Luncheon Reception/Cash Bar

I would not do a cash bar, it's very rude to make guests open their wallets at your wedding.

Since it's only a few people drinking, can't you just have the restaurant run a tab and you can pay at the end of the night?

You should pay for your guests food and drinks, including alcohol if that's what they choose to drink

Please see alcohol? No alcohol? Thread that was posted at 12:15 this afternoon. I'd give you the link but I'm on the app.

No cash bar.

Have the restaurant run a tab and you pay it.

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Lurk before you post!

You should be paying for their alcohol as well. You can host beer and wine and that would be fine. You're hosting a reception...whether it's casual or formal it's still a reception that you are hosting.

Do not write cash bar on your invitation and do not have a cash bar. It's rude to your guests. You said you don't have many guests that drink anyway, so it shouldn't be that expensive to properly host your friends. At a lunch reception, I don't imagine people will be throwing back a lot of drinks. Please buy drinks for your friends who are important enough to invite to witness your wedding.

Kaitlyn - I totally sympathize about the budget. That said, I'm not a fan of cash bars or indicating as much on the invitation. Maybe you can work with the venue and select a few wines and beers to have available on request?

Please don't have your friends paying for their own drinks at your reception -- and despite the casual nature of the event, it is still, in every way that matters, a reception. You have invited these people to attend your wedding, and the luncheon is the celebration part of the wedding. A cash bar at any type of reception is in bad taste, and those few friends of yours who do drink, will find it offensive (they'll never tell you that they're offended, but the words "cash bar" will leap off of the invitation - even moreso because you're hosting the reception at a pub). Rethink this, please.

The general consensus on WW is that cash bars are a no go. A reception is meant to be a thank you to your guests for coming to witness your ceremony, so it's not tactful to put your guests in a situation where they would have to open up their wallets at your wedding. Doing a limited bar, like beer and wine only or a consumption bar (where you only pay for what your guests actually consumed) would be more cost effective options instead of a full open bar.

We're having a restaurant reception for about the same amount of people, not everyone will be drinking, we will be paying. This is not hard, my mother still talks about having to pay for alcohol at a wedding 30 years ago.

Have the restaurant run a tab or tell the restaurant that you will pay for house wine for the guests that drink. At least wine or beer will be acceptable and not tacky.

It won't be that expensive to pay for a few people drinking. Since its at lunch people will drink even less so it won't be an outrageous amount.

As others are saying, have the restaurant run a tab and pay it at the end of the night. Even at a non traditional reception it is rude to have you guests pay for alcohol.

Pay for the drinks. It's going to be weird if you pay for everyone's dinner and then tell a few people they still owe money.

Yes, it's tacky. Can you imagine- the bill comes for dinner- and then guests also get a bill?? Wtf. If so few people drink anyway, it won't cost very much, right? Plus, its lunch time when less people drink anyway.

Well, if you, your FH and families don't drink and only a few do, your alcohol bill won't be to much. Please pay for your guests drinks.

I agree with the others -- it's not okay to have a cash bar just because your reception is in a restaurant. It's perfectly acceptable to limit what you're paying for to certain beers, wines, or whatever. You can designate this by printing a menu of options or having the waitstaff inform guests of what is available. Then just run a tab and pay it at the end of the night.

This is what we did for our rehearsal dinner. We had 35 guests, all pretty heavy drinkers, and I don't think our bar tab was more than $300 before tip. So I imagine you can budget to pay for the few guests you have who do drink.

Hi Kaitlyn. Yes it would be very tacky to invite your guests to dinner and then have them pay for something you don't agree with. Substitute drinks for apps. Or apps for dessert ...