To booze or not to booze

Not in my circle or family. Open bar (at least beer and wine) is always expected.

Nooo. I'm not a drinker by any means but I do enjoy a glass of wine at an event, especially with dinner. I recently attended a dry wedding and me, along with about half of the guests list left within 15 minutes after dinner (We left at 8PM). If you want people to stay, relax, dance and mingle you need to host a bar, the ENTIRE evening. Even if you just do beer and wine that's okay.

No its not. You have to host at least something.

I never even knew a cash bar or dry wedding was a thing before WW. So no, IMO, it's not acceptable.

I would suggest at least provide wine and beer. I’m not a big drinker but even then I would expect to have at least one glass of wine.

Not particularly. My fiance and I went to a wedding for his aunt a few years ago and the cocktail hour bar was open to guests, to which we got our drinks. Then we were told the bar was turning into cash bar so it was a mad dash to grab as many drinks as we would drink during the remaining time especially since neither of us brought our wallets aside from IDs. We ended up leaving shortly after the first dance despite it being my fiance's family member.

Generally dry weddings are only acceptable when for religious reasons. Spring for the bar, your guests will thank you (as you should be thanking them for attending the wedding by proving a cash free reception).

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LOL that is a good way to insure everyones wasted before dinner.

You need an open bar. It can be just beer and wine, but it needs to be open.

IMO, your reception is a way to "thank" your guests for attending the ceremony. Having a cash bar - whether it's during cocktail hour or the reception - is essentially making your guests pay for their own "thank you". Dry weddings are even worse and just make you and FH look cheap (unless they're for religious reasons). My advice to you would be to find an alternate way to cut costs.

View Quoted Comment I was thinking the same thing! Lol

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Haha yup. Not gonna lie, we tried. I drink too slowly

In this forum dry weddings are heavily frowned upon. i don’t know why but I will say that most people that as a host you should be at least providing beef and wine. A cash bar is also frowned upon but again I think it is all up to you, your beliefs, and the area you live in. We are in Orlando and at each wedding I have ever attended it has always been a full
ipen bar.

Hey if you fiance has a reason to feel like there should not be alcohol at your wedding do whatever makes them feel most comfortable.

IMO, nope, not acceptable. Neither option is acceptable. You need to fully host the drinks for the entire evening.

You can have a signature drink and just beer and wine or you can just have a open bar for a couple of hrs then make it a cash bar

If it's not acceptable to you, then it doesn't sound like it will be acceptable to your guests.

My social circle is mostly dry wedding/cash bar and no one blinks/leaves early/doesn't dance; however, it's a standard in the community I live in. If it's not for you, then you need to consider ways to accommodate at least a partial or modified open bar.

A reception is inviting all of your nearest and dearest friends out to dinner. You do it as a thank you for sharing in your big day. Now I couldn't imagine telling my guests that they cannot order a drink, or worse yet, that they will have to pay for their own. Would you do that if you were at a restaurant with a few close friends? Probably not, so why do it now?

I think it depends on the time. We are getting married in the morning so I expect to not have anyone drinking or getting drunk before noon so we are having a dry wedding but offering coffee, OJ and tea.

Everyone around here does cash bar and provides some free beer / wine.

This is also a very religious area so dry weddings aren't unusual. Our county was dry until about 5yrs ago.

I don't know anyone wealthy enough to have an open bar.

So the question of whether it's acceptable depends on where you are.

By the way, the venue I'm using is very popular and expensive by the standards of our community, hosts dozens of weddings a year, and the coordinator said almost EVERYONE does beer and wine with cash bar for hard drinks. Like I said, very conservative community and no one would expect hard liquor to be provided.

Honestly, I would prefer dry because I'm not a fan on alcohol so my guests should consider themselves lucky to be given beer and wine and the opportunity to purchase other drinks. I'm NOT happy about the idea, nor am I paying for it.