Alcohol or not?

First of all, you can expect adults to handle themselves responsibly. It is not different than if they came to your house for dinner and had beer or wine. Would he tell them they cannot have a drink with dinner because he doesn't trust them to make their own responsible decisions?

You can get in trouble if someone you are serving alcohol to is underage.

ETA:some states hold you responsible for serving alcohol to intoxicated people. This would vary based on where you are.

You hire a bartender.

The unfortunate bottom line, I believe, is that anyone who gets popped for DD will try to sue anyone they can. I'm not entirely sure about that; there are some lawyers here who can probably answer that in a more intelligent way.

But you should have it. Even a little bit

I believe that situations like these are why most venues require day off insurance, and a licensed bartending company to serve the booze. It helps to shield the liability from the property owner.

We are in Florida. I hope there's a lawyer bride here that can give me an advise cause I don't want have a dry wedding I don't think is right

I'm not a lawyer.

However, I feel like if this were a thing, there'd be more PSAs and stuff about serving people alcohol in your house. You also can't physically restrain and keep people on your property, drunk or not. Finally, how can you possibly be responsible for other people's decisions?

Even if your sister bought the alcohol, you should still have a licensed bartender to serve. This is perhaps something to ask them. Your caterer might even be able to advise.

I'm not a lawyer.

You can be held responsible for financial damage your drunk guest causes upon leaving your home, so make sure you have adequate liability home insurance coverage. Contact your insurance broker, make sure your coverage is up to date and if it isn't you can purchase insurance to cover yourself in case of lawsuits stemming from your reception.

Then, hire a bartender and make the local taxi numbers available.

ETA: Increased home liability insurance is a good idea before any major party, as you can also be sued if a guest falls down, gets sick, is bitten by your pet, etc.

You can hire a licensed bartender even for your backyard wedding.

I mean, if someone breaks their ankle in your backyard they can sue you.

I thought this is what wedding insurance is for but I dont know if insurance covers this. I believe Alyssachu is a lawyer. If you add paging Alyssachu to your title she may be able to help you. I'm not sure though so I apologize if I'm wrong.

OG Alecia is an attorney but not sure which kind. I have heard of someone leaves your home drinking and has an accident, you could be liable. Not just the driver suing you, but anyone involved in the accident. I'm not sure if that is true and I am sure it is only if the person is over served at your home. Hire a licensed bartender. There won't be an issue. Then, no one will be over served.

Hire a licensed & insured bartender.

Do not have a dry wedding.

You would need to hire bartender and get some liability insurance. Or have a place for people to crash if they were drunk.

You can be sued for anything. A robber can break into your house and get attacked by your pet and sue you...doesn't mean they will win but it can be costly.

Have you ever had a party at your house and provided alcohol? If this is a backyard wedding, then the concept is similar. People don't always go, "HEY, IT'S A WEDDING! I'M GOING TO DRINK AS MUCH AS I CAN BECAUSE IT'S A WEDDING!"

My FBIL gets trashed at every party. And I mean ALL of them. Weddings, kids parties, Christmas. Luckily, his fiancé stays sober and drives when he does this. I understand the fear, but I sincerely doubt much can happen. Especially if you hire a licensed bartender.

@mrsfg and your expertise in this area is what?

When we hold large-scale parties, we have hired a designated driver. They came back to collect their cars when they sobered up the next morning.

Maybe you could do that and the bartender? Or at least have the card to a taxi service for people?

@MRSFG

They can actually sue you. Florida is one of the states that has social host laws in effect. A lawsuit is a very real possibility there every time you serve alcohol in your home.

Hire a licensed bartender. You can also hire a car service or Ubers for people who need help getting home.

You can probably Google the liquor laws for your area. For instance, in our province, you require a special occasion permit, and a licensed bartender to serve at your function. If you are hosting an event in your home and someone drives drunk, you as the host are held liable for what happens.

Please, hire a bartender. They are trained to recognize when someone needs to stop being served.

If you hire a professional bartender, they carry extra insurance. Also have rules, no shots, no doubles to lower you liability. More likely your sister's home owner insurance liability will be first on suit if something happens. Nothing can prevent you from beng sued, if guest over drinks drives and hurts themself or other but you can lower the risk. I am a lawyer but this is not legal advice.