Your wedding planning checklist includes a gown, flowers, cake, brewery – wait, what was that last one? Local breweries are a flourishing trend in the NC Triangle right now – breweries abound in Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill – so here are some ideas of how to include them into your wedding weekend!

Dara Blakeley Photography

 For your Guests:
•    Party favors  – What better way to welcome your guests than by putting locally made   bottled or canned beer in their hotel goodie bags?
•    Brewery tours – Your out-of-towners don’t want to sit in the hotel until the wedding bells chime, so advise them to get a taste of the local flavor! Big Boss, Natty Greene’s, Bull City Burger and Brewery, Lonerider, Fullsteam and Triangle Brewing Company all offer tour and events, so check your dates and post details on your Wedding Website.

For your Event:
•    Top of the Hill – “Top O” is an iconic Chapel Hill institution. Their main restaurant and bar is ideal for a bachelorette outing, luncheon or even a casual rehearsal dinner. Their latest addition of the Back Bar and Great Room have taken their private event offerings to a new level. They now host formal rehearsal dinners, weddings and receptions in these spaces, which accommodate up to 350 guests.And best of all, your event is complemented with Top of the Hill microbrews. (On another note, if you want to take it up a notch, Top of the Hill now has a distillery and its product is available in stores!!)
•    Brew-Fest – Have your friends and family gather atone of the local brewery bars following the rehearsal dinner, or as the wedding after-party. Some locations may be able to reserve space for a small fee.

For the Menu:
•    Keg Beer  – Breweries including Full Steam, Triangle,Carolina, and Bull City offer keg beer that can be purchased for your event depending on what is in stock and in season on your wedding date. Have your professional caterer coordinate about a month in advance.
•    Bottled Beer  – A popular route for alcohol service is to bring in bottled beer. Your ABC licensed caterer can assist in ordering a variety of delicious local beers in this form,such as Big Boss, Carolina, Red Hook, Triangle and Lonerider.
•    Beer & Food Pairings  – If you book your event at The Great Room at Top of the Hill, talk to their staff about how best top air the menu with the perfect beer flavors. Their culinary team even cooks some of its dishes with beer. Instead of a wine pairing, make it all about beer – a refreshing and fun new angle!

Take it to the Next Level:
•    Professional Bar Service – To be extra safe, consider hiring a professional service to run your bar. Hire POUR and they will take care of getting the beer (or wine/ liquor) you want, and serving it according to all of the NC laws and regulations!Read more about their services here.