Closing open bar

I think if those are the only 2 options, I would close it after dinner. Since your families aren't big drinkers, would maybe a consumption bar be possible for after the 2 hours? So it's still open, but you only pay for what people drink.

Is a consumption bar an option? If you aren't going to have a lot of your guests drinking after your allotted 2 hours, it probably would be somewhat inexpensive to open a consumption bar for the remainder of the wedding. Just a thought!

My original venue was going to only allow me 5 hours for our bar -- they recommended shutting down the bar at specific times to save bar time. For example, closing the bar during first dances and speeches, or when you imagine people won't be up and walking around!

View Quoted Comment I agree with Hannah. I wouldn't do an open bar or anything where your guests would need to get out their wallets. The consumption bar after the first two hours is a great idea if your venue allows it! Otherwise, if not, I would just close the bar.

I agree with Morgan. I would ask about a consumption bar.

However, if those are your only 2 options, I would just close after dinner. But make sure you do a last call so guests can get a drink before the bar shuts down.

Definitely would not recommend a cash bar. If I was a guest, 2 hours would be plenty of time for drinks so long as it is well communicated before the bar closes. Also, I imagine your guests know one or both of your families don't drink much so it will not be surprised that alcohol is not a major focus.

Neither. Guests shouldn’t have to pay for anything at your wedding and it’s super odd to close the bar after dinner when most drinking takes place. If you can’t afford to keep the bar open through the entire event, close it during dinner. That’s not abnormal.

I tell this story all the time, but this is the reality I’ve experienced... My fiancé and I attended a cash bar wedding one time. No one knew it was going to be cash only bar and of course my fiancé and I were the only ones that brought cash, so we basically ended up paying for everyone’s drinks the entire night because we didn’t wanna be the only ones drinking and our friends who didn’t bring cash to go without. If the bar offers to do tabs on credit/debit then I’d say you might be able to get away with keeping it open for those who would want to continue drinking, but your guests might not appreciate it.
I guess if those are your only two options I would suggest leaving it open for those that would like to continue drinking.....

I know this isn’t one of your options but just wondering if this was something that you thought about… Seeing as how it’s a winery, I think people may be under the impression that they will be drinking a lot of wine so have you asked the winery if they allow you to purchase their wine bottles for the tables? It would definitely be less than open bar, and once the bottles are empty the bottles are empty. You’d only be purchasing bottles for the table for the last two hours anyhow so depending on how many guests you have and how many are seated at the table maybe 1 to 2 bottles per table and have the service pour it?

I would be REALLY confused as a guest to attend a wedding at a winery and not have wine available throughout the event. How much is it to keep the bar open after dinner? I would find that out before making your decision. But no matter what, I wouldn't allow a cash bar at any time.

I agree with what everyone said about asking for a consumption bar. If your guests really aren't drinkers then just shut down after dinner I say this because there was one wedding I went to where it was open bar until they shut down the venue because the bride and groom like to drink. They did have some guests that did like to drink as well. However, the only people really drinking were about 5 people (including myself) out of 100 guests. Some guests probably had one drink, but the 5 people were the ones going back for more. So, the bride and groom were a little sad that it was not utilized as much considering they could have saved money.

Also, if it is open bar, does the winery only accept cash or do they do card as well? I've ran into instances where the bar only accepts cash, but others allow cards.

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Do not have consumption bar because there is no oversight on how you will be charged and the bill is always more expensive with consumption tab. Keep it per person all evening.

Do not have a cash bar. It is always rude to invite people to a party and ask them to pay for their own drinks. If you and your guests don't drink, there is no need to serve alcohol and a winery seems like an odd choice of venue. Many people don't drink wine. Have a wide selection of nonalcoholic choices: sodas, Italian sodas, lemonades, etc.

That’s not true. I was in a wedding that the bride paid a set cost per person for the consumption bar prior to the wedding day and was literally reimbursed for the amount she paid over what was used. Stop using “do not” when people ask for opinions.

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Not every venue offers per person pricing either. Most of the venues I've worked with only offer consumption bars.

I think you should keep the bar open after dinner and allow the guests that want to drink to drink. Even if your families don't usually drink, a wedding is a special occasion where a lot of people tend to drink more than they usually would.

If it's an issue of cost or the venue absolutely will not allow the bar to remain open then just have your DJ/MC make an announcement that the bar will be closing at such and such time as a last call.

View Quoted Comment To keep the bar open after dinner it would be an additional $45 per person. I would be fine paying it if I knew more than 5 people would be drinking, but if not it seems wasteful.

View Quoted Comment We are offering a wide selection of nonalcoholic drinks, they aren’t an additional cost so that’s why it’s not an issue. And we weren’t going to have a cash bar only, we are debating on taking our venue coordinator’s suggestion on making it a cash bar. It’s not that my guests and my fiancé don’t drink. We enjoy a glass of wine maybe two and that’s it, but I can’t speak for the rest of my guests. And we chose to have our wedding at a winery because we enjoy them. One of our greatest memories is when we toured the wineries of Napa and Sonoma, so I don’t think a winery venue is an odd choice .

View Quoted Comment I think that’s a great idea! I’ll definitely ask about it.

View Quoted Comment I have a feeling that’s what would happen! We would pay for the bar to be open all night and only a few people would utilize it and for our guest count it would be a waste of at least $2000 for the additional time. The winery does take cards so it’s not literally cash only.

View Quoted Comment A consumption bar isn’t an option unfortunately, which would be ideal. I guess cash bar or closing aren’t technically the only two options. We could pay for the open bar all night but I don’t think it’s going to be used that much to justify the extra cost.

Can you do a cash bar but you pick up the tab at the end of the night? I think that’s basically what a consumption bar is. If not I say just close it after dinner especially if you don’t have many drinkers

I agree that I would be a bit weirded out to be at a winery and not have wine available all night.

I know people on WW really hate cash bars, and I personally don't want one, but I also don't think cash bars are unexpected or the worst thing in the world. Where I live, it's much more common for there to be a cash bar than not. I've seen a lot of "open bar for cocktail hour, cash bar after" situations. I personally think, if you want to have a cash bar, there are ways to do it--include that information on a details card & website, make it clear if there is an open bar portion & for how long, note if it's literally cash or cash/card. (I also don't like the argument that "you wouldn't make your guests at a party pay for anything"--true, but at every party I've been too, people either bring food or drink to be consumed during the event, or there is a limited number of drinks provided per person, which is very different from a wedding!)

Are there any other options you can consider? I've also been to weddings where a certain drink--usually the cheapest--is available for free all evening & the rest is cash. Could you maybe do one red, one white all night, with the pricier ones available for those who want it?