Alcohol at a venue with no bar

Don’t do BYOB. Really rude. Hire a licensed bartender, work out roughly how much you’ll need (there are online calculators to help you with this) and buy from a liquor store which will buy back unopened bottles/cases. You don’t need a full bar, beer and wine only is fine.

How is byob any different from having a bar where they have to pay themselves?

Are you asking your guests to BYOB? Because that's what is considered rude as you're hosting the party and should provide it for your guests. Hiring a bartender would be the safest practice so they can help monitor sobriety. You can have an extra table set up for them to work at since theres no existing bar space.

View Quoted Comment It’s not. You shouldn’t do that either.

Rent a bar

I’d say look into hiring a bar with professional bartenders. There’s some really fun options for pop up bars! Also if an insured company is serving they would be liable for any incidents should something related to overserving unfortunately happen. There’s also services where you provide all the alcohol and they just serve it. I wouldn’t suggest BYOB, as a guest Id feel more like I was going to a BBQ or house party rather than a wedding.

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This! Definitely cover yourself and hire a professional.

Please do not do BYOB. That's for picnics not weddings.

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Exactly what Courtney said. If you provide the alcohol that is totally fine but you should have professionals serve it so that the liability for drunk driving is not on you. Plus you don't want to have yourself or your family have to worry about cutting people off from drinking! The bartenders will do that. My friend had this exact option. She had a barn wedding just a venue space. She got the bartenders through the catering service she used! I am not sure what to do about not having a legit bar space, you will be able to rent one that looks high top and has counter space behind it for the bartenders (my other friend had something like this for her cabin wedding in the woods).

View Quoted Comment She means you should not ask guest to buy there drinks. I don’t mind it but others do.

I don’t think BYOB at a wedding is appropriate.

Supply for everyone or no one, but definitely don’t supply for just a few important/“special” guests – that’s super rude.

Our venue didn’t come with a bar, so we hired an outside bartender who set up tables to make a makeshift bar, and we provided all of the alcohol

I'm getting married in a barn as well. We are providing beer and wine, and plan to do it self serve style. The bottled beer will be in a canoe filled with ice, and the wine will be on a small bar provided at the venue. We aren't doing liquor to save costs, but knowing our friends there will be a few flasks/bottles floating around. I went to a wedding at my venue in the past, and they did it exactly this way, and it was fun w/ no complaints from guests.

Another option would be to hire a bartender, and buy what you want to serve (beer, wine, liquor). *This is probably your best option.* The only reason we are leaning towards no bartender, is because of our set up. It's hard to justify spending the money on a bartender just to serve wine (since the beer will be colorfully displayed in a canoe). However, we haven't 100% decided if we will hire one or not just yet.

I do not suggest BYOB. I know it is costly to provide the alcohol, but that is just one of the costs of having a wedding!

You are hosting the wedding so you are responsible for supplying all of the food/drinks/alcohol. BYOB is rude, and to me send that message that your wedding is extremely informal. You can rent a bar. Most rental companies have movable/accessible bars that can be placed anywhere. Then talk to the caterer and ask them if they can provide bartenders or if you need to hire bartenders from a different company. You can provide beer and wine only, this is totally acceptable and cheaper than a full bar with liquor.

In my opinion, BYOB is not acceptable for a wedding ever. You are hosting a party & should provide the alcohol. I would just provide beer and wine and put beer in coolers and white wine in coolers and red wine on tables. If you are worried about people over serving or want to serve mixed drinks, I'd hire a bartender for the evening.

I've never heard of BYOB for a wedding? How would that even work? Everyone comes dressed up in wedding attire, lugging a cooler behind them? I would never do that. Sounds like a total pain for your guests. Rent a bar, hire a bartender and then buy at a minimum beer / wine.

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Both are in my opinion inappropriate for a wedding..... however, I think BYOB is way more inconvenient for your guests. You are asking me to go shop for my own alcohol, find ice / a cooler, pack it all up, and carry it to your wedding and then bring whatever isn't used back home with me. Do people just put their coolers next to their chair at dinner? For my 185 person wedding, I could have had like 100 coolers all over the place? Seems like a weird look for a wedding. Logistically it seems super odd. I don't mind doing that for a party /cook out but I have never seen or heard of a wedding that requested that.

View Quoted Comment Having a cash bar isn’t a good idea 💡 either. It’s super rude and tacky.

Personally I dont see the difference between having people pay for drinks at a wedding and byob. I went to a wedding that was byob. They served beer and wine (hired friends to bartend and bought liquor insurance to cover liability) and provided mixes and ice. Their invitations started that they were serving beer and wine and if you preferred your own you could bring it along. I filled a water bottle with my alcohol choice and it was just fine. It didnt feel rude or less like a wedding. It was a very informal wedding but if that's what you want who cares! Weddings are celebrations, there is nothing in the rule book that says you have to do it formal. Buy liquor insurance. You can do it online and it's about 150 bucks. Once you have that, hire bartenders for the night, and your set.