Shots - are they ok at your wedding

So the last couple weddings I have bartended recently had issues with guests wanting shots.

I feel that shots are not needed at a wedding reception for the guests.   In my view, the receptions is a celebration of the bride and groom's union.   It should be decided by them if shots are acceptable to give out and to whom they are available too.

At 2 of my recent weddings the bride and groom opted to not have shots allowed at the wedding for the general guests.  They would only be allowed by select people the bride and groom gave permission too.   The designated person/people could then get shots from the bar, and distribute them as they saw fit to.

I like the option of no shots to the guests.  However a system needed to be in place to allow me the bartender to know who was the appointed person allowed to get shots.   It was difficult of the bar staff  to know who was allowed and not allowed to have shots.  At one wedding, only the grooms' sister was allowed to get shots and distribute them.  She even came to pour them herself so we could continue with the guests.  This worked well, however guests asking for shots were a little upset when shots were not handed out by my staff, but they saw others with shots.  We had to explain that only the designated person was allowed to provide shots to people.   They understood but were clearly not happy about it.

In future events I think some sort of notice will need to be posted at the bar explaining the shots policy.  If shots are allowed to specific persons, there will need to be a way of identifying who they are.   I think some sort of wrist band.  Maybe something discreet such as a special colored flower on the lapel or pinned to the specific people.    As the bartender I cannot remember specific persons without some sort of identifier.

I will need to research and come up with a policy on how to identify people for this type of special request.