Letting guests know about open bar

Why would you need to tell the guests that?

I didn't mention it - I figured everyone would assume that as it is the norm in my family, friend circles, etc.

View Quoted Comment A few people told me I should, its not something I ever thought of doing really. One of my friends attended a wedding over the weekend and she had no idea it was open bar all night (she thought it was only for cocktail hour because that's the norm in her circle) and she didn't go back up to the bar for a long time because she didn't want to pay for a drink. When she finally decided go get a drink is when she learned by the bartender it was open bar all night. That's why I figured a sign at the bar will clarify any confusion.

We didn't advertise that we had an open bar, but we had framed bar menus so people knew what was available and bartenders weren't bombarded with a million questions. I guess technically some guests could've read "The Bar is Open" on the side of the menu as the bar being an open bar, but it was more like a "the bar's open, come get your drinks!" kinda thing.

Bar Menu

View Quoted Comment Hmmm. Okay. I hadn’t heard of that before. Maybe signs like you said would help clarify. You could put it on your wedding we sure in the FAQ section.

I’m not advertising it to our guests due to some family members have a past with alcohol abuse.
A friend’s girlfriend found out and she told she plans to get wasted.
Gee thanks.

We're putting it on our website and we'll be having a sign at the wedding. We want people to know ahead of time since if they think they have to pay for drinks, they may only plan on having 1-2 so that they can drive home. If they know ahead of time they might think, "Ooh, maybe I'll get a room nearby or plan for a DD so I can enjoy myself at the wedding".

We didn't say "Open Bar" on our website though. We just said something like, "Drinks are on us today!"

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting a limit on how many drinks people can order. It keeps the cost down and reduces any chance of somebody getting really drunk. Use PartyTender found on the Apple App Store to setup an open bar event, create a menu, and let guest order from their phone. It notifies the guest when their drink is ready. If you hire a private bartender it includes a tipping function.