2 hour open bar?

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Is 2 hour open bar ok? Basically through cocktail hour and dinner then switch to cash bar.
We would let our guests know ahead of time so they can take complete advantage of this time.

In my personal opinion, it is never okay to invite people to an event and ask them to purchase their own drinks. I would do beer and wine only to cut back on cost.

View Quoted Comment This is beer and wine only.

Can you do a consumption bar? $1000 per hour for 40 people sounds like an awful lot.

View Quoted Comment It could be an option.

That doesn’t sound right that it’s that much per hour. We live in a HCOL area and our venues highest open bar package was $50pp for 4.5 hours.

View Quoted Comment It's 28 pp per hr

Yeah that is very high for only 40ppl--- I would triple check that it's correct or compare it to other companies in the area.

View Quoted Comment Thank you.

View Quoted Comment I would do that rather than pay that outrageous price. That way you only pay for what people actually drink.

I would definitely double check that price. My DH and I considered adding an extra hour to our reception and the bar price was $1000 for 230 people. We also only had beer and wine with at least 5 selection for beer, red wine and white wine. But I would do what PP said and do a consumption bar and see if that cuts costs.

View Quoted Comment Yeah that’s high. And for beer and wine only?! I would double check but ALSO

Can you find out the per drink costs of it was cash or consumption bar? Do you know them? I think consumption will absolutely be your best bet. If drinks were $7/each, that would be 4 per hour...which means everyone would have to drink EIGHT drinks in those 2 hours to break even which is....a lot. As long as the per drink costs are moderately reasonable (like under $10) , consumption definitely sounds like the way to go ...even if each drink WAS $10 (Which seems high), a $2000 consumption tab for the whole night would be 5 drinks per person. Some will drink more, some less, so you’re probably not exceeding that number by a ton in the end

Yikes- I don’t think it is a big deal for only 2 hours of open bar as long as people know- but that bar amount seems VERY high!!! I would negotiate on that for sure!!

Can you do a consumption bar? Just open a tab and pay the bill at the end of the night?

If cutting guests isn’t an option, increase your budget.

View Quoted Comment I personally wouldn’t do this but if that’s all you can afford then it is what it is. I’d check to be sure what the price is pp per hour since it seems like a lot of people are doubting your numbers are correct (and if they are then it is what it is).

If you give your guest notice (on the invitation) that there will be a cash bar then they will come prepared for that. And if anyone thinks you’re being cheap for having a cash bar they can get lost. Honestly, weddings are VERY expensive and everyone needs to remember what’s important, the two people getting married.

I agree this price seems high. I had my reception at the Fairmont where the price for the most expensive bar package was $28 per person for the 1st hour, and then each hour it went down. I also had 40 people. My total beverage cost for the night (including a hot chocolate/cider bar package) was $2,863. This was from 4:15 p.m. to 11 p.m. Perhaps you're misreading this number? Or the number goes down each hour like mine did?

View Quoted Comment Wow! Beer and wine was only $10 pp for the entire reception. I'm doing mimosas and a bloody Mary bar instead since it's a brunch

What are the price points for the bar? Depending on that a consumption bar may be in your behavior. Are any of the 40 old or very young?

Agree that there may have been a misunderstanding of the cost structure. We're very fortunate to be having our wedding at a fairly pricey hotel in Orange County, and our full, Premium bar is $18 pp for the first hour, then $14 pp after that. I cannot imagine that a soft bar would be nearly double that.