Wine may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you begin compiling your wedding DIY project to-do list – but it should be. After all, free-flowing libations are critical to any great party.

Creating your own wedding wine is actually the most simple way to add a personalized element to your celebration – and while, sadly, your guests may not even notice the 40 yards of cloth bunting you spent months painstakingly sewing by hand, you can be sure they’ll take note of the alcohol.

Here are five more reasons DIY wedding wine should be on your radar:

1. It’s budget-friendly
First things first: making your own wedding wine will actually save you money! For example, to create a blend that would typically cost $20 per bottle at the liquor store, you’ll pay approximately $5 per bottle at a wine-making retailer.

 

2. It’s just as delicious as store-bought varieties
With access to high-quality grapes from vineyards around the world, wine-making retailers pride themselves on helping their customers create a range of incredibly flavourful wines with great body, bouquet and character that are comparable (and often better) than store-bought wine. Working with highly-trained wine-making staff, you can create anything from a full-bodied French merlot to a crisp Italian pinot grigio.

 

3. It’s the world’s easiest wedding DIY project
Wedding craft projects always seem like a good idea, until, in the frantic final days before your celebration, you’re stuck in the basement at 4am trying to finish those custom centrepieces that looked oh-so-simple on Pinterest. Happily, when it comes to DIY wedding wine, all the grunt work is left to the pros. You’ll make your vino in two appointments: the first involves selecting the type of wine and mixing the ingredients under the supervision of your chosen retailer, which takes about 15 minutes. Roughly four to six weeks later you’ll return to bottle your wine. This is the fun part. It takes approximately an hour depending on how much wine you’ve made and how many helpers you have. You’ll then need to let your wine age in the bottle for four to eight weeks before serving it at your big day.

 

4. It can be designed to perfectly match your wedding theme and menu
One of the best parts about making your own wedding wine is that you can craft it to pair perfectly with the food you’ll be serving at your reception. For example, you could opt for a full-bodied red to complement your barbecue spread or a delicate white to enhance a seafood feast. Go a step further and customize your wine labels to perfectly match your reception decor.

 

5. It’s a fun date night project
Let’s be honest: your guy does not want to spend Friday night sitting at the dining room table covered in hot glue and glitter. But imbibing in the name of wedding research? Now that is a task he can get behind!