DIY Alcohol cost?

It depends on the groups consuming. A bottle of bubble has around 5 glasses...I'm having the caterer pour only a third to half glasses for the toast since some people won't even drink it. We are having nice wine so wasting it kills me. I'm thinking we might do a lesser quality for the toast to cut down on this. For 100 people we are getting around 4 cases and three cylinders of micro brew...if we have left overs on the wine it will keep! The legs will be a cider, a wheat (from his home town) and something everyone will drink like great white...

Have you checked into your state/county laws where your venue is? I feel like that may be something you may want to do before getting you heart set on DIYing your bar.

@Nikki, when I spoke to the manager at the venue she said a lot of brides that have their reception at this location opt for this kind of bar because it cuts costs. I assume that guests not being able to just help themselves meets whatever city requirements there are. Plus the bartenders that I've looked into carry liquor liability insurance.

We had 130 people. We had our own bartender $150 and we had one type of beer, white, red and sweet white wine and two signature drinks (two different alcohols and some mixers). We also had a Welcome Drink for when people arrived for the ceremony. We spent total about $550.

@Katie that sounds excellent I know in my home state there are a few wonky alcohol laws so it is always better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes if you buy large quantities you can get case discounts on wine. I know at TFM (a local grocery store near where I live) you can get 10% off every 12 bottles you purchase. You may want to check around and see if you can't find some discounts

Where I live, liquor stores provide alcohol on consignment basis where whatever is left unopened they buy back from you. For my 150 person wedding I am overestimating how much booze people will consume because if it isn't opened, I get my money back and I do not want to run out. So 12 cases of different wine, 50 12 packs of beer (kegs aren't allowed), and 5 handles each of gin, rum, whiskey, and vodka. = approximately $2k

I didn't know that some paces offered discounts or that stores would buy back what's unopened! That's great to know, thanks!

Ooh, this is me too! Our venue provides beer, wine, and mixers through them, so that part is easy. But, we get to bring our own alcohol, which I love for the cost savings, but it's also so confusing! I'm hoping that by using a drink calculator online I can get a good idea of how much to buy! Good luck!

Here's a great guide to help you figure it out...http://apracticalwedding.com/2013/01/calculate-alcohol-for-wedding/

We're doing beer and wine also and I'm considering a signature drink. We have invited 225, estimating about 180 show up, and we do have some kids in the mix.

We're able to bring in kegs, so we're doing 2 kegs with 1 on reserve. Around here, kegs are ~$100ea, with a $50 deposit for the keg. For wine we're doing Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's. It's only $3 a bottle. I tasted a ton of different wines from $3-$10 a bottle, and this was actually better than some of the $10 bottles. $36/case and we'll probably do about 10 cases of wine. I considered doing a full bar, but all of the mixers, etc really was going to add up.

Bought at Costco, returning what is not used!

I recommend checking with your caterer, they may be able to provide a bartender for a lower cost.

@Hayley, that's a great idea! I don't think my caterer does that though, it's a smaller company. Worth checking into though.

@Lisa, where do you live? My Mom was saying she didn't think they allowed that in our area (I'm in KY), but we've also never looked at this large of a quantity, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference at all.

I'm still working it out, but I'm getting mine in bulk from Costco.

I'm doing the same but with some hard liquor. We received a quote for $25.00 per hour/per bartender . We are estimating about $250 on liquor and fixins plus the cost of the bartenders.

Also, the company I called gave me some great advice. When it comes to beer , pour in cups instead of giving a whole can. Keeps guest from taking whole cans/bottles and they get wasted.

There are links online with suggested amounts of booze and mixers to have...my venue offers a buy your own, but....you buy it from them (state law requires it) and you pay for what you use. (refunds on unopened bottles). They also allow the couple to set the prices for the cash bar...and actually make money on the drinks! (but you have to pay in advance for the booze) So it is interesting. We opted to just go with a straight cash bar, and we bought a keg of beer and a keg of their famous sparkling wine. We are not charging for the latter two.

I live in MA! Grocery stores here aren't allowed to carry alcohol we we just have liquor stores. It might not hurt to ask your local stores if they have consignment policies!

You also have to keep in mind that the traditional 1 drink per hour isn't really what people drink. It can be up to 4 in the first hour and then 1-2 for the rest of the hours.

liza, how many guests do you have? 250 seems very low!

Trader joes has the best wine per case costs

Thank you @Karen for that guide.

We are planning on doing the same for our After Glow and my FH father owns a lounge so all of our liquor will be purchased wholesale though his distributor.