Open Bar- Alcohol that runs out?

That can't happen at our venue, they have too big of a supply to ever run out if we opt for the open bar option. Plus they have our guest count in advance, so they know what to prepare for!

We are supplying our own alcohol, but we plan on buying A LOT. But who knows, i'm sure we will end up running out of something.

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I hear what you're saying!!! I hope everything goes great!!!

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That's true, I hear ya! That's awesome!!

I have never heard of this happening. If it was even a remote possibility with a venue not being adequately supplied I would not even consider that venue.

This actually happened at a wedding I was at earlier this year, which was a (nice) venue in the middle of nowhere. Ran out of vodka about halfway through the reception (nighttime reception, about 170 guests). Was very odd, and have never seen it before. But it was a full bar, so people survived and ordered something else.

We’re supplying our own liquor to the caterer so it could happen. If it does, I suppose they’ll have to drink something else.

I’ve worked events before where they ran out of liquor and someone from the catering company just went out and bought more, if that’s what the client wanted. 🤷🏼‍♀️

This happens more than you think.. people will drink whatever they are supplied with. By the time you run out of vodka or rum they will probably be too drunk to care what they have next.

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HAHA, you're probably right.

Thank you all so much for your feedback! I hope I don't have this issue, I'll talk to the banquet to see if these types of things normally happen.

I just attended a wedding where this happened. The reception started around 5 the couple didn’t get there until like 6:15 or later, and by 10 vodka was gone. This wedding was very big over 400 people though, so that makes a difference. We are friends with the grooms family and his parents ended up paying double what was expected for alcohol because much more was consumed.

We have two options for our open bar - caterer supplied or byob - and both have plans to prevent this from happening. The caterer supplied has more than enough of each alcohol type due to their experience with guest counts and whatnot. With the byob option, the caterer stated they will go out and buy more of whatever you want during the wedding if there’s not enough (and you pay for that later). If you have a professional company, I don’t think running out would ever be a problem.

We are supplying our own, and I really hope that does not happen. I will be buying it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I tend to overbuy for events, so hopefully we will be ok

We are supplying our own alcohol, which was a factor in choosing our venue. FFIL and fiancé are in charge of the bar and knowing them, there will be plenty of each alcohol option. So, if we do run out, it’s probably a good thing as our guests will have probably reached their limit 😂

If it's supplied by the venue, this generally doesn't happen as it is their responsibility to ensure there is enough.

The one wedding I attended that had that happen was an event where they had to provide their own booze. They had asked family and friends to bring a bottle or two back to the US whenever they went to Canada. There was no organization of anything, no bar tender, just a table with the random bottles sitting on it. By the time dinner was done (we were still hungry due to not enough food at the buffet) people were sloshed and angry that they had run out of certain favorites. My husband and I left at that point.

We’re having an open bar during our reception. We’ve decided to only serve wine and beer during cocktail hour then liquor once the reception begins (or more than likely after people eat). Hopefully, this will help us not run out of anything before the end of the night!