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Darby
Just Said Yes August 2020

Open bar, mixed bar, no bar?

Darby, on January 15, 2020 at 11:12 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 1 39
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My fiancé and I are trying to decide if we should have a bar at all. In addition, if we are to have one, what type.


We are expecting a 300-350 person wedding and the venue we’ve chosen charges by the drink. We have discussed only offering beer, wine, and maybe a signature drink, but we still think we are looking at a steep price. We have thought about setting a limit then switching to a cash bar, we have considered having a cash bar only, and even not having a bar at all. A lot of our families and friends are big drinkers but we really don’t drink ourselves. We just don’t know what to do. Any advice would be great!
In short, what bar options have you looked at? How common is a cash bar? Is it rude if we don’t have a bar?
TIA!

39 Comments

Latest activity by Jana, on April 15, 2020 at 1:46 PM
  • Renee
    Super June 2020
    Renee ·
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    That’s a lot of people! Maybe cash bar!
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  • Gen
    Champion June 2019
    Gen ·
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    We had an “open” wine bar at first, and then it turned to a cash bar when it hit a certain limit (which ended up being about an hour before our reception ended). I would’ve loved to keep it open the whole time but wasn’t willing to go into debt over it lol, so we covered all we could afford.
    • Reply
  • Pirate & 60s Bride
    Legend March 2017
    Pirate & 60s Bride ·
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    Covering just beer & wine is fine. Cash bars would be very rude in my area or circle of friends. Many people feel guests should not open their wallets at a wedding.
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  • Taylor
    Savvy September 2021
    Taylor ·
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    I’ve been to a lot of weddings and literally only one has been a completely open bar. I would never be offended as a guest if I had to pay for a couple drinks! We’re going to cover beer and wine up to a certain $ that we decide, and then after that it will be completely cash bar.
    • Reply
  • Sharonda
    Super January 2021
    Sharonda ·
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    We are having a big wedding too (about 220). Our venue also charges by the drink based on the type of alcohol served. My fiancé’s family are big liquor drinkers so we worked out a deal with the venue to offer only certain liquors (1 tequila, 1 vodka, 1 whisky) based on what we know people drink, along with beer and wine, through a hosted bar. When the hosted bar reaches a certain amount, it becomes a cash bar. It drove the cost down considerably, and we think it will be a good compromise.
    • Reply
  • Kaylynn
    Dedicated June 2020
    Kaylynn ·
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    We are batching (making before hand) our drinks and then serving over ice. I had a friend though who at her wedding, each person got 2 tickets for drinks and anything else after that or anything not well drink they had to pay for. She gave her family & wedding party extra drinks she paid for but that helped and no one had a problem for paying for their extra drinks or switching to water/lemonade after their two drinks due to also having to drive home. Just an idea.
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  • Kristen
    Master November 2020
    Kristen ·
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    300 + guests is a lot especially when you add up the cost of just even beer and wine. Also I know some people that are heavy drinkers as well and they will definitely take advantage of an open bar. It's your budget and if you can afford it and just do a cash bar or no bar at all but if you go one of those to Route I would just make sure to let people know in advance so they can prepare. Or as a previous poster said some venues will say well once you hit a certain limit then it's a cash bar or you can look at seeing how much an open bar for 1 hour would be.
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  • D
    Dedicated February 2024
    Daniel ·
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    Having cash bar or any bar is your call. I can relate we have 472 people attending and what we workers out with the place is a limit we felt was reasonable. We have some that don’t drink and others that do. But what we did instead of gate rate for all we did beer and wine up to point and then close the bar but open in other area that if they wish to still drink they can go bar and pay. My sis had a dry. Wedding and that was ok also
    • Reply
  • Mrs. Bubba
    VIP September 2019
    Mrs. Bubba ·
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    We only provided 🍾for the Toast🥂.


    We also had 🍋ade,🍹, and🚰.
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  • Alejandra
    Super November 2021
    Alejandra ·
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    That’s a lot of people, and if you are big drinkers, I would definitely say a cash bar is the way to go.
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  • Mrs. Bubba
    VIP September 2019
    Mrs. Bubba ·
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    Https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/weddings-and-alcohol-liability.html

    https://www.wedsafe.com/Pages/wedding-liability-insurance-faq.aspx
    • Reply
  • Taylor
    VIP October 2020
    Taylor ·
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    We booked a venue that allows us to bring in vendors for the purpose of not having this issue. We have a lot of big drinkers in the family and will have around 250 guests. We're able to go purchase all of our own alcohol for the bartending company we chose. It's going to come out to roughly $3200 for an open bar for 4 hours.

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  • Aja
    Dedicated January 2020
    Aja ·
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    We decided on doing beer, wine, and a signature drink. If the guests want anything else then a cash bar is available. Otherwise we didn't think it was necessary as an open bar was just so much more expensive.

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  • Lena
    Devoted May 2021
    Lena ·
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    Guests shouldn't have to pay for anything. Either do the beer and wine or open bar.

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  • Darby
    Just Said Yes August 2020
    Darby ·
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    View Quoted Comment

    Thank you! I am in Law School right now and this is right up my alley!

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  • Darby
    Just Said Yes August 2020
    Darby ·
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    Thanks everyone! That all helped me a lot!

    • Reply
  • Andrea
    Master January 2021
    Andrea ·
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    We were going to do a full open bar, but thinking about costs changed our mind. Now we are going to do beer, sparkling wine and a signature drink. That's good enough.

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  • K
    Dedicated October 2019
    KAREN ·
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    Do not go into debt over alcohol. If you can't afford it, do a cash bar. If you want to try to be nice, maybe cover the wine and beer and let hard liquor be cash only.

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  • Catherine
    VIP November 2019
    Catherine ·
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    I wouldn't do cash bar. i would at least do beer and wine included.

    we did an open, beer wine and champagne bar. there was a cash option for liquor if they wanted to get that. i made a sign for the bar that said what was included (along with telling people in person) and the bar tenders obviously relayed the message as well. I had zero complaints from my family or friends. its a good alternative.

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  • Jeanie
    Super February 2020
    Jeanie ·
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    I hate cash bars. I think they're tacky, and I never bring cash with me to weddings. Having just beer and wine would be much better than a cash bar. Maybe you can cut down your guest list to have the beverage selections you want fit into your budget.

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