Open or Cash bar? Drink tickets?

View Quoted Comment Cash bars are awful and the sign of poor hosting. If you don’t have the budget, your options should be open wine and beer, cut your guest list down or put off the wedding until you can afford it. If you think you have a lot of guests who won’t drink, then pay on consumption.

The people you are inviting are GUESTS, not CUSTOMERS.

So, after attending some weddings where it was cash bar for the entire evening or part of the evening, I can tell you it definitely sucks. Guests do spend money coming to your wedding, obviously it's not even close to the amount you as the bride & groom are spending, but guests pay to travel to your wedding (whether it's gas, plane ticket, hotel, etc.), many purchase a whole new outfit for your wedding, and of course they spend money on your gift. To have guests shell out cash for their drinks and then tip the bartender is just kinda crummy and it makes guests feel awkward.

Because of this, and also because we didn't want to go crazy with alcohol expenses just like you, we opted to just serve beer & wine at our wedding. That way we're able to keep it an open bar and keep it in budget! We're expecting approximately 70 guests at our wedding and will be spending about $600 on the bar (that includes the bartender we hired).

As a guest, I'd rather an open bar with limited options, than a cash bar with endless cocktails. That's my opinion anyway haha

I’m sorry Rayvonda, you probably had no idea that you were aksing a question that teally triggers some people on here, lol. It sounds like you are trying to do the right thing, so that’s good!

IMO the consumption bar is a good idea but you need to talk to your venue about how it will work. I think most of the time people chose to set a “cap” so they don’t end up spending more than expected. Ideally you will set a high enough cap to cover alcohol for the whole night. But if not, once the cap is reached it will become a cash bar for your guests (usually when it gets close to reaching the cap the bartender or DJ or someone will announce that open bar will be over soon). I personally think as long as you have an open bar with at least beer and wine for part of your wedding, then you are fine.

View Quoted Comment I totally agree lol. I feel like paying for $2,000 worth of alcohol is enough. Anymore than that, we really can not afford. Are you notifying people that this is your situation?

To me it depends on what the venue offers. Here in NY most venue packages have open bar included for standard 4 hour events and it's just a matter of choosing house or premium liquor; however if your venue does not include OB in the package the pay by consumption option is a good route. Or if it's an option maybe just have signature cocktails instead of OB. Just remember it's your day and you have to do what's best for you and your FH once it's all said and done

View Quoted Comment I am posting details on the wedding events page of my website and spreading the word that we will be having a "cash bar" by word of mouth, so that people bring cash and hopefully will be pleasantly surprised that they don't have to pay for their first few rounds of drinks, but won't expect it!

People who compare it to hosting people in your home have never had that friend who came over and drank all your beer! HAHA Also when I actually host a party I always make it BYOB.

Obviously my wedding is pretty far out, but when we signed our contract for the venue, they gave us a few options (keep in mind, all of these options are based on beer and wine ONLY with maybe some champagne thrown in there during the toasts):

1. Consumption bar.

2. Buy a set amount of alcohol (enough to reasonably think that it would be enough to cover the entire night). We have to purchase the alcohol through our venue and if we order $1000 - $1500 worth of alcohol, then it SHOULD be enough for everyone for the night!

3. Set a dollar amount and once that cap is reached (well, shortly before), someone from the staff will find us and ask if we want to extend our cap and we will be able to either say "no, turn it into a cash bar" or "yes, please extend by $xx.xx". The only way we would turn it into a cash bar would be the last half hour of the night.

We meet with our venue director in the spring for a tasting and to answer any logistic questions, so I will definitely be asking her what she advises and what the average cost would be for each option based on our guest list.

We are having an open bar for 3hours after that it becomes cash bar.

Ok, so ALOT of the people coming to our wedding drink, so I see no problems with having a cash bar, I dont drink and neither does my future husband. A wedding is not a place for your guests to get drunk. You would have to pay at a restaurant. You come to a wedding to celebrate someone's special day, I do not believe that alcohol should be a bride and groom's responsibility, then you drink and drive. NO......

Guests should never be expected to pay for anything. Most places that sell alcohol will refund you for bottles that are unopened if you are supplying it yourself.