Can we talk drink packages? How much was your open bar

We wound up doing beer and wine and a cash bar for liquor. A lot of our guests were fine paying for a mixed drink if they didn't want beer or wine. We paid $24 per person for the 4 hours of service.

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Absolutely!

We're paying $35 pp for full open bar. That doesn't include the tax/service charge/bartender fees. Costs seem to vary a ton based on where you live.

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I live in Northern VA and those prices would be TO DIE FOR. Most bars around here start around $6-7 for a beer.

I can't provide much insight on what packages around here cost, as our venue was a set all inclusive price for rentals, food and beverages.

That seems high. Ours is $21 for beer and wine, or $29 for full open bar. Can you do a consumption bar? So have it open for as long as you can afford it? We are in Denver, btw.

View Quoted Comment I didn’t think of this, I will ask the venue about this.

View Quoted Comment Our area is highly competitive and I started looking at venues I thought would be in my price range. Between $27 and $45 a plate plus bar costs. Many were country clubs/gulf clubs. We did not want a banquet hall. Our city is also home of Budweiser so no one charges more than $5 for bud (unless it's a sports stadium). We also have several wineries less than 2 hours away and it's become chic to support local (and cheap if they buy local wines).

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Open bar just means that there's no cost to the guests. It can be a full open bar (all forms of alcohol) or a limited open bar (e.g. only wine and beer offered). It's what the guest sees.

How you pay for an open bar is either through consumption (charged per drink) or with a flat rate per person attending (e.g. $28 per person for unlimited wine and beer).

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Find out about the cost per drink; consumption bar can be dangerous, depending on your crowd and the cost per beverage, and can end up costing you significantly more than it would cost with a flat rate.

View Quoted Comment Hi Shannon! Do you mind sharing your venue? I’m looking for my wedding venue next fall. I’m having a hard time finding affordable in house catering with open bar. My friends drink waaaaay to much.

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Hi Rachel, are you in the DC area? My venue is Belmont Country Club! There are tons of country clubs in the area that are similarly priced all inclusive where you pay one price per person, and it includes food, drinks, rentals, all of it. We also looked at Old Hickory Golf Club, 1757 country club, Westfields County Club and Evergreen County Club, all of which we loved