The biggest hurdle for an average guy at an average wedding is not competition (lots of fools bring dates; I've been to a dozen weddings and brought a date once, to my sister's wedding) or cockblocking (Trotter's bartender occurrence...generally the bride, groom and all important parties are too tied up in the affair to keep an eye on everyone's doings), it's two things;
1) Always ask her age, don't ask me how I found this out the hard way. I will not give you details, but let's just say fathers and mothers spare no expense on the dresses of their 15 year old daughters on an affair as important as a wedding and don't mind if they dance and flirt a little.
I'm not on a registry...but I came pretty damn close.
2) Overdrinking. Every wedding I ever went to save for the most recent (and it was a laughably low-rent affair) had open bar. That, combined with the joy of the day and plenty of friends typically means that there's going to be pressures to drink, and you'd be surprised how fast you can put the drinks back when all they cost you is a $20 tip upfront. ALWAYS grease the bartender, even if you don't plan on having too much; they won't ruin your flow (like they did Trotter, and I'm not saying he didn't grease properly) and they'll serve you quick and with a smile.
That said, don't get too drunk and make an ass out of yourself. I've had receptions where I did this and I came away empty-handed, and I've had receptions where I kept it maintained and I was able to scoop myself up something nice for the end of the night.
My magic number, given that a large wedding has the average reception length of 4.5-6 hours, is one cocktail or glass of wine an hour (I'm a pretty big guy who can hold my liquor, so calibrate accordingly). Avoid beer unless you want to be yawning and shit.
1) Always ask her age, don't ask me how I found this out the hard way. I will not give you details, but let's just say fathers and mothers spare no expense on the dresses of their 15 year old daughters on an affair as important as a wedding and don't mind if they dance and flirt a little.
I'm not on a registry...but I came pretty damn close.
2) Overdrinking. Every wedding I ever went to save for the most recent (and it was a laughably low-rent affair) had open bar. That, combined with the joy of the day and plenty of friends typically means that there's going to be pressures to drink, and you'd be surprised how fast you can put the drinks back when all they cost you is a $20 tip upfront. ALWAYS grease the bartender, even if you don't plan on having too much; they won't ruin your flow (like they did Trotter, and I'm not saying he didn't grease properly) and they'll serve you quick and with a smile.
That said, don't get too drunk and make an ass out of yourself. I've had receptions where I did this and I came away empty-handed, and I've had receptions where I kept it maintained and I was able to scoop myself up something nice for the end of the night.
My magic number, given that a large wedding has the average reception length of 4.5-6 hours, is one cocktail or glass of wine an hour (I'm a pretty big guy who can hold my liquor, so calibrate accordingly). Avoid beer unless you want to be yawning and shit.