ASK THE EXPERT: How Do I Control An Out-of-Control Guest?


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Q: My soon-to-be brother-in-law gets a little out of control at weddings (or at any open bar), and I really don’t want him making a scene or, worse, grabbing the microphone. What’s the best way to keep that from happening at our wedding?

A: With help! Clue your wedding planner or DJ or bandleader in to the potential troublemaker in their midst, says Sheryl Garman, a Conshohocken-based wedding consultant. Also point him out to the bartenders, and ask them to keep his drinks week. You can even start to control the situation before the wedding begins, she says, by limiting the amount of alcohol available at that point in the day, and then serving soda or water on the bridal-party bus between the ceremony and reception. “Also, have your Uncle Fred or someone be on the lookout, and when your brother-in-law looks like he’s had enough to drink,” she says, “Uncle Fred can ask him to come sit and have some coffee.”

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