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Wedding Bar Sign: Six Ideas by Bar Type
Guests want to know what they can order before they reach the bartender, and a slow, confused line is the last thing you want at cocktail hour. A wedding bar sign tells them what is being poured, and what it lists depends on your bar. A full open bar needs drink categories, a beer and wine bar names each wine and beer, and every signature drink needs a name plus its ingredients.
Your bar sign should list what is actually poured, in the order guests decide. Start with your bar type. Each type below needs different lines, and the table at the end sums them up. Two rules hold for all of them. Give every drink a name a guest can say out loud, and write out anything someone might be allergic to.
1. Signature drinks sign for a cocktail hour
A signature drinks sign is the one bar sign guests truly need. Nobody can order "The Orchard" without being told what it is. Many couples choose two, one for each of you. Three or four still read well if every name stays short.
Give each drink two lines. The first is its name. The second is what's in it, spirit first: "Gin, elderflower, cucumber, sparkling water." Guests choose by spirit, so the spirit is the word they look for.
Keep names to one to three words. Names from your story work best, such as your dog, the street you met on or the city you're from. A pun that needs explaining slows the line down.
| Where the name comes from | Example name | Ingredient line |
|---|---|---|
| Your dog or cat | The Biscuit | Bourbon, maple, orange bitters |
| Where you met | The Fifth Street | Vodka, lemon, raspberry, soda |
| Your hometown | The Savannah | Rum, peach, lime, mint |
| How you got engaged | The Porch Swing | Bourbon, honey, lemon |
| A mocktail for everyone | The Garden Party | Cucumber, lime, mint, tonic |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists nine major food allergens. They are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. The FDA page explains that the labeling law covers packaged food. Most food that a food-service business serves without a label is left out. A drink mixed at your bar has no label, so your sign is the only place a guest can check.
2. Beer and wine bar sign that names each pour
A beer and wine bar looks simple, so couples often skip the sign. Then every guest asks "What red do you have?" and the line stops. A short sign answers that before they reach the front.
Name each wine by color and grape, as in "Red: Pinot Noir. White: Sauvignon Blanc. Rosé." Add the winery only if you chose it for a reason, such as a trip you took. List beers by style first and brand second, such as "Lager, IPA, cider." Plenty of people know the style they want and not the brand.
Add the non-alcoholic choices on the same sign. Sparkling water, soda and a juice belong on it too. Anyone not drinking should see their options in the same place.
3. Full open bar sign that lists categories
Listing every bottle on a full open bar makes a sign nobody reads. Name the categories instead, such as vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, wine, beer, soft drinks. Guests who want a specific brand will ask, and the bartender knows the shelf.
A category list fits in about eight short lines. That leaves room for one or two house cocktails at the top, which is where most guests look first. If your caterer sets the bar, ask them for the final list a week ahead. Bottles change, and a sign that promises a drink the bar doesn't have causes more questions than no sign.
4. Signature drinks plus a beer and wine line
Cocktails with a beer and wine backup is a popular middle ground. Two or three cocktails lead, and beer, wine and soft drinks sit in one line below them. The sign puts the cocktails first, because they are the reason it exists.
Our printable wedding signs pack includes a signature drinks sign built this way. It holds up to four drinks, each with a name and a line of ingredients, and one line for the rest of the bar underneath. You type the wording into the personalizer and watch the sign fill in the preview.
5. Dry wedding sign for a mocktail bar
A dry wedding still needs a bar sign, maybe more than a wet one. Guests who expect wine will scan the bar first. A sign full of good choices tells them right away what to look forward to.
The Emily Post Institute's advice on a non-alcoholic reception says it's fine to forgo liquor, for religious, cultural, personal or budget reasons. It adds that your guests' comfort should be a primary concern. A generous sign is one way to show that.
Write the sign exactly like a signature drinks sign. Give each mocktail a name and its ingredients, such as "Ginger, lime, mint, soda." Leave out "no alcohol" as a headline. Guests read what's there, so lead with it. Lemonade, iced tea and coffee can share the bottom line.
6. Self-serve drink station labels
A drink station with dispensers, such as lemonade, iced tea, sangria and water, works without a bartender. That makes labels more important, because nobody is there to answer questions. Each dispenser needs its own small card, and the station needs one sign that says what it is.
Mark anything alcoholic clearly. A pitcher of sangria next to a pitcher of fruit punch looks the same to a child. Put "with wine" or "with rum" in the drink's name line, not in small type below. Use 5 × 7 in cards on stands at each dispenser, at the height of the tap.
What size reads from the bar line
Most guests read a bar sign twice. They read it from the line, a few steps back, and again at the counter. Plan for both distances.
The federal accessibility standard for building signs is a useful yardstick here. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design set a minimum capital-letter height of 5/8 in for signs read from under 6 feet. For signs mounted between 40 and 70 inches off the floor, each extra foot of distance adds 1/8 in. Worked out for a guest 10 feet away, that is capitals at least 1 1/8 in tall.
Few 8 × 10 in drink lists have capitals over an inch tall, and they don't need them. The heading carries from the line. The drink names and ingredients are read at the counter, from 2 or 3 feet. So place one sign on the counter at the end where guests order. Then put a second copy on an easel at eye level where the line forms, so guests choose while they wait.
The ADA standard also asks for a non-glare finish and strong contrast. Matte card with dark ink reads better under bar lights than glossy photo paper. For a sign behind a bar that must carry from across the room, a 5 × 7 in or 8 × 10 in print is the wrong size. A large poster or a printed board from a print shop fits that job better.
A bar sign answers the question every guest would otherwise ask the bartender.
How to choose a wedding bar sign for your bar
Pick the row that matches what your caterer or bartender will actually pour.
| Bar type | What the sign must list | What to leave off | Size and placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signature drinks only | Each drink's name and ingredients, spirit first, allergens named | Prices, long stories behind the names | 8 × 10 in on the counter, second copy where the line forms |
| Beer and wine | Each wine by color and grape, beers by style, soft drinks | Vintage years, tasting notes | 8 × 10 in or 5 × 7 in on the counter |
| Full open bar | Spirit categories, house cocktails, wine, beer, soft drinks | Every brand on the shelf | 8 × 10 in, or a print-shop poster for a long back bar |
| Signature drinks plus beer and wine | Two to four cocktails, then one bar line | A full list of wines | 8 × 10 in, two copies at a long bar |
| Dry wedding | Mocktail names and ingredients, coffee and tea line | "No alcohol" as a headline | 8 × 10 in on the counter |
| Self-serve station | One label per dispenser, alcohol marked in the name line | Recipes | 5 × 7 in at each dispenser |
If you're also printing other signs for the day, the guide to which wedding signs you actually need ranks them from must-have to optional. For the food side, the wedding menu cards guide covers what goes on a dinner menu.
Our signs pack with 10 printable wedding signs costs $15 per design, in four designs, and includes the signature drinks sign. After you pay, a download link arrives by email. You open the personalizer from the downloaded folder in Google Chrome on your computer, type your drinks, click Download PDF and print it at Actual size (100%) on cardstock or photo paper. It comes as 8 × 10 in, 5 × 7 in or a full Letter or A4 sheet, and a JPG at 300 ppi for a print shop. The files are for your own wedding only.
Frequently asked questions
What to put on a wedding bar sign?
What you actually serve, in the order guests choose it. For signature drinks, give each one a short name and a line of ingredients with the spirit first. Then add one line for the rest of the bar, such as wine, beer and sparkling water. Name any nut, egg or dairy ingredient.
Do you need a bar sign at a wedding?
You don't have to have one, but it helps as soon as you serve more than one thing. With signature drinks it is close to essential, because guests can't order a drink they don't know exists. A self-serve drink station needs at least a label on each dispenser.
What size should a bar sign be for a wedding?
An 8 × 10 in sign on the bar counter works for a menu that guests read up close. If you want it readable from the back of the line, about 10 feet away, the capital letters need to be over an inch tall, so add a second copy on an easel where the line starts or use a large poster for a short list.
How to display a drinks menu at a wedding?
Put one copy on the bar counter at the end where guests order, in a frame or on a small easel, and a second copy at eye level where the line forms. Matte card is easier to read under bar lights than glossy photo paper.
Conclusion
Start from your bar type, not from a design. A full open bar needs categories and brands, a beer and wine bar names each pour, and signature drinks need a short name with the ingredients written out. Put any of the nine major allergens on the line, add one line for everything else, and print the sign for the two places guests read it, at the counter and where the line starts. For a dry wedding, list what you serve as generously as you would cocktails.
