Help with a few details

There are many posts on the forums strongly advising against hiring friendors because it always backfires and they never are able to enjoy the wedding as guests. Hire staff on thumbtack.com

How do you not know not your guest count? What was the count that you originally decided on when locating your venue?

Go to a local liquor warehouse such as Bevmo or TotalWine. They can tell you a general idea. But every group is different. Some drink beer/wine only. Some drink no alcohol. Some only drink mixed drinks. You have to know your crowd or ask friends/family if you don't know.

You can pick up sodas/sparkling cider/bottled water at Costco.

Monica, I agree with Michelle that hiring your friends may have more cons than pros. But if that is something you've made up your mind on, I would probably just discuss with those friends the payment expectations. To me, that price sounds okay! But I would just make sure you all are on the same page as far as wages.

When you know your final head count, you'll be able to better determine how much alcohol you'll need! It will also give you, and your friends, a better idea of how much you should pay your bartenders.

Just an idea, maybe look into hosting a "stock the bar" party since you are able to provide your own alcohol! That will really knock out a lot of your alcohol budget, and likely give your guest a wide variety of alcohol to chose from at the wedding.

Oh yes! Definitely get all of the details in writing!

There's no way to estimate since prices vary from one area to the next. Make sure that you are able to return any leftovers. Please do not ask guests to supply their own drinks or open their wallets. If you do have a stock the bar shower, do not use it to supply liquor at the reception.

Oh perfect! From my experiences, any "stock the bar" contribution is intended to use for the wedding, so I think that's great! Sangria is always a huge hit!

My brother and sister-in-law were able to have a stock the bar party, and to be funny, one of the groomsmen bought them an entire keg! Other than that, there were so many drink options, and we all were completely satisfied!

1 – Unless your friends are licensed to deal with alcohol, you cannot under any circumstances have them bartend (particularly if you are based in the US since the US has a very strong litigious culture). If they are licensed to disperse alcohol, you should pay them whatever is standard in your area for a bartender.

2 – If you already have quite a bit of alcohol on hand, $500 sounds reasonable. In saying this, it depends on what you serve, where you buy it etc so $500 can stretch a long way (or not) depending how you use it. For my wedding we are expecting to spend a minimum of $1,000 on spirits alone but we have different circumstances (serving 3 spirits, 120-140 people).

I would highly encourage you to check local laws, rules and regulations first. If your state has certain rules regarding the serving of alcohol, it won't really matter that there are no mixed drinks. I.e. where I live, you need to hold your Royal Service of Alcohol in order to legally serve drinks at any event (or outside the home) and non-compliance can result in horrific fines.

I don't mean to be Debbie Downer but what the venue says and what the law says might be two different things. Just the same, I anticipate that your insurer is going to assume (unless otherwise disclosed to them) that alcohol is being served by a licensed bartender.

Having friends act as bartenders can be a great budget decision but you need to be 110% sure that from a legal and regulatory perspective that it will be compliant.

You're better off hiring professionals. In most states the bartender is held liable, followed by their company for any over-consumption.

If one of these acquaintances over-serves someone at your wedding and they drive home and hurt/kill someone not only are those friends liable, so are you as the person hosting the event/person that hired them.

If you hire through a company you're not held liable, that company is.

The going rate for bartenders in my area is $25-40 per hour and most (but not all) have a corkage per bottle if you're providing your own alcohol.