Alcohol at wedding

I think beer and wine would be fine, I don't think you would necessarily need to hire a bartender for that though

I would say hire a bartender because if you use a family member it'll take away from them being able to enjoy the wedding. Also beer and wine is good if that's what your guests likes, that wouldn't work for myself, my husband, or guests though.

I would hire an actual bartender. Like a previous poster mentioned, if you have a family member or friend bartend that takes away from them being able to relax and just enjoy your wedding. Plus a bartender is going to be able to tell if someone needs to be cut off from drinking because even with just beer and wine people can still drink too much.

People get drunk on beer/wine as easily as liquor. But yes you do need a licensed bartender. You need to offer coffee and heavy snacks the last hour or you will be held liable for any accidents that occur afterwards.

What Michelle said. I would really think of having a licensed bartender for liability reasons. Just as a heads up, people can get just as drunk on beer and wine vs hard liquor. Hopefully there are taxis/ubers to take people back to the hotel!

I agree with getting a bar tender and that people can still easily get drunk with beer and wine. Our event ends pretty late and people will need to get back to their hotel so we were thinking about making arrangements with a local taxi company to get our guests back to their hotels safely or providing them with a number for the company (none of our guests will have a vehicle).

Thank you for this!
My thing is, I wanted to have a dry wedding but everyone has told me that’d be no fun and hotels/motels are 15 minutes away from the venue in each direction… I’m thinking I can do a cocktail hour plus an hour during dinner therefore people can sober up. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Hi there! Usually the bar closes about an hour before the end of the reception. Are you planning to close the bar right after dinner? Do you have taxis in the area? Is it somewhere rural? If there are taxis then I would let the bartender manage the guests. My concern if that if you close the bar abruptly people might be kind of taken aback.

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Taxi's or rideshares are not available in the area. I would want to close after dinner so people have time to sober up before having to drive. I'm gonna have it posted on my wedding website.

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Gotcha. It's a "know your crowd" thing for sure, but if you're interested in keeping the party going you might want to hire a shuttle for the night? My concern is the party ending early. Unless you're expecting a dinner and early night which is fine.

I don't think a bartender is necessary for beer and wine, but if you don't 100% trust guests to moderate themselves then I think hiring a bartender is worth it. You shouldn't put a family member in a position of cutting off guests who've had too much - its a lot of responsibility and not really the best way to enjoy your wedding.

I would also definitely purchase wedding insurance if you haven't yet done so. It will provide some legal protection, just in case, which is worth the small cost compared to possible liability when serving alcohol and using family property.