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Dedicated September 2023

Bar options

Taylor, on April 20, 2023 at 2:28 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 1 8

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I am getting married in September and plan to have 125 people invited. I know 10-15% will decline the invitation which leaves us with like 100 - 115 actually in attendance. We really want to avoid a cash bar or only having an open bar for a portion of the night. I personally do not like wine or beer so we are trying not to limit in that sense. Our venue will not let us bring outside alcohol but we can limit the "quality" of what people can order. We are planning to have middle of the road liquor not well drinks but not top shelf either. Most of my family does not drink at all so I would say about 10-15% of our guests will not have alcohol or will maybe have 1 or 2 drinks. How much did others spend to have an open bar? Just want to make sure my budget is going to be enough.

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Latest activity by Chris, on April 15, 2025 at 2:51 AM

Super May 2023
Pat · on April 20, 2023 at 4:43 PM
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My pricing was including the open bar. We are having a plated meal with the higher end food choices. We are paying $119.00 per person. The bar brands will be just fine for our guests. Personally, if they are going to be fussy about "top shelf" liquor they should go buy that drink themselves. (not to sound snotty, but seriously! LOL)
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Master October 2023
Cece · on April 20, 2023 at 4:58 PM
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We had top shelf open bar and it was $35/person for 4 hours. I believe the middle tier package was $25/person.
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Dedicated September 2023
Taylor · on April 20, 2023 at 5:02 PM
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I’m in my mid twenties as is my fiancée and most of our friends. We are used to cheap liquor lol.
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Dedicated September 2023
Taylor · on April 20, 2023 at 5:03 PM
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Thanks our reception is a whopping 6 hours so I know the price may rack up quick
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Super May 2023
Pat · on April 21, 2023 at 12:46 AM
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Psssssattttt .... we're all in our 60's, and cheap liquor is just fine with us as well. Now food? That's a WHOLE different story!!
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Dedicated September 2023
Taylor · on April 21, 2023 at 7:10 AM
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Yes we want the food to be really good so we were willing to splurge and don’t want anyone drinking on an empty stomach!
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Super March 2022
JA · on April 21, 2023 at 10:16 AM
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If you have an open bar, you will be charged per person in attendance, and not per person who is drinking. So budget to pay for all guests.
Some venues allow you to pay for each drink after the wedding, so you still get an open bar, but pay the tab after. Depending on your crowd that may be better if it is an option.
For a city wedding, we paid about 150/pp for food and open bar
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Dedicated September 2023
Taylor · on April 21, 2023 at 10:19 AM
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Yes our venue only does consumption bar which may be a good or bad thing. Like I said a portion of our guest list are non drinkers but the ones who do drink may make up for them and then some so its hard to judge
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