Hi everyone!
As promised here's my post-wedding update
And yes, my sober date remains unchanged
The ceremony was lovely, short and very sweet. However in the time it took for the photos to be taken and for everyone to make it to the reception there already a few rather tipsy people, compounded by the free shots at the end of the reception line. My step-mum-in-law was there to give me a heads up about the shots so I could just avoid any awkwardness and head into the hall, which was wonderful.
The reception itself was very boozy, my girlfriend went to the bar for me and the barman was quite taken aback at the order of two Pepsi's, joking that they were the only soft drinks he'd served so far that day. He was an absolute Godsend for the whole evening, making the best virgin Caesars I've ever had and not once did I have to worry about him making me an alcoholic drink by accident
I did ask my girlfriend to taste my drinks if neither of us had watched them being made, just to be safe and I was very careful to keep my drink in my sight at all times so as not to confuse it with an alcoholic one belonging to someone else.
As challenges go, I don't think I will ever go to a wedding with more alcohol consumption than this one lol, so I'm actually glad it came along when it did as despite my fears beforehand I made it through the night with no disasters. It was a longer day than I was hoping for as there were activities and speeches between each course of the meal so the reception ran from about 5pm but pudding wasn't served until around 10pm followed by coffee and the first dances. We left after we'd had a little dance, at around 1030.
I wouldn't say I had fun, but it certainly wasn't the hell I was expecting. I was mostly bored as I was unable to take part in some of the silly games and a lot of the conversation was drunken nonsense of the kind I used to be a master of (and miss very much now I'm all sober and shy), but it was all very good humoured and pleasant. I just kept reminding myself that I was there for the bride and groom who had been kind enough to share their day with me, and that it was only for a few hours. I had my escape plan ready and I made sure to get outside for walks in between courses - the smokers were heading out regularly too, so no one even noticed. I was concerned I would come over as much too quiet and introverted as I'm quite shy when I don't drink but as the night wore on I was reminded that drunk people mostly just want to talk and have someone listen, so I was more than happy to be a sounding board and be of service that way.
It was lovely to come home and not just pass out and it was even lovelier not to wake up hungover the following morning. I did find the whole thing very exhausting mentally, but I'm OK with that, if it takes me a few days to feel 100 per cent again then so be it. If I'd still been drinking it would take me a lot longer to get over it.
So, in conclusion (or the TL/DR version):
There's a wealth of helpful tips on this thread, they really helped me and will hopefully help others too.
Being around very drunk people actually reduced my desire to drink. It was sobering (pun fully intended) to see how I used to behave and not just on special occasions like most of the people at the wedding, but just because the day ended in 'y' or some equally daft 'reason'.