racey Mancini, senior catering sales manager for the Bernards Inn, Bernardsville, New Jersey, loves her job. “Besides corporate and social banquets, I help plan 45 to 50 weddings per year, and who doesn’t love being part of a wedding?” says Mancini. “It’s such an exciting time for the couple, their families, and friends. And if I can help make it as special as possible, it’s pretty exciting for me too!”

One way Mancini adds a special touch is by helping couples develop a signature cocktail for the wedding, a trend that is quickly becoming the norm. Luckily, with 22 years of bartending under her belt, Mancini doesn’t run out of creative suggestions for her clients.

“For instance, because the pomegranate is a Greek symbol of fertility, one bride wanted to incorporate it into her signature drink,” says Mancini. “We came up with the Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail, which is fresh pomegranate juice, Cointreau, and Champagne, with pomegranate seeds floating at the top of the flute.”

The cocktails were butler-passed as wedding guests arrived and were available throughout the reception as well. So that guests understood the symbolism, Mancini printed and framed the title of the drink, its recipe, and a bit of Greek mythology surrounding the pomegranate.

At a summery wedding held last August, Mancini suggested a “real” watermelon martini as the signature cocktail. Instead of using watermelon purée or liqueur as the base, fresh watermelon chunks were muddled, mixed with Ketel One Vodka, and splashed with a small amount of DeKuyper Watermelon Pucker Schnapps.

“To tie in the theme, the evening’s intermezzo was a watermelon sorbet served in a martini glass,” Mancini adds.

Tying in themes and meaning is really what signature drinks are all about. Mancini first asks couples if they have a cocktail with history in their relationship, but if nothing comes to mind, she brings it all together in other ways.

“I come up with a lot of drinks based on the wedding colors, matching the cocktail with the shades of the bridesmaids’ dresses and flowers,” says Mancini. Since rich browns are all the rage in wedding fashion, Mancini does a lot of chocolate martinis, making them extra special by rimming the glass with cocoa powder mixed with sugar and adding a piece of Godiva chocolate. She also finds upscale candies to match the wedding colors, placing them on the bar in martini glasses and surrounding them with votives.

One reception with particular sentimental theme value was the wedding of a New Orleans bride and groom shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The bride’s plans for marrying in her native city were destroyed along with her church and reception site, so Mancini helped her plan a new wedding in only six weeks.

“It was important to her that the reception symbolize her home as much as possible, so we came up with a Key Lime Martini for the signature drink,” Mancini says.

The drink was made with Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Stoli Vanil Vodka, Midori melon liqueur, and lime, pineapple, and orange juices. The rim of the glass was coated with sugar, and a lime wheel topped it off.

“If you closed your eyes while sipping it, it felt like you were eating a piece of key lime pie. For the bride and groom, it was a little slice of home.”

Ashley Brown Allen is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B.