Signature cocktails just during cocktail hour? UPDATED

How would you feel if you preferred cocktails over beer and wine and got a delicious drink at cocktail hour but then when you go to get another one after dinner you're shit out of luck? I would be pretty annoyed by this.

Also why no soda options?

I don't think this is the best option. If I attended a wedding where liquor was only served during cocktail hour, I would think that's a little weird. Some people prefer liquor over beer/wine.

I agree with Little Demon, can you add some pop and other options?

I agree with pp, this seems very confusing for your guests. (And I agree with asking why no soda?)

I would do the signature cocktails all night as well as supply soda.

I'd keep the bar the same all night. Some people don't do well switching between various types of alcohol and some don't like beer/wine at all. Also-since you are providing the alcohol, it should not change your budget drastically at all.

I'd just do it the whole night, honestly. Consumption tapers off after cocktail hour and combined with the fact that many people will switch to wine with dinner,I don't think it will alter your budget in a giant way.

On a side note; if you're going to do sig drinks, which will probably be very popular at cocktail hour when the biggest crush of thirsty humans happens, either have some pre poured or choose drinks that can be premade in pitchers and served quickly. Having bartenders hand make one artisanal drink at a time when 100 people want drinks is a real clusterf@%@ck.

Thanks for the replies so far! Full disclosure, I have been advocating for the cocktails all night as well as adding more soda varieties (there will be a couple that are mixers for the signature cocktails but are available unmixed too), but my fiancé thinks I'm going overboard and our guests will be fine with beer and wine during dinner. I think the thought process of the venue coordinator and caterer was that it would streamline things for the bartender or something, or just that it was unnecessary to have cocktails all night. (They also made a comment about people being less likely to get overly drunk, which I thought silly since we have lots of beer/wine and intentionally booked hotel blocks with free shuttles so no driving needed, plus my adult guests can be trusted to pace themselves or not as they please.)

I'd keep the bar the same all night - whether that's beer and wine only, or also serving signature cocktails all night. That way it's not confusing for your guests, and you don't disappoint anyone who was teased by a delicious cocktail at cocktail hour that they now can't order!

Thank you all! Glad it's unanimous. I will use this thread to support my position to my fiancé that this IS strange to do just cocktail hour cocktails! I agree that this won't change our budget much either way, which is why I was inclined to supply both the cocktails and beer/wine all night.

Sarah M -- I drink cocktails whether or not kids are present, but it was mentioned by venue coordinator as reason not to do cocktails all night... I didn't want to bias answers to my initial post by leaving out info that apparently some people find relevant

My mom suggested doing this and I had to have the same argument with her. She was easier to persuade since she loves her martinis!

I have bartended many weddings and I'm torn with this one. Depending on your crowd and your drink choices this could go either way. I've worked some weddings where the guests would try the signature drinks during cocktail hour, realize it's not for them and switch to beer or wine & then I've also worked others where the signature drinks were a bit more popular and people were ordering them all night. You know your guests best. If you decide to only have the cocktails during cocktail hour, be sure to have a sign or something to display on the bar so the guests know that those drinks are only available during a specific time frame.

This was exactly the scenario of a wedding I went to last June. I will admit that as a guest I found it cheap and odd. At the super hot, outside in Texas reception I really wanted an iced cocktail and not wine. Since it was on their property, I knew they were buying it all directly themselves and any limitation was a direct choice to not care about guest preferences.

When you are not dealing with a licensed bar where you are paying top dollar for mixed drinks, there is absolutely no reason to do this. Liquor should be served the entire reception. Have a modified bar of bourbon, gin, vodka, rum, scotch, variety of sodas, tonic water, sweet and sour mix, Bloody Mary mix, cherries, and orange and lime slices. That's all you need.

It's actually cheaper to buy handles of liquor and have your bartenders pour mixed drinks than what non boxed wine by the glass comes out to btw.

Why is your caterer demanding this? I would go with another bartender because this one clearly cannot handle mixed drinks so has these ridiculous packages. Call your local liquor stores and ask for discount deals on supplying all the alcohol for your wedding. They will know bartenders. I'm 99% confidant it will be same cost overall as the vendor you currently have and please your guests 100% more.

I don't know how accurate this is, but I can imagine a situation where someone sees a friend with "signature cocktail," goes up to the bar to get one, and is told they can only have beer or wine. How frustrating! I think whatever you serve should be kept consistent throughout the night. No need for confusion.

This was also suggested to us as well. Only having sig drinks during cocktail hour and beer and wine the whole night. We have not given an answer yet as we are still deciding on what alcohol we want to be served. But the majority of our friends and family are beer drinkers so I am not sure if it would be a huge deal. I just don't want to short-change anyone who would prefer a drink other than beer and wine and soda. My mom said it was totally up to us what to serve and when just to let her know. I am not a big drinker so I am having trouble even coming up with sig drinks, haha,

Just talked to my fiancé and he's on board with signature cocktails all night. Thank you all for your help!