Having a Cash Bar.......Simply must say this!!!

@ Rachel- We have to pay to have the bar open (cash bar) anyways,so we did that! and for us, budgetwise it just made sense. Half of our guests drink and half don't. Where we live it is normal to do this. We thought about putting a certain amount of money towards the overall tab and then when it ran out, then it was on our guests That to me seemed a bit, tacky.

Sounds like a wonderful option to me then Future Mrs.! :o)

The coffee, tea, soda, water and champange toast are free. We did annonce the cash bar on our wedding website.

Yeah... I don't see anything wrong with it then.

I understand we all have budgets. I'm okay with a cash bar if, like Glenn says, it's clear that the bride and groom are on a very tight budget. But if I saw a pricy gown, expensive decor, top of the line DJ, etc, coupled with a cash bar, I'd wonder why the bride and groom were so willing to pay for frills while skimping on what guests actually care about.

Wait, you are doing a DW and not serving your guests alcohol? Just how much of a "destination" is this exactly (I mean is it going to cost flights plus several nights at a hotel or is it a few hour drive each way and a night at the hotel)?

Seriously, I would consider a cash bar if my wedding budget absolutely couldn't fit an open bar but if I was doing a DW where my guests had to shell out any decent amount of money to get there there is NO WAY I would not provide them alcohol at the wedding. The rest of their trip, sure, but the wedding they would be more than taken care of.

Good point Shannon.

@Shannon - Thanks, I do appreciate your comment.
My budget is tight and I really guess you could say I "skimped" or I as I would put it, "saved" on every aspect of my wedding including my gown, my diy decor, and our friend being a DJ for us. In fact my most expensive thing was the food. We even got our venue for less than the food cost.

I think it all depends on where you live. A cash bar in the north east would be considered very tacky. But it seems like its common in other areas of the country.

@ Glenn- DW is a two hour drive (at most) for all our guests. We have huge discounted hotel rates, even paid for some of our guests No flying for anyone.

In fact, we have our wedding scheduled in the early evening in which guests would have the option of eiether staying overnight or having enough time in making the drive home. Alot of our guests have already said they think our blocked rates are so good, they are arriving a day early and staying all weekend, as like a mini vacation close to home for them.

I defintely want a cash bar. But i am also planning on serving beer, wine, and champange. The liqour drinks, they can pay for themselves. I think it will help keep the party under control if they are not just guzzeling their 'free' drinks, one after the other. But, it's not like we are not offering anything acoholic for them to drink.

We might even consider a 'limited' bar but I am not totally sure. My FIL's are paying for the rehearsal dinner, and all the alcohol for the wedding, and i don't think they can afford that much, so I am also tryin to help them out too.

I honestly think it depends on the person who is commenting... where they're from (whether cash bar is the norm) and how much they like to drink and what they're willing to pay for it. I just realized that a wedding I went to last summer had a partial cash bar - free wine and beer, but cash for other drinks. I didn't even know it was an option and I wish I had! I would have bought myself a drink! (It was at a vineyard so they only had their own wine... and I honestly didn't like it much, it was VERY strong and they only had a few types of beers which weren't my preference either.)

Anyway, my FH who barely even drinks (I mean maybe one drink once a year, seriously) was the one who insisted on having an open bar. It's expected in his family. I honestly don't drink often either (maybe a drink or two once a month) but I didn't think having a cash bar was a big deal. (Especially if you let guests know ahead of time.) I think people are just set in their ways. Don't fret it.

Ok, a 2 hour drive is not nearly as bad as saying a "DW" sounds and if you are paying for the hotel room you are making up for it.

I have never been to a wedding where it was open bar and I would rather have a fancy dress, big fresh flowers and nice food rather then an open bar its my day and its what I want because I know I will have pictures to show how nice my wedding was and not pictures to show how much everyone did or didnt drink.

If you are following the customs that your guests, or the majority of your guests, also follow, then don't worry about it. I think it's a different story when you are, say, from the northeast, where your guests would be surprised and put off by a J&J party or a cash bar. It sounds like you will be meeting your guests' expectations with what you're doing, and they are the ones you are hosting and taking care of, not commenters here.

Our venue includes unlimited beer, wine and champange and all non alcoholic drinks in the packages. They offer hard liquor in a cash bar or the host(ess) can put down $$ towards the cost. We will probably put down a certain amount (depending on how we are with the budget) and anything after that would be a cash bar. Knowing my family, there will be no shortage of flasks in the place anyway, so they won't mind there not being a full open bar.

We are having a cash bar for beer only. We are allowed by our venue to bring in our own liquor. So we are providing all of that allong with all kinds of non alcoholic drinks.

Totally depends on your crowd. We are cutting down on our guest list so we can afford to treat our guests(the ones that are nearest and dearest to us). BUT, I will say that my friends and family would TOTALLY understand if we opted for a cash bar because they know us and what we are/have been going through. There are some cases where "tacky" is not a relevant word... It would be "tacky" if Prince William had a cash bar at his wedding, he could obviously afford it.

Cash bars are pretty much the norm at most weddings I have been to when it comes to hard liquor. We are paying for beer, wine, pop and water all night for our guests, but mixed drinks will be cash bar.

I couldn't see myself having a cash bar. I don't think its tacky. You have to do what you can afford. I want people to eat drink and be merry. Its a celebration of love. No cash bar for us.