Planning a wedding can get very complicated, very quickly.

However, by doing your research early on and calling in the experts, things will quickly fall into place... or so I'm telling myself anyway. With that in mind, I recently spoke to talented sommelier Julie Dupuoy and it was the perfect opportunity to ask for tips on choosing wines for your wedding. With such a wide variety, it's hard to know where to start and Julie correctly advised that it's important to remember that whatever you do, you can't please everyone (advice that relates to all aspect of the wedding too FYI).

"When I got married, I was trying to please everyone expect myself and at the end of the day, you're not going to please everyone".

Julie went on to say that if your venue offers a corkage service, it's definitely worth considering. It might seem like extra work to go about getting the wine yourself but the chances are it will cut down on costs in the long run.

"I think what you should do is choose wine you are happy to drink, if you can negotiate with the place you are getting married re corkage, if that's something they offer." "Sometimes, you can get better quality wines when buying from the suppliers and then maybe negotiate to bring back unopened cases to them so you don't have to worry about the quantities".

Julie also spoke about what type of wines to consider and it's wise to remember that the season your wedding date falls during is worth taking into consideration.

"Avoid styles such as Chardonnay even if it's your preference as a lot of people don't like it. Maybe stay with an oak style of white wine. In terms of the red, it is a little more difficult. If you're getting married in winter, you might go for something more full-bodied than if it's summer where people will prefer something lighter. Rosé is a popular choice in summer so that's another option".

Julie works with Moet & Chandon and the Moet Hennessy champagne portfolio in Ireland (Moet, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Ruinart and Dom Perignon). Originally from Agen in the south west of France, she has been living in Dublin since 2004 and her CV is an extremely impressive read. Julie holds the title of Best Sommelier in Ireland since 2009 and in 2016, she finished 3rd at the ASI World Sommelier Championship. She founded her consultancy company Down2Wine in 2014, is a consultant with the 1 Michelin star Chapter One Restaurant and has also been working as a sommelier at the 1 Michelin star Greenhouse Restaurant since 2015. There's nothing she doesn't know about wine and champagne and chatting to her made for an interesting conversation where I learned a huge amount on the topic in just 40 minutes. Julie also recommended a number of wines that everyone should experience in their lifetime, some of which are under the radar and not as widely known as the household names you might be familiar with. More on that later...