Open bar tab budget?

Sorry, I'm confused. Your caterer should have given you a price, per person, for open bar. Unless you're supplying your own alcohol and you want to know how much to buy? Maybe you can clarify?

I'm in NY, $17pp for mid-level booze as well as unlimited beer and wine.

My venue added $30 a head for 5 hours of open bar.

I'm not having as many people as you-- but for 200 people at $30 pp, it would be $6,000 so I think your estimate in on point.

They don't do per head at our venue. We are just having the full bar open and whatever the tab is at the end of the night we pay that amount.

If you are trying to save money I suggest doing open beer and wine. That way guests don't have to pay for their drinks and it's not as expensive as a full open bar. I don't know what your venue charges per person for the bar but your budget is about what our full open bar will be for around 200 guests. Get a price list from your venue and see what your options are.

If it is a consumption open bar you are probably close to on track. Mine was 6pm-12am and 150 people for 7K

That could get really expensive if you have drinkers coming. especially 200.

We're paying based on consumption. We average 1 drink per hour for adults and an average of $12 per drink. We only have 50 drinking adults attending for 4 hours so we budgeted $2400.

Did the venue tell you how much they charge per drink? Then you can figure 1-2 drinks per hour per person.

I think it depends on where you are, but for us it ended up being $4,800 for 100 guests, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., with 2 domestic beers, rum, vodka and whiskey.

@FutureMrs.C we thought about that for 2 seconds and both agreed to do the full bar. @Emmy - consumption YES! I was trying to remember that word all damn morning, today feels like a Monday to me. Thanks for the info. We would be happy with your numbers. I would rather cut down my centerpieces, favors or lose the limo than cut out the bar to be honest @FutureMrs.C.

I totally understand I didn't want to cut my bar either!

It depends on your cost per drink. I did 1 drink per hour per guest. I'm providing my own alcohol so it's a little different with price but the count for the alcohol should be the same.

Again you Ladies are on point, that's why I love you. Thanks for the numbers, info and tips!

We have 70 guests and will have open bar for 4 hours. We're paying about $1K total, however we did get a slight discount for the fact that we're supplying some of the alcohol. I believe the discount was maybe $150? We're getting married in Charleston, SC, and although prices for everything else are astronomical, open bar is pretty reasonable.

I agree the cost per host bar drinks makes all the difference. Local and beer and wine at our venue is just $4.75 per drink so for 100 guests (including children) we are budgeting $2500.

My venue ranges from $5-$9/pp per hour depending on whether you have only beer/wine, quality of beer/wine, or full bar. Drinks are served for dinner & cocktail hour, so we will really only be paying for 4hrs for 75-100 people.

My tab will be $**** for 75 of-age guests, so $5-7500 for 200 sounds about right!

I don't know what your drinks cost per drink; that's a cost that will vary widely geographically. Example: drinks at my venue are $9-12 each. Others here are lucky and have drinks in the $4-7 range. Whatever it is, assume 1 drink per hour per guest. And then times that by the tax and service - that can be as much as 30%. THAT is your bar bill. Not all people will have 5 drinks, but there will be others who have 8. It'll be a rough average and will give you a good estimate of your total cost.