Cash bars vs open bar or no alcohol at all?

We're most likely not specifically providing alcohol. It's expensive and if my FFIL wants it, he can pay. We are planning to do an after party at a local bar, but that is on the guests to pay for their own drinks.

Open bar. This is coming from someone who doesn’t drink and neither does my fiancé but a good portion of our guest list would need alcohol that they didn’t have to pay for. Cash bars are tacky.

Im going with cash bar and open bar

I would do dry before cash, but that is just me. We are doing a full open bar.

Can you do at least beer and wine?

Either way you go I would tell people so they know

Honestly, we're doing a cash bar. If people want to drink they should be able to, but I don't believe in open bars.

Please don't do a dry wedding, if you absolutely have to do a cash bar let people know to bring cash to your party. I would be surprised if I showed up to a wedding and there was a cash bar, so I would need to go to the ATM.

I have been to a cash bar wedding, and it didn't seem to phase the guests.

My sister had a dry wedding, and again it wasn't an issue. Nobody left early.

You could do a compromise and put so much money behind the bar, and once that amount has been drunk, anything additional is paid for by the guests.

It is up to you but if you do have alcohol, it should be an open bar vs a cash bar.

Cash bars are definitely tacky. It's rude to expect guests to pay for anything--they're already giving gifts and often paying to travel to the wedding. One way I guess you could go is to offer free wine and beer and do cash bar for liquor. That way people can have wine and beer but the option to pay for other things. Or just do wine and beer. No one needs liquor.

It’s your call, your wedding. But personally I’d rather a cash bar than no bar for sure. Cash bars are pretty frowned upon where I’m from. I would at least try to do beer and wine. What are your reasons for not wanting alcohol? If you’re saying you drink and everyone in your area drinks, why wouldn’t you have alcohol at the wedding?

My fiance and I LOVE to drink and so do our families. To have a dry wedding would be the talk of the year. To have a cash bar would be very rude to our group and just unheard of. So we're having a signature drink with spiced rum, two kinds of beer, red and white wine on the tables and also rose and white sparkling wine. That's more than enough for our guests.

Our package already comes with 2 hours open bar but we might look into extending it just a bit and after that time frame is over, it would be a cash bar or they'll have drink vouchers. Of course, we would let our guests know ahead of time that open bar will be limited. Maybe that's something you can also look into as well, doing a little half and half kind of thing. I'm neutral about cash bars to be honest. Either your guests will understand or they won't. Good luck!

I have never been to a wedding with an open bar. I think it's fairly common around here to expect to buy your own drinks at a wedding. I have never been insulted, offended, or put off by having to dish out $20 for drinks. Plus, it's a personal choice to drink alcohol and I would never expect a couple to foot the bill (especially knowing how much the wedding itself costs) for my drinking. This isn't a party. It's a wedding. If I were hosting a party at my home, I would provide alcohol (even then, people bring their own). Don't worry about it. I guarantee no one will care. They're there for your wedding, not for the booze.

Personally, I say if you can't afford to pay for the alcohol don't have it at all. We are having beer/wine with a his and hers signature drink.

I've actually never been to a wedding with an open bar. For the weddings I've attended, beer and wine during cocktail hour are open. liquor is cash bar style. Then after cocktail hour it was a cash bar for everything. A lot of people where totally fine with it. The bartenders had kiosks, they kept your card if you wanted to keep a tap and could pay it off whenever you wanted. At my cousins wedding she had a dry wedding. The mass majority of my family drink socially, so going into the wedding some people dreaded going, and when they got there they couldn't wait to leave. I added on my invitation "dancing, cash bar, and games" after join us for dinner so people will know what to expect. We will include sodas, waters, and lemonade for anyone who doesn't want to spend money or doesn't drink.

I think an open bar is best; obviously alcohol dependence is a bad thing, but I feel like many people like to have a couple drinks to loosen up and talk to strangers. I'm a bit shy and this is how I feel when I go to weddings where I don't know many people. After I have a beer or two, I'm much more open to talking to strangers, especially people I'm going to sit with for a couple hours. But if you're not going to have an open bar (and if you can't afford that, totally fine), I'd at least have a cash bar. I don't think it's rude to ask people to pay for alcohol at your wedding. Everyone knows weddings are expensive and you're already buying dinner for dozens of people!

Are cash bars acceptable in your circle? Have you been to at least 4-5 weddings with people in your group who have done this?


Personally, I have never been to a wedding with a cash bar and if I did attend one, I wouldn’t be able to buy a drink because I never carry cash on me anyway! Please make sure the vendor can accept CC or mobile payment if you have guest pay otherwise people are going to be upset. Where I live, it wouldn’t be socially acceptable to make guests pay for drinks. So if budget is the reason, I’d choose no alcohol vs. making people pay.

Is beer and wine only an option?