Cash bar vs Open bar???

I have never been to a wedding that did not have an open bar, so a cash bar would never cross my mind. I think it depends on your area. My friends from New England (I’m in NJ) said their norm was open bar for cocktail hour and cash for reception. Never heard of that before. I would go with know your crowd and go with your budget

I think a cash bar is totally fine! I've never been to a wedding that was 100% open bar, so I don't think that's the norm in lots of circles, though it does seem to be so on these boards. I've been to some nicer weddings where we were given a drink ticket, or they had some beer & wine available for a while, and those were, in my opinion, nice perks.

Honestly, (sorry if this next bit reads a bit harshly but I'm passionate about it!) I don't buy the you're a bad host argument, because if I invite someone to my home for dinner, of course I offer something to drink, but it's from what I have available (sparkling water, lemonade, iced tea, etc.) and that doesn't automatically mean there is alcohol available, much less limitless alcohol. To me, alcohol is extra, so if you can't afford it, don't worry about it. It's nice if there's a little something to offer, but again, I see that as an extra perk, not necessary. I don't think a cash bar is tacky and no one in my circle would chide a college student for not being able to supply alcohol to a bunch of grown adults who can buy their own $7-9 drink if they want it. /endrant
We're trying to go the drink ticket route, though I feel you -- we have gone back and forth about this because we want to throw a good party for our friends and it feels like the bar plays a part in that. At the end of the day, though, we have to reckon where we want $**** of our money to go, and our values are not for that much to go toward alcohol.
If you're worried about it, go for a style of wedding where alcohol wouldn't be expected, like an early afternoon dessert reception OR find a place where you can supply your own. I just went to a cocktail style reception and they had unlimited mimosas and one other drink, then 2 others you could pay for, so very limited, plus desserts & small snacky items. It was very pleasant for an early afternoon wedding.

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Tips should be paid for by host/hostess. Expecting guests to shoulder this cost could lead to service staff not being tipped adequately. Please budget for this!

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I agree with this - as the host of the party, you should always ensure that the bartenders are tipped.

We made it very clear that we didn't want a tip jar on the bar, however instructed the venue and bartenders that they were welcome to accept tips from any guest that offered.

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Not True! We had open bar and my guest had no problem tipping the bartenders.

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It’s important to have funds budgeted for this though. Some people would assume if the host was paying for drinks, they’d also be appropriately paying and tipping the drink vendor. Maybe guests want to tip on top of that because they feel inclined but the hosts/hostesses should have money set aside to tip the bartenders.

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Like I said my guest did not care. They were happy to be drinking top shelf drinks at an open bar and had no problem tipping the bartenders.

I just said in another thread that I have been married twice, both times we had an open bar. Second wedding was a lunch with no dance so not a lot of drinking, lol. But a few people wanted beers with their lunch, or a glass of wine. Having said that, I am not offended by a cash bar. I would offer free beer and wine, that is satisfactory to most people.

I would also offer up to skip favors, a huge bridal party, paper items like programs and menus and put that money towards the food and drink.

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Agreed re open > cash! One thing I wanted to speak to - I'm from New England, got married in NE, been to 20+ weddings in NE. All full open bar for the whole reception except for one, and that was definitely noticed by other guests as being outside the norm! We typically do full open bar in my area.

I think it depends on you and your fiancés priorities. List and rank what’s most important to you two as a couple for your day. We went with a high end open bar. Alcohol, food and entertainment are priorities to us. We are cutting elsewhere, flowers are not important to me nor is a big dessert spread. Spend the money where you want, it’s your day

I don't like the cash bar idea, but budget and your guests need to be taken in to account.

Example - on a cruise there's alcohol packages with unlimited drinks for $X per person. We saved all our receipts and purchasing the package for both of us was cheaper than the amount of drinks 1 of us had the entire week.

Our open bar is $75/person for 5 hours. I know our guests will drink that much alcohol.

You need to know your guests. Do they drink a lot - then maybe open bar is worth it. If not, make them pay for what they drink.