If you want liquor... Surprise!

Are you sure you can't have one thats from an outside PD? We are having a local officer that works at the public parks and we are in Texas, is that of an option?

@Angela -- is that a county by county law in NC? We're getting married in NC as well, in currituck county, but this is the first i've heard of any requirement like that and I dont see anything in the paperwork about it.

My venue also requires a police officer when serving alcohol. We pay $30 an hour.

Eta: add words

Don't you all understand that this is a scam by the police in your state?

The police WANT your stupidly easy overtime shift. Easiest money they will ever make. And you are forced to pay for it even though theres really very little risk of anything serious happening.

Are these all states in the south? Ugh. No thanks. Total scam.

Don't you all understand that this is a scam by the police in your state?

The police WANT your stupidly easy overtime shift. Easiest money they will ever make. And you are forced to pay for it even though theres really very little risk of anything serious happening.

Are these all states in the south? Ugh. No thanks. Total scam.

Thanks everyone, yeah I'm not looking forward to seeing any of his buddies from the department because he's still super bitter that I was able to move on after we broke up... But I checked with one of my best friends (who's a McKinney police officer) and he verified that it's Texas law :/ We live in Addison but we are getting married in Highland Park. We're still a few months away so I guess we will see... :/ I was just hoping not to add a few hundred dollars to hire private security.

ETA: spelling

Same here. We have to have 1 security guard for our 60 guests. If we had over 75 then we would have to have 2

@Lori, I don't know if it's necessarily a scam because they do allow you to find your own security, so like if one of my friends did private security or something we could technically have them do it and the police department wouldn't get any money. I think it's more about keeping a tab on people getting ridiculously wasted and abusing the alcohol...

@Whitney I believe so :/ My best friend is from McKinney Police and he told me it has to be the area police department because he would have no jurisdiction :/

In Indiana it's the same way here, I have to hire two deputies to be at the reception the entire time we are serving alcohol and then if we are serving beer and wine we can hire a regular bartender but if we want to serve mixed drinks we HAVE to hire a bartender with a catering license, it kinda put a damper on everything but hopefully they blend in and don't ruin the night..

Same in Arkansas!

Interesting. I've never been to a wedding with a police officer. I live in Kentucky but very close to Cincinnati, Ohio & am getting married in Ohio.

Same here in Georgia!

@Chrises yeah see! I had never heard of this either but it might vary from state to state? Or even by venue? Some venues might have all the extra licensing...

I'm really not sure how it works but not only does it seem super awkward to have a poor guy just stand there while everyone else is having fun but in my case, 9.9/10 he will know my ex and will hate me by default because my ex is a jerk... Lol

You truly don't notice the officers there. The technically just have to be on the premises.

It doesn't matter if they don't like you, they aren't going to talk to you. You won't even notice them. They also probably don't want to risk the money by being a jackass. Most police officers must supplement their income by doing extra jobs. It's really not a big deal.

I love Nevada. We don't even need a bartender if it's a private venue. One of the reasons we picked Nevada instead of Utah... (We were looking for halfway points between Wyoming, Nebraska, and Nevada) that sucks.

I'd ask the venue for suggestions.

Yea my venue comes with security. I've always none of that being a requirement

We're getting married in Bedford, TX and have to have an officer at our venue as long as there is alcohol on the premises. I thought it was just a venue rule. I had no idea that it was a law. Interesting!

I'm from Texas and I had no idea that it was a law. We were told that we had to have security if we wanted to serve alcohol. The good thing is my venue handles that. We can't take any shots, but I'll save that for later.lol most of the venues I looked at had security as a requirement if we wanted to serve alcohol. We also have to use bartenders from their preferred list, but it's no biggie since they're already licensed. One less headache

Same here in NH...

Daniella,

I live in Texas, too. I have relatives that are PD as well. I am searching for how many guards are required but I wanted to clarify something about what you posted.

Also. the security guard/police officer is not there to "guard the alcohol" but rather to keep anything under control if things were to get "rowdy" (i.e., fights, loud arguments, destruction of property, dancing on tables, donuts in the parking lot, etc, etc). The venue is attempting to ensure that the Texas law (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code) is followed. If not, they can be fined.

If your venue does not have a liquor license to either 1. serve liquor or 2. serve wine and beer (they are different, then it can be BYOB or it can serve liquor BUT you have to have a TABC licensed bartender (essentially the "alcohol guard") to physically serve ANY alcohol that is consumed on premise. (They told us that any bringing in their own bottles must put them behind the bar (not likely to happen). Most of the weddings we go to are country weddings and the bottles sit out on the tables while people go get set-ups for them (sodas to mix with them).

I would love to hear how your wedding went! I noticed you are now just about a month and a half out from it!