Open bar????

Open bar is definitely gonna be a hit to your budget, especially depending on your venue's rules, and number of people on your guest list. I recommend budgeting for food and space first, then thinking about bar. Also, I have a few alcoholics in my family, and they'd find ways to be drunk even without an open bar, so I didn't take that into consideration when we chose open.

Your brother is going to drink whether you pay for it or he does. It’s more courteous to your guests to pay for everything at the event that you’re hosting. You could do beer and wine only.

If you can fit it in the budget do an open bar. You should also have a bartender to take care of your problem with your brother. Give the bartender a heads up of who to look out for. Tell him he has the right to cut anyone off, insist on a one drink per person per visit, and no shots. That should help keep people in check. Don't let one guest ruin the fun for everyone else who is responsible.

A 5k budget is going to be tough in most places even before you factor in alcohol. How many are you planning on inviting? Just doing beer and wine is cheaper and can cause less issues than liquor.

I am having an open beer and wine bar and a champagne toast and will be spending around $1200 for 200 heavy drinkers. If you are having a smaller guest list it's definitely doable!

A cash bar is definitely frowned upon, as you will see here as the comments pile up. Most of us feel that you shouldn't be asking your guests to shell out money for any part of the day. You are hosting, so you should cover all costs, including the bar cost, if you choose to serve alcohol. Different venues have different ways of doing it, so you may be able to bring in your own (which generally saves money), or do a consumption bar, with a cap, so you only spend a certain amount of money, etc.

As for alcoholics, I have to agree with Brae here. I have them in my family too, and they will find a way to drink whether there is alcohol at your wedding or not. You could choose to have a dry wedding, or, if you do have alcohol, you can speak to the bartender on the day about your brother, and limiting his consumption. Another way to save on alcohol is with drink tickets. Every guest gets two tickets at the beginning of the night, and when they are gone, they are gone.

People with alcohol problems will drink regardless if the bar is open or cash bar. Just like they do when they walk into a regular bar or liquor store, buy alcohol, and drink it. So I wouldn't let that affect your decision. I'd price out other vendors & your venue before making this decision.

View Quoted Comment Were just renting out a vfw and it's super cheap. But they supply the alcohol.... Were not sure about the number yet. Its 2 years away so we have time to figure it out more. Idk all of the advice helps!!

I wouldn't do open bar it's so expensive.maybe you can do drink tickets instead? Or something like just wine and beer

I couldn't afford the bar so I skipped alcohol entirely. I also have serious addicts in my life and didn't want to enable them. Sure some of them might try to sneak it but we'll kick them out same with the marijuana (legal in my state) 🤷
At 5k alcohol will be a large chunk of your budget, I'd consider doing cash. Despite what all the.... Ladies on here say there's nothing wrong with cash bar especially if you simply can't afford it.

We have the same issues and budget. Our venue asked us to stock the bar ourselves so we plan to only have enough for everyone to get maybe three drinks max. That way it's open but not tooo open for family members who would abuse it. We're also hiring a bartender to work the drink station who will be told who is underage and who we don't trust to not drink too much. I'm such a "party mom" usually and I want to be able to drink and have fun without worrying about my guests.

We are going to offer unlimited beer and wine. It just seems better to pay for your guests to eat and drink.

I would have an open bar. I feel like wedding guests shouldn't have to pay.

As for your brother... advise the bartender ahead of time to keep an eye on his alcohol intake.

My FH and I plan to let our bartender know to keep a close eye on my FMIL.

Cash bar is way more responsible. An open bar is an invite to drinking way more, and it can be ruinous.

I have the same dilemma. Most of my friends can finish a bottle of wine by themselves. It would be too expensive to have an open bar. At first I was looking at wineries for my wedding venue but since majority of them wouldn’t allow outside drinks or have a minimum for alcohol (2bottles per table or 6 cases) I’m now thinking of just doing it in a barn or farm. Sigh.

View Quoted Comment Hey girl look into doing your reception at a local vfw or legion hall! Ik it sounds super lame but it's so so so cheap and would literally save you thousandssssss. That's what we decided on and since they have a bar there already I think were just going to pay for 1 certain type of beer and moscato or something and if anyone wants anything else they'll have to pay. Idc if it's too tackey tbh it's our day and people come to celebrate with us not for free booze .

View Quoted Comment We just booked our venue! Luckily they will allow outside drinks and would even provide the bartenders!😁

Hey Sydney!! Have you thought any more about having an open bar?

I have been to many, many weddings and a some were open bar and some were cash bar.

I never thought less of the couple for cash bar. They gave me dinner, entertainment and dessert. And more important, they asked me to share their beautiful day with them. I can afford to buy myself a drink (or two) if I want one

If people judge you for not giving you free booze, they are not that nice of people.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for that comment, Catherine! Everyone doesn't have a huge budget for a reception. And who says the "drink" in "food and drink" must contain alcohol?