Open Bar Maximums

Maybe this isn't how it works for most places, but where I work, the open bar is included in the total payment for the venue. The only time we have a "tab" running for the night is if the couple has chosen to do a consumption bar instead.

I don't recommend consumption bars to couples if they know they're inviting a lot of people and a lot of them are heavy drinkers. Also, setting a cap on your bar isn't going to end well, especially if they reach that cap fast.

ETA: I second everyone else's suggestion to just do beer and wine to cut down on the cost.

What would happen when the max is reached, cash bar? no bar? If you are concerned about cost, just do beer and wine.

You shouldn't limit the bar. If the maximum is reached within an hour of your reception, what's going to happen? Your guests will be without drinks for dinner.

If you're worried about the cost, keep it simple with a beer and wine package, no liquor.

No limits. You can always do wine and beer.

This is not a good idea. It can also be extremely confusing to your guests.

If you are worried about cost, have a limited open bar.

I have many friends from college coming to our wedding, which is why we are only serving beer and wine and reception is over at 10pm. How much trouble can they can into? LOL

I'm not sure how your bar works, but ours is a set price per person no matter how much they drink

Eta: sorry posted before I was done. I would not limit your guests. If they start with open bar and all of a sudden either have to start paying or can't drink, it's rude. see if they can do a set price per person

Find out if your venue has packages. My venue only offers consumption pricing so we are of course very concerned about a huge bill. We are going to have them let us know when it reaches a certain point and just planning for the worse case scenario. Sit down and do some math. Find out how much cocktails are including taxes and fees if your venue has any. I've heard to assume 1 cocktail per person per hour. I know my crowd and they will definitely drink more than that as will I. HaHa! If the number isn't doable then do beer and wine.

Definitely find out the packages. My venue is the same price per person no matter how much people drink so the amount doesn't change. If it is only consumption, I'd offer beer and wine.

We had an open bar & had a lot of huge drinkers in attendance & they were adults and knew when to cut themselves off. I agree with others on beer & wine if cost is a concern. Your venue should have a package price that depends on how many people, not how many drinks.

We're doing consumption for about 70 people at $24 or 3 drinks pp. That's what our venue suggested since we have a good mix of non-drinkers and a handful of people that would drink the bar dry if they could. Otherwise, it would be about $40pp for the lowest bar package of just beer, wine, and soda. We're not doing shots or doubles to prevent utter chaos and help keep costs down too.

ETA: We have a card on file with our venue and have given authorization to obviously keep the bar going if for whatever reason we get close to the estimated consumption amount.

If you don't already have a venue, then look for one that offers bar packages with flat fees per person rather than a consumption bar where you are paying per each drink poured. Packages are typically more affordable for a guest list of heavy drinkers. Otherwise, a limited bar of beer and wine is fine.

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It really depends on your venue. For us, since we had an intimate dinner celebration with only 35 guests, we paid by consumption: $45 per bottle of wine, presseco, champagne or moscato and $15 (max) per cocktail. In the end, food AND unlimited drinks came to $3,500.

Our package is just a full open bar. No limit.

So it is a consumption bar? The general consensus is going to be to not set a limit. You can look at ways to limit the options to have it cost less. Beer and wine can be an option. Having a shorter reception can be an option.

My open bar is an - OPEN bar - not open tab until everyone is done drinking. Do they have any other packages that may be more cost effective based on the type of guests you'll be having?

You'll likely reach any limit on consumption bars earlier than you expect. I was speaking with a friend who set a limit at hers. When she and her husband went to get a drink after the ceremony, the limit had already been reached just during cocktail hour.

We had a consumption bar, and our crowd consisted of HEAVY drinkers. Our average guest had 10 drinks, and our bar cost 6K (average drink cost was like $4).

We put more towards the bar to keep it open until at least midnight. When the bar closed, the wedding was done. We didn't want anyone to have to pay for anything. Our reception lasted from 6:30-12:15.

That's not an open bar though...