Open Bar Timeline/Costs

Can you skip cocktail hour and just go right to reception?

Yes to paying the extra hour and a half per person. This is more important than having a second bar. How many guests do you have?

An extra hour at $7 is not bad.

Whatever you choose to do, do it for the whole time. Beer and wine is perfectly fine, but don't switch it up during the reception.

A second bar is nice, but not necessary if you have under, say, 100-120 guests.

You may be able to just add an extra hour and the bar wrap up 30 minutes before the reception ends .... not sure what etiquette is on that but people probably aren't getting another drink 15 minutes before the party ends?

The extra $5/head for full bar for one hour of cocktail hour is probably a pretty small fee overall so I would just keep it all open bar the whole time.

If you have guests that will have trouble going up and down throughout the night then I would put a bar on each level. If everyone has no problem with stairs (no elderly, no wheelchairs, etc.) then the one is probably enough.

Invite list is between 140-150, we are expecting about 120 since it is a destination wedding for most. Not sure we could skip cocktail hour because of pictures. Is $25 per head the norm, $32 per head with the additional hour?

That sounds pretty reasonable. At a nice restaurant I'd probably have 3-4 drinks in that timespan at $7-$8 per drink, so that makes sense.

ETA: word choice

Our cocktail hour is Tex mex themed, so instead of doing an open bar for that time, our venue offered us two batches of margaritas for the price of one to go with the overall theme.

For us, it would have been about 700 for the extra open bar hour- when you factor in service fees and taxes. The 2-4-1 margarita deal is about $400 with taxes and fees.

It seems pretty average.. mine is $22 per person for 4.5 hours

Our reception is 5 hours total, with one of those hours being a cocktail hour. Our bar package is 4 hours and our venue said that it's common to close the bar a half hour for dinner and then a half hour at the end of the night. If you broke it up like that, you could close the half hour during dinner and just cut alcohol off for the last hour, or just pay for a half hour

I would keep the full bar for cocktail hour and I would definitely extend the bar for at least an hour. I know some venues require the bar close earlier than the reception ends, so be sure to check with your venue.

Yea that seems normal- after looking at a few venues that had only full catering options, I found a venue that was BYO for this exact reason. Didn't want to be nickeled and dimed to death.

What it normal is whatever you're willing to pay for. If you want full, top shelf open between the minute the cocktail hour starts until the reception ends, you can have it...you just have to pay for it.

However, I think closing the bar at 8:30 PM at a wedding that isn't scheduled to end until 10:00 is too early. Ask them about rearranging the schedule, and be willing to pay for the bartenders to an hour of overtime.

The question here is to how to have you schedule your open bar hosting during the most popular bar hours. You've got a reception, including a cocktail hour, that consumes five hours, but you are paying for 3.5 hours of open bar. Here's what I'd suggest:

Cocktail Hour (5:00 - 6:00): Absolutely no doubt that the bar has to be open, and moving quickly to serve guests. This is the most popular hour for the bar. Everyone is excited, socializing, eating apps, and ready for a party.

Reception (6:00 - 10PM): Keep the bar open for an hour beyond cocktail hour (while you're doing your spotlight dances and intros). That will probably consumer your second hour. Then shut it down for dinner. Serving wine is perfectly acceptable for dinner, which I assume, won't start any later than 7:00 PM. You have an hour an a half left.

Party: (8:00 - 10:00): Reopen the bar after dinner. That will absorb your last 1.5 hours. It's perfectly acceptable to close down an open bar 30 minutes prior to the conclusion of the reception. Actually, I think it's preferable. Some guests will have already left, and those who are still around, will either want coffee or are planning an after-party at another location. Whatever the situation, you've hosted your guests well.