So, a backyard wedding....

I would hire one, if in the budget. We've had bartenders at our house parties. Very stress free.

Plus, there are always liability issues.

Hello there. I think you should definitely hire a professional bartender. A family member or friend will want to have fun and mingle and plus if they do something you're not happy with it's not easy to "reprimand" a family member rather then a person you are hiring. Plus a professional knows what they are doing and it will be much less stressful for you! A friend "manning" the bar will probably get drunk too while working and then step away from their duties. Plus if you need more ice, mixers, etc. you want the bartender to deal with it rather than having your friend/family come up to you during your reception to ask these questions.

If it's in your budget, definitely offer alcohol at no cost. Or if you have a limited budget offer beer and wine only.

I'd hire a bartender. We're having a backyard wedding and offering beer, wine, champagne, and two signature drinks, along with lemondae and iced tea. Therefore we will be spending less on alcohol. The catering company we want to go with will charge us an extra $125 for use of a bartender during our entire event so it should balance out w/ not having a fully stocked bar. I agree that you don't want the hassle of a family member manning the bar. I'd check with your caterer to see what they can do for you. Good luck!

Hire one...it will be less stressful for you and your family can enjoy the party

We had 2 bartenders for our backyard cocktail hour for about 150 people. One was at the liquor bar and one was at the beer/wine bar that we rented. If we had stayed and had the reception there, we would have kept the bartenders all night. I would not have had a guest or family member bartend.

Ours was no cost to our guests, and I would recommend that if it is in your budget.

We also asked that they not put out tip jars (we tipped them ourselves and didn't want our guests feeling obligated to tip), but when we watched our wedding video we saw that they HAD put out a tip jar. Grrrrrr.

I would hire a bartender if you can afford it. Just less stress for you. They can help keep things cold, keep glassware clean and ready to go, keep things tidy, etc. Plus - your friends and family probably want to enjoy the party and will likely get distracted by socializing and such, I wouldn't put them to work behind the bar. Unless you have a cousin Johnnie who's an actual bartender and offered this up as a wedding gift or something.

A bar at a backyard wedding must absolutely positively without a doubt be an open bar IMO. It would be super strange to charge people for drinks at someone's home. It's not like a venue where you're getting charged by consumption or pp. All that money would be going straight into your pocket, which is really weird. Just purchase what you can afford and when it's gone, it's gone. Many states and stores allow you to return unopened bottles/cases, just check.

Hire a bartender, make sure they have smart serve it its needed in your area, and make sure they are opening one case at a time and one bottle of each thing at a time so you can return un-used portions. Also make sure you get a proper permit getting your wedding shut down by the cops would be the ultimate embarrassment.

Thanks for all the advice!

I have the same dilemma since I'm having a backyard wedding too. I just decided to have an open bar with beer, sangria and one signature drink. People can help themselves to the beer and the drinks will be in punch bowls so people can serve themselves. I'm just going to need someone to replenish the punch bowl when it gets low.