Plastic v glassware Open Bar Cocktail/reception

I dislike single use plastic so I would not use them for that main reason. My second reason would be that plastic just isn't that "nice" and would give me family cookout vibes.

Im all for plastic. It depends on your venue and your bar. We are responsible for bringing everything ourselves and cleaning up ourselves. That means to have glassware we would have to rent it AND clean them ourselves before returning. Thats a Hard No for me. Im not doing 150peoples worth of dishes, not even glasses. Im going with plain clear plastic because that’s easier and cheaper for me.

View Quoted Comment Yep that's exactly how our venue is We are just rening a space and we're like required to bring in everything Thank God the caterer I really like offers a good deal of everything needed they do set up and tear down but the venue also doesn't have a kitchen So even bar staff there wouldn't necessarily be a bar station to wash or rinse out people's cups thoroughly if that makes sense So that's why I was kind of leaning more towards plastic

View Quoted Comment Then definitely yes to plastic! Especially no kitchen? Theres no way you are hauling all those glasses Home to wash them lol. We are fully diy. Setup & cleanup, Bring our own alcohol also. I have clear hard plastic for beer & margaritas. Stemless plastic wine glasses for wine.

View Quoted Comment Oh also plastic champagne flutes for the toast. Our caterer provides cheap plates so Im opting for buying my own “fancy” plastic plates and fancy plastic silverware.

View Quoted Comment Yes our venue is like a historic courthouse so it's really just truly the open rotunda that they have The caterer that we want to hire has done so many weddings so we feel comfortable enough by like I just couldn't imagine asking for like glassware for the tables plus bar and cocktail hour where I feel like with my family who are yes heavy drinkers lol I would just think plastic would might be the route to go that way they can throw them away do whatever I don't have to like feel bad for my caterer trying to like clean all these glasses up and haul back to their facility I just was hoping plastic wasn't too tacky

View Quoted Comment I dont think its tacky. Others might. As long as you aren’t using red solo cups I think you’re good lol. But honestly we do what we can within our means. For me its just not logistically possible to have anything other than plastic. Paper is a little more tacky lol but if that is all I could afford in my budget then it is what it is. We try our best especially when we have to diy. Just make sure to over-order. Because ppl will take & throw away we need to buy more than what we need.

By others i meant others here on WW. Its also a know your crowd type of thing, our family could care less.

I really think it depends on the vibe you are setting with your wedding. If you are having a casual wedding then I say plastic could be fine, but if you are having an evening wedding and expecting people to dress for an evening wedding then go with all real drinkware, dinnerware and silverware. You've got time to figure out your vibe.

It depends on your vibe and the venue. Some venues require plastic/disposable if anyone takes drinks onto the dance floor due to the potential of breakage with inebriated guests and prevent people stepping on glass since many dance barefoot. Double check with the rental company (caterer or outside party rental business) what their policy is for glassware and if you have to clean it before you return it. According to food safety laws, people have to get a clean glass/plate each one through. (Unless they are plated and you will have refills at the table for water, etc)

Unless the wedding is super black tie formal, I prefer plastic for any beverages from the bar beyond the standard water glasses at the table.

View Quoted Comment Agreed where were getting married is a historic courthouse and it truly is a real functioning courthouse during the day so I wouldn't be surprised if drinks that aren't at the table setting were supposed to be plastic, but definitely agree on the formal tip as well

I would not even consider what you are doing for drinking vessels until you have booked your venue, caterer, and bartending service. They may provide glassware or disposable cups at no additional cost, so don't purchase anything like this until you know you need it.

I think the vibe of your wedding is important here (anything black tie or more formal would demand glassware, IMO). For a more casual affair single use could be fine. If you are going to go single/use disposable, use compostable cups though. Plastic is just super wasteful.

I don’t love plastic drink ware unless it is specifically necessary (beach/outdoor/etc where glass is not allowed)— don’t prefer drinking out of it, and don’t like it’s wastefulness. Customized plastics like the first picture I find to be particularly so— it’d be great if people kept and reused them, but most won’t since they won’t want to carry home a dirty cup. So, a lot will just get thrown away, and you’d need to order a huge quantity since most people won’t reuse them for all drinks (in fact some bar services might not even allow reuse for sanitation reasons), so they’ll just get a fresh one every time— you’ll go through a lot and soon discover how cheap rentals can be! They’re cute, just not the best solution for a large event (so maybe my answer changes if your event is under 50 guests versus over)


We rented glassware , but it was done through our full service caterer, so…aside from saying “yes, we need glassware” I had nothing to do with any of the coordination or ordering. They took care of everything, and so it was simple for me and still felt classy 🤣. Their service arrived with clean glasses, and left with dirty ones. I don’t know how many they had of each, but must have been a large quantity (crates’ worth!) because like you’ve described, there wasn’t any sort of washing station available at the “bar”— our bar was literally just a table that they set up. So, I definitely agree with the PP who suggests not to order anything until you have the catering details squared away! They may have tried and true solutions

I'd def. see if your venue or bartender will be providing glassware first before you make your decision!

I personally like the idea of customized plastic glassware that you can reuse, like the frosted cups you posted pics of. Almost all of the weddings we've been to had these as favors, and we loved them!! I like how you can customize them to fit your wedding, but also they act as a favor, and guests can take them home and use them countless times over. If it came between choosing the frosted reusable cups over the custom plastic ones, def. go with reusable. Saves on waste, but guests can take one or a few home to use over and over.

I won't talk about plastic, but I went with custom cocktail napkins in a formal vibe, and am very excited. I am more subtle with personal touches (didn't do any invitation pics, 0 attendants, 0 speeches scheduled), but looking at my "Mr. and Mrs. XX" napkins bring me joy.

My venue is providing all of the glassware and it's glass. I think it's more formal anyway and I wouldn't want a ton of plastic waste.