2 hour beer and wine at reception

I like getting a drink before I eat and also it gives people something to do while they wait to get called for the buffet. Not sure how large your wedding is but I’ve had to wait quite a while at some larger ones and it can get tedious without anything to occupy yourself with like a drink.

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Roughly 180 adults, about 20 kids. Reception venue is large and there are two separate bars- one in the main reception area, another in the "cocktail lounge". However, the schedule is kind of tight. Ceremony is at 5, should be done around 5:45, then drive to reception venue (about 15 minutes). Grand entrance is 6:15, buffet opens at 6:30...

Are you having a cocktail hour? Maybe you can have 1 hour before dinner and 1 hour after dinner. I've been to only open bar weddings and even then the bar isn't open during dinner, so i would save that hour and use it for after dinner.

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Also, do you think that it would be confusing though, if tables are being dismissed? People at the bar may not know that their table has been dismissed.

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No cocktail hour. Ceremony is RIGHT before. Pictures are done before ceremony

This sounds really confusing for your guests. Is the bar only open these two hours? Or is it only covered the 2 hours?

1. Cash bars don’t stop people from getting drunk- I’ve seen this at EVERY cash bar wedding I’ve attended.
2. Ask your venue how long they anticipate it taking your guests to go through the buffet. Even if you have 4 buffet lines, it could take close to an hour to get everyone through.
3. With buffet, you really can’t close the bar, especially if you aren’t having table service because people will be waiting (impatiently) for food

If you can’t increase the number of hours, which I really think you should, do it from 6:30-8:30.

You shouldn't do this for so many reasons. If I knew the bar was only going to be open for two hours, I would load up on drinks during those two hours. This isn't going to prevent anyone from getting drunk. If anything, it might make people get more drunk. It's also really confusing if you go back and forth between an open bar and a cash bar. I don't see how having an open bar for two hours and a cash bar for the rest of your wedding will appease your church friends (who I guess don't drink?). You should really properly host your guests with beer and wine for the entire reception.

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No no- there is two hours for free beer and wine. The rest of the reception is cash bar. Bar will be open until close.

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Beer and wine for the entire reception is incredibly expensive. As it is, we're already paying close to $9,000 for the reception. We just can't afford to have beer and wine all night. Bar is open all night, but it's just cash bar for the rest of the time. I know people would probably load up, but at least if they load up at the beginning then eat dinner or something, they won't be driving drunk. And yes, it's partially to appease our church friends because it's a little more "normal" to have beer and wine around dinner time than shots and hard alcohol.

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Reception said it will take an hour to get everyone through

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Yeah, it's about the money. Don't try to justify it with all the other reasons because it's about saving money. People driving drunk or not is not your responsibility and if there's a cash bar anyway, it won't make a difference.

If you're only going to have the bar open for two hours, have it for a straight two hours at the beginning of the reception, then switch to cash.

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That sounds extremely problematic. Here's a situation for you. Uncle Joe goes to the bar, grabs a beer, comes back to the table. Aunt Susie says 'Oh that looks good'. Uncle Joe goes 'It's an open bar, go grab one!'. Aunt Susie gets to the bar, orders her beer and is charged 7 bucks because it changed from open to cash bar in the last 5 minutes. Aunt Susie is gonna be pissed.

Also I agree with the above posters that this will not prevent anyone for getting drunk, and sadly would also not prevent anyone from drinking and driving if that is their thing. Honestly, when I hear excuses like this it just seems like people trying to justify not wanting to spend the money to host properly.

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Oh, another wrench in the plans.... Schedule is very tight... Toasts, cake cutting, and first dances are around 7:30/8pm.... I really wouldn't want people up at the bar during all that.

Can you extend it another hour? I would have it go from 6:30-8:30 because it would be so weird tracking times for free drinks if you broke it up. But I also feel that three hours with no drinks provided is a long time until closing. Our package goes by the hour and we can add or take away time as needed.

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Can't spend the money if I don't have it. I can't shell out another $5,000 just to have it open the rest of the night (yes it really is that expensive....)

View Quoted Comment You don’t get to dictate when people go to the bar though. You’re overthinking this. Most people don’t care about any of the things you mentioned.

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And yeah, fair enough. People would get pissed. However, our DJ will be emceeing and he will notify people "cash bar starting in thirty minutes" or something like that. I'll also have signs up so they are aware.

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Well that's extremely disrespectful if our guests are supposed to love and support us but would be rude enough to hang out at the bar during important times at our reception like that.

View Quoted Comment If you feel that way, you’re likely to be set up for a lot of disappointment at your wedding. Your cake cutting is not that important that everyone else needs to stop what they’re doing to watch you.