Open Bar Concerns

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THIS. I am not responsible for people drinking and driving. My mom said I am, they could sue me? I said who does that in this day and age... It's the same as someone going to a bar drinking and going home or even a restaurant for that matter. They need to be adults and manage their intake, sober up before they leave, carpool, DD, or Uber. My venue said they will cut people off who are overly intoxicated and anyone I have inklings/bad vibes about I will be sure to tell the bartenders! I cannot possibly watch every single adult as if they're children I don't have!

View Quoted Comment If something happens it is quite possible that someone's insurance will sue. Having a licensed bartender takes that responsibility off of you though, it's their job to not over serve.

You can not be responsible for grown adults. You can make sure your bartender knows when to cut people off and has the confidence to do that. You can also offer uber/lyft discount codes to encourage people not to drive.

We hired a company to control and distribute the drinks and we are hiring bar tenders
Therefore we are not legally liable nor will we have to babysit and see how much who's had go drink.

We hired a shuttle for our guests and also confirmed with our venue that people could leave their cars overnight if needed

We are probably going to do beer & wine only. But if we do liquor, we will not allow shots/on the rocks/or neat (obviosly people will still get drunk off beer & wine, but it could help). Our venue is a block from the hotel so people can walk, but we’ll probably provide a shuttle anyways. Idk if this is actually possible, but I’m gonna call Lyft & Uber and see if I can purchase a discount code to provide to my guests. If so, I’ll have that code everywhere throughout the reception along with phone numbers for local cab companies. I’m also gonna ask my bartenders and DOC to keep an eye on people and please cut people off as needed.

I don't have anyone in my life that I worry would drink and drive. This might sound harsh, but why are you close with people who you genuinely worry would do that?

We did run a bus to and from our venue, not because we were worried about drunk drivers but because we wanted everyone to have a good time and not have to stay sober to get home afterwards.

View Quoted Comment It is not like I have certain people In mind that I am worrying about. I want people to enjoy our big day, but have safe alternatives after. That is why I asked for suggestions to see how others were accomadating their guests.

Not directed to you, but is no one adult enough to worry about their own drinking habits? I've never been to a wedding/engagement/bridal shower/baby shower without an open bar. You drink some and stop when you know you've had enough. You always know when you've had enough!!! This is not something a bride/groom needs to worry about on their wedding day.

I might be looking into Uber events. I worry about the same thing (both of our families are heavy drinkers). On our website we put a section asking guests not to drink and drive and to consider staying at a local hotel and ubering over or having a designated driver.

Agreed @mim . Couldn't you just leave this in the hands of the adults that you invite? They should be responsible for monitoring their intake responsibly opposed to you adding another item to your wedding planning.

Our venue did not have accommodations on site and the closest hotel was 6 miles away down a winding canyon road, so we had a similar concern. My husband and I made our grand exit at 10:00pm, so "last call" was at 9:15pm. We also had hot coffee & tea available for guests to help sober up.

There was only 1 person (my oh-so-wonderful MIL, yes that was sarcasm) who was SUPER drunk by the end of the night, luckily she wasn't driving. Everyone else seemed totally fine and they all made it home or to their hotel safely