Rentals (plates, utensils, etc)

Pretty much every wedding I've ever attended has been disposable so I thought it was super fancy when my venue said they had real plates and people to bus the tables haha. Like PPs I have never noticed the plates and utensils at a venue unless it was a cheap plate that leaked or something.

I would go with the higher quality plastic or if you had to do paper...go with the heavy duty ones like Chinet. Amazon has fancy disposable plates with metallic edges for like $1 each.

I don't mind plastic at weddings (if it's nicer, sturdy plastic), but I wouldn't expect it if a traditional meal was being served like steak or fish. If the meal is more casual, plastic is fine. I would just get quotes from rental companies around you. You'll save money by not renting things like a water goblet & wine glass, or salad fork & dinner fork.

I would go with renting, but if you know your crowd and know they will be ok with the plastic, then go for it.

As far as alcohol goes, I would buy everything at a Costco/Sams Club. Ask before, but most can be returned if not opened. We limited ours to a couple different kinds of beers, vodka (Kirkland Vodka is quite good) with club soda, orange juice or cranberry juice mixers, Crown Royal and Patron. We also had coke and 7-up as mixers as well. Again, it is a know your crowd thing. You can probably guess pretty well what your guests will drink and how much.

With the meal you’re having plastic is fine. For as large amount of guests as you have I think I would do beer and wine only 2k for that many people with liquor seems low unless you’re doing completely bottom of the barrel liquor

If you go with disposables try webstaurant.com. You can purchase in bulk cheaper for thr number of plates you need, they have disposable cups, and dinnerware. I used them for my wedding and it was fine. You could also try posh party supplies. Here's the glasses and tumblers for cocktail hour that I ordered from webstaurant. They also have real glass options. I also found some black plates you may be interested in.

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In our case, we have a venue with a rule that we rent through a specific rental company. My caterer isn't allowed to bring in their own tableware. They will however clear and scrape the dirty plates, and store them back into their boxes for the rental company to pick up the following day.

It's frustrating, but worth the small inconvenience to have the venue we want.

Okay. I do know that both Costco and Sam's Club have heavier plastic plates that kind of look like china, but they aren't entirely "disposable." They also have plastic tableware, forks and knives that are silver or gold colored. My Fi's most recent family reunion they used those.
This is going to end up being a priority issue about how you deal with your budgeting. Sometimes, if you can get a deal for one item in your wedding, you can reallocate your funds to go to something that's not quite the way you want it. I know we're doing that a lot.
If I was in this pickle I'd reconsider the full bar, still make drinks available, but take the difference and see if it can offset the cost of rentals. It's also a matter of taste: do you want top liquor in plastic or not the greatest liquor in glass? You are going to have to take a good look at your guest list and think about how they will think about it too.