Those with out a bartender

ACK - no! I have NO ideas what the laws are, but I can imagine you or the venue can get in trouble if someone underage is drinking?

How would that work exactly? I'm kind of picturing an equivalent of a cooler with beer in it or a keg. Probably not what you were going for. What else would guests do, reach across the bar and grab a bottle? I think a bartender is kind of necessary, esp like out the window said, to stop underage drinking too.

Wouldnt the waiters take drink orders at tables? I know usually they put wine bottles on the table one red and one white and then replace them when they look empty. Normally any party Ive been to you would go to the bar to get a drink or have your waiter take a drink order. You should ask them if they can order with the waiters

There will be no children except my own the rest invited are all of age. Actually I have seen it before just didn't know the logistics. Most I knew that did so had a keg (which I'm not opposed to it's not some super elegant affair) and wine bottles at the tables). I was just wondering more so those who did it without.

How do I legally serve beer and liquor at a special event? - texas law

It is legally possible to provide alcoholic beverages without a permit; however, the following rules must be followed:

You may not ask for money in any form

You may not ask for a donation, have a tip jar for servers or charge for drinks

Drinks must be free to any adult who requests a drink

If only paying customers receive “free” drinks, it is not really free

You may not charge a cover at the door or provide a paid service

You may not furnish alcohol to anyone under the age of 211

Class A misdemeanor – potential fine of $4,000.00 and/or jail term not to exceed 1 year2

Requires a system of age identification (wristbands, marks on hands, ID checks for each drink)

You may not provide alcohol to intoxicated persons

Signs of intoxication include coordination difficulties, reduced judgment and inhibitions and problems with vision and reflexes

You may have servers who are not TABC certified

@Maria there will be no waiters it's not that kind of wedding... This isn't a fancy affair just a rented room for about 60.

Not having a bartender sounds like a liability nightmare with a large group of people.

Gotchya, i agree with shannon you should probably just get a bartender for the night.

I would say that if you are concerned about the logistics, and its in your budget, then hire one so you don't have to worry about. There will be enough to worry about.

What are you doing for catering? I ended up hiring a bartender from my caterer for $200 for the night, just for beer and wine. That was much cheaper than any specific bar-tending services in my area, even if you paid for your own alcohol.

If you just have a keg and a few bottles of wine on the tables, I can see how people would be able to easily serve themselves. But there is still the question of removing empty wine bottles, or providing new ones, making sure the keg has plenty of cups, and/or cleaning up and removing the keg at the end of the night.

If you are on a budget, you can ask a broke college student to help. They'll take any money and are probably cheaper than a real bartender I think it's really important to have a bartender, because the bar is the busiest place of a reception, and it will be a lot of work and stressful to keep it running without help. Get a bartender!

@Jessica - Our Catering only does food they can't do alcohol. We would hire someone for clean up.

I'm not saying we won't because there are some we can get for just a few hundred. BUT if we can do without then I was just curious how people did it. If we had like over 100 people I would totally get one no questions asked. But it's really like a total of 30 couples that we know well. Most of whom have been at our house for parties. We went to a friends wedding a while back that was just self serve and it went okay but not really sure how she kept things cool as well. I know her mom had some friends from their church help.

Having a bartender will control consumption, which is good for liability and for $$, keep things clean and relieve you from worrying about it.

Samantha those don't look bad We would have people hired to take care of trash and what not. @celia good news is we are buying the alcohol ourselves so the amount of money we spend luckily won't change. When the drinks are gone they are gone. (aside from non alcoholic)

If you have to ask this question, the answer is YES! Hire a licensed bartender. Make sure that you get a Certificate of Insurance from their insurance carrier.

By having a licensed and insured bartender, you will lessen your chance of being sued, should anyone cause an alcohol related accident.

@TooManyMistys, your comment to Celia, about "when they are gone they are gone" will not save you, should someone leave, get in an accident and blow more than the legal limit, which can be as few as two drinks for some. Protect your ass! Hire someone! The expense is worth it.

@Wendy, what is TABC? I know that it is a controlling agent where you are, but I do not know what it is.

There will be no bar persay but I will say from my understanding even with a TABC certified person working (which bh FH and I were one but we just didn't renew it) since its our party (and private) we could still be held liable if things happen. This isn't to say there isn't risks or pro's to having one.

We will most likely have one just for the fact that it's just easier to have someone else take care of the drinks instead of us/guests. And helps with clean up too as well. BUT I just was curious how other weddings worked with out one since I know some do. But yeah, none of the venues we are looking at have "bars". They are open spaced rooms. Just tables/chairs and a room that's really it.

@Kathy was referring to cost she said it would save me $$ buy hiring one due to less consumption. I just explained that simply what we have will be all we have, basically, the price is set no matter how much people drink OR don't drink so I won't save money on alcohol by having one.

But as I mentioned having a TABC person served doesn't hold you still not responsible. I really see it not much different than having a party at my house which we have had about 40 at one time.

TABC is a type of certification one needs to be able to serve alcohol it's a short class (FH and I did ours online).

Thanks guys I think we got what we need to make a decision

We're not having one. The company I tried to hire was a bust and it's too late for us to book someone else. We came up with having bottles of wine on the tables with pitchers of ice water, a table set up with beverage dispensers with champagne punch, strawberry lemonade and ice tea and some buckets of beer and pop. My awesome friend who originally was going to be out of town can now make the wedding and has offered to keep an eye on the beverage table when it gets low and put more out.

My venue is like yours. Long as we are not selling it then we're good. Plus I don't want mixed drinks ( have some heavy drinkers coming) and I have to biu everything myself. I plan on buying more non alcoholic beverages than beer and wine.