I think 2 people and a car might be around €250-€300 (I booked early and sailed in September for €287).

There are loads of wine supermarkets minutes from the ferry terminal in Roscoff. We visited 2, and both had a large array of wines open for tasting. We planned on buying 50% wedding wine, and 50% for ourselves to make the the best of our trip. €3 is loads for a very nice table wine - infact we ended up spending €2.49 on our white, and €2.69 on our red. Both of which we've tasted with family since getting back, and without mentioning price (Or that it would be our wedding wine) they all loved it. Think we spent €4 a bottle on sparkling.

In all, we bought 40 boxes of wine, ranging from €2.49 a bottle, to €7.99 a bottle. This fit easily into a VW passat, with a suitcase in the boot. We could of got more, but I drew the line at 40 boxes purely because of what the car could handle weight wise.

If you're thinking of going and have any questions, just shout.

We're not paying corkage either. My sister went to France last month and picked it up. Under 3.50 a bottle for pinot grigio, pinot noir and granache. Spent under 400 in total.

Will be heading to Asda or Sainsburys this month for their deals on the fizzy stuff. Im near the border and travel to Derry and Belfast at least once a month so it's not an extra expense.

Have a look at the websites in calais, they pay your ferry fare if you spend a certain amount. Don't know if that's just travelling from UK but you may be able to negotiate with them in an irish crossing.

Mushy

Black_Knight wrote: »

We went to France on the ferry to get our wine! Brilliant idea, and great fun. No need for a stay over if you want to save on expenses, we sailed on a Friday, landed Saturday morning, and sailed back Saturday evening.

You've missed the last ferry from Roslare to Roscoff for 2015, but they start up again in May. Its off season for France, so I think 2 people and a car might be around €250-€300 (I booked early and sailed in September for €287).

There are loads of wine supermarkets minutes from the ferry terminal in Roscoff. We visited 2, and both had a large array of wines open for tasting. We planned on buying 50% wedding wine, and 50% for ourselves to make the the best of our trip. €3 is loads for a very nice table wine - infact we ended up spending €2.49 on our white, and €2.69 on our red. Both of which we've tasted with family since getting back, and without mentioning price (Or that it would be our wedding wine) they all loved it. Think we spent €4 a bottle on sparkling.

In all, we bought 40 boxes of wine, ranging from €2.49 a bottle, to €7.99 a bottle. This fit easily into a VW passat, with a suitcase in the boot. We could of got more, but I drew the line at 40 boxes purely because of what the car could handle weight wise.

If you're thinking of going and have any questions, just shout.

I'm looking into this option now, thats great advice. Ferry next September for €220 return (2 people in a car). That price doesn't include cabin if thats what would be wanted.

Is there a sort of exact/approximate amount of wine that would be needed? Going to have roughly 160-170 there. Don't want to overload on it, but don't want to scrimp either.

hurleronditch

Www.le20.fr

You've just missed the September sales, but massive choice of wines that you wouldn't get for €20 in a sh*tty super value sale. Some incredible bargains to be had and minimal shipping costs on big orders

First Up

Mushy wrote: »

I'm looking into this option now, thats great advice. Ferry next September for €220 return (2 people in a car). That price doesn't include cabin if thats what would be wanted.

Is there a sort of exact/approximate amount of wine that would be needed? Going to have roughly 160-170 there. Don't want to overload on it, but don't want to scrimp either.

Go to Cherbourg instead of Roscoff. Much better range of shops and you have the option of both Irish Ferries and Stena so more flexibility. I did a run with a mate for his wedding wine earlier this year. Went over with IF and back with Stena, with one night in Cherbourg in between. I would recommend that as the "booze cruise" schedule is very tight - only a few hours ashore, so any delay can be a disaster.

We took two cars and sailed about 9pm from Rosslare and got to Cherbourg next day in time to do some research that evening. Had a pleasant evening in Cherbourg and then spent a good part of the next day doing the buying and were back at the Ferry for about 5pm for the Stena boat home. We had done a lot of advance research and had settled on Auchan as the main place to buy. They had one of their bi-annual Wine Fairs at the time but we actually bought well outside that list.

We had been in touch with them in advance so they were expecting us. Between the two of us we spent about €6,000 so it was worth their while to treat us well. No extra discounts but their in-store advisers were great - gave us tastings and a couple of bottles to bring back to the hotel to sample more carefully. This was especially useful for the Champagne as there was a wide range and some tempting offers that didn't pass the taste test.

I have pretty good French and go to France often, so the trip was no bother. It was good fun (not in the "Sideways" class but still a nice few days.) Loads of wine left too!

There's a great range of shops as Cherbourg (unlike Roscoff) is a good sized town, so all the big stores are there. Check the dates for the wine fairs in places like Carrefour and Auchan but you also have Intermarché, LeClerc etc. I generally avoid the places aimed at British/Irish buyers but there's a good Normandie Wine Warehouse just across from Carrefour. These are all within 10 minutes drive of the Ferry so it is possible to have a fast turn around - if the sailings are on time. However for a more relaxed and enjoyable trip, I'd recommend the option of one night in France.

stickybookmark

Mushy wrote: »

Is there a sort of exact/approximate amount of wine that would be needed? Going to have roughly 160-170 there. Don't want to overload on it, but don't want to scrimp either.

Yep there are rules of thumb.
one good one I read on here given by a hotelier was that assume 1/3 of any crowd won't be drinking: the pregnant, the breastfeeding, the teetotallers, the old, the sick and the designated drivers.

Count the remaining 2/3 and then plan 1/2 a bottle per person.

First Up

stickybookmark wrote: »

Yep there are rules of thumb.
one good one I read on here given by a hotelier was that assume 1/3 of any crowd won't be drinking: the pregnant, the breastfeeding, the teetotallers, the old, the sick and the designated drivers.

Count the remaining 2/3 and then plan 1/2 a bottle per person.

Yes 1/2 bottle per head is generally used as the rule of thumb. The mix of white/red is harder to estimate so its wise to overestimate a bit.

For the trip to France this year, we essentially brought back as much as we could comfortably fit, on the basis that anything left over would find a good home. No point in wasting cubic capacity!

Black_Knight

Mushy wrote: »

I'm looking into this option now, thats great advice. Ferry next September for €220 return (2 people in a car). That price doesn't include cabin if thats what would be wanted.

Is there a sort of exact/approximate amount of wine that would be needed? Going to have roughly 160-170 there. Don't want to overload on it, but don't want to scrimp either.

Cabins can be cheap, 2 star, no window did us fine and was €32 each way I think. I have noticed when Irish Ferries do a 10% off deal that prices jump up. ie. Check your crossing and cabin prices with and without the 10% off deal. We booked without the 10% off and saved €50 or so. Cabins in the 10% off deal were €59 each way, and the crossing itself was more expensive.

FYI, we crossed on the last crossing of September (to Roscoff) and irish ferries had a free wine tasting going on. As much as ya wanted. It was in cahoots with a WBS Roscoff (wine shop).

First Up

That red bus always put me off - makes it look a pure booze cruise place flogging plonk to the uninitiated, but I know some people who speak well if it.
I've bought in the past from Roscoff Wine Seller just by the port but I think they may have closed.

Black_Knight

First Up wrote: »

That red bus always put me off - makes it look a pure booze cruise place flogging plonk to the uninitiated, but I know some people who speak well if it.
I've bought in the past from Roscoff Wine Seller just by the port but I think they may have closed.

We went to the red bus place (WBR) and red cash wine. Jean in there is well regarded, and his place is full of GAA jerseys, numberplates, hurleys, teddies, pictures etc. Lovely felly. Car park was full of Irish Regs.

First Up

Black_Knight wrote: »

We went to the red bus place (WBR) and red cash wine. Jean in there is well regarded, and his place is full of GAA jerseys, numberplates, hurleys, teddies, pictures etc. Lovely felly. Car park was full of Irish Regs.

That would put me off even more.

Black_Knight

First Up wrote: »

That would put me off even more.

He's really nice really. Helpful fella. The WBS is a bit more, get ya in, get yer money, get ya out.

Black_Knight

FYI. Here's what im talking about with Irish Ferries. I did both these bookings tonight. One with the FRANCEC16 discount code, and one without.
Both the screenshots below are for the same date, with a 1.9m high car, and a 2 start no window cabin, for 2 people.
10% off "discount"


No discount applied:

First Up

Black_Knight wrote: »

He's really nice really. Helpful fella. The WBS is a bit more, get ya in, get yer money, get ya out.

I don't doubt it. I just have a preference for places where the cars in the car park have French number plates.

Sainburys have started their 25% off deal.
http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/drinks/wine-champagne-special-offers#langId=44&storeId=10151&catalogId=10122&categoryId=18653&parent_category_rn=12192&top_category=12192&pageSize=30&orderBy=FAVOURITES_FIRST&searchTerm=&beginIndex=0

It suits me due to my location and I also have sterling but, have a nose and do some comparisons with exchange rate, etc, you may still bag a good deal.

For a comparison -

Laurent Perrier Non Vintage Champagne would be approx €29 at Sainsburys and it's on O'Briens Wine for €54.

First Up

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

Sainburys have started their 25% off deal.
http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/drinks/wine-champagne-special-offers#langId=44&storeId=10151&catalogId=10122&categoryId=18653&parent_category_rn=12192&top_category=12192&pageSize=30&orderBy=FAVOURITES_FIRST&searchTerm=&beginIndex=0

It suits me due to my location and I also have sterling but, have a nose and do some comparisons with exchange rate, etc, you may still bag a good deal.

For a comparison -

Laurent Perrier Non Vintage Champagne would be approx €29 at Sainsburys and it's on O'Briens Wine for €54.

That's a good price - not sure its exactly the same product but Auchan in France selling magnums of it for €65.