Pure Weddings: Why Sobriety Can Make the Best Celebrations
As a celebrant, I get paid to celebrate other people’s big days. I love it — having the ceremony ready, getting dressed up, make-up on, that “let’s do this” feeling.
But if I’m honest, I didn’t grow up loving any sort of party. They usually meant my mum going from a loving, funny, charming, kind, strong character of a wummin to a crying, paranoid, sick wreck who would stay in bed for days while we, as children roamed the streets, late at night, hunting for alka seltzer or askit powders!
Dragged up between the East End and the Gorbals as a child, “celebration” meant something very different. New Year, or New Fear as I called it, in our house was less Auld Lang Syne and more Auld Lang Crime.
It always started well. The cleanest house in the street — lino scrubbed to within an inch of its life. Cushions fluffed? Don’t be daft. If you wanted comfort you brought your coat.
A pot of peas on the go, sometimes, there’d even be a pie if there was any money to spare. A massive pot of soup ready for the first-footers, bubbling away like the star of the show.
The drinks brought out of hiding; a bottle of whisky for the men, Harvey’s Bristol Cream [sherry] for the ladies – Babycham for the weans – yes, I know (6% ABV) — pure sophistication personified and we weren’t even European yet!.
In later years I remember the whisky and sherry gave way to cans of Carlsberg, Lanliq and Eldorado. These modern refreshment, ensured the party was very quickly turned into a ‘super’ charged chaotic nightmare. Kids cowering on a pile of coats in the corner – trying to sleep, Babycham kicking in.
Fast forward 24 hours… soup on the ceiling, mum distraught, dad on the run (or in the jail). Not exactly the kind of Hogmanay they they advertise on that Visit Scotland site.
So yes — when I say there is a place for sober celebrations, I mean it. I’ve seen the other side.
And when it comes to weddings, there are real reasons to consider keeping it alcohol-free, especially if sobriety or alcoholism is part of family life.
7 Reasons to Have a Sober Wedding
1. Protects recovery
If someone close to you is newly sober, a wedding without alcohol gives them the best chance to enjoy the day safely.
2. Cuts the drama
No drunken arguments, no missing groomsmen, no guests falling into the buffet table.
3. Everyone remembers it
Literally. Nobody wakes up the next morning wondering who they kissed during Loch Lomond.
4. Children feel included
Weddings with fewer drunk adults are much more fun (and safer) for wee ones.
5. Showcases creativity
Mocktail bars, dessert stations, ceilidhs, silent discos — the fun comes from the activities, not the alcohol.
6. Lasting photographs
Your wedding album is full of smiles, not half-shut eyes and red faces.
7. Pure love, pure memories
When alcohol isn’t part of the equation, the focus stays exactly where it should be — on the couple and the commitment they’ve made.
With love,
Your Sober Celebrant
MM The Celebrant 