Ask Us: Serving home brews at your wedding
October 17 • 2011

Reader Sarah G. writes to us with a question we’re sure many couples are curious about: “We would like to serve our own homebrew at our wedding in Maine. How can we find out which, if any, venues would support this?”
Supplying homebrewed beer might seem like a great way to not only add a personal touch, but also simplify your bar menu and possibly save a few bucks. But as it turns out, there’s a whole host of legal issues involved in serving up those bottles of homemade ale.
We checked in with Maine’s liquor bureau, and discovered that vendors holding Maine liquor licenses are prohibited from handling home-brewed alcohol. So if you’re hiring a caterer or venue to serve your frosty beverages, you’re out of luck. An official with the bureau says he’s heard of caterers abruptly packing up and splitting from wedding receptions after couples break out the homebrews, fearful of being stripped of their licenses.
If you’re marrying at a private establishment, such as someone’s home or a rental hall, and you’re not hiring a licensed vendor, you can supply and serve your own alcohol, store-bought or home-brewed. But, you can’t charge for it, including asking for donations, and you’ll be assuming a fair amount of liability. (For a handy primer on Maine’s liquor laws, click here.)
Also consider gifting your home brews as favors or as tokens of thanks for your bridal party. Technically, the bottles shouldn’t share the premises with a licensed vendor, so it’s ideal to set up a table in a nearby room or hand them out as guests leave. Wedding receptions aren’t exactly high on the authorities’ list for raids, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
If all this legal talk has you discouraged, the easiest way to share your homebrews is probably to serve them at a private party the night before the ceremony or after the reception. That might not be what you had in mind, but then the only license you’ll have to worry about will be your marriage license.
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17/11/2011 at 7:57 pm Permalink
im trying to find the wedding that was a peachy orange color and sort of blue like color that was done on july 28 2010..im needing to find the flowers that were used in this wedding and id like to see more pics.
28/11/2011 at 10:20 pm Permalink
Yes! Meagan Gilpatrick of Maine Seasons Events styled that shoot with photographer Brea McDonald. I believe it was at the Barn at Walnut Hill in North Yarmouth, Maine. Meagan’s website is maineseasonsevents.com. Good luck!