Timeline for 3 hour open bar

Did you contract say anything about last call? I know some venues dictate when last call has to be by.

You can close the bar during dinner. I am the first one in line asking for eight of them when I hear the announcement.

I am not from USA, so forgive me for asking ... but $1000 for alcohol for 90min seems a bit excessive. Is this usual?

We don't have open bar here, we have a consumption tab, which is what we did ... and it wasn't half as expensive as I thought it was going to be. Is that an option for an hour?

@Jennifer - Probably depends on how many people and the cost of alcohol at the venue.

I mean at $6-$10 per drink x 100 adults pus tax and tip can add up quick.

How much can you afford to maybe just do beer and wine for the duration of the wedding? Our wedding is 4:30-9:30, everyone has to be gone by 11. We will be serving beer and wine, which is a great way to cut costs while making sure that everyone will be hosted properly. Our venue also completely shuts the bar down during dinner to ensure that people actually eat, so it's possible to cut that hour out as well.

Serving wine during dinner is not closing the bar. You are serving during dinner, which is fine. Our venue is a 3 level loft and they don't have a physical bar in the room where dinner is served but they can order anything they want from the bar.

@Kate S. Having an open bar for your guests has nothing to do with getting drunk at someone's wedding. Some people don't drink before or after but may enjoy wine or a cocktail with their dinner and as a host you should offer that. Closing a bar during dinner won't stop anyone from getting drunk.

In my opinion, this just isn't the line item to cut when trying to save money. Look for items that won't affect your guests' experience, like invites, flowers, decor, dress, favors, bridesmaid props, off season date for venue, etc.

Most of the weddings I have been to have done only a partial open bar. The last one I was at they only did open bar for cocktail hour and then had a cash bar the remainder of the night. I think so long as you schedule it so that there is open bar for at least through dinner you would be fine. A partial open bar doesnt bother me as much as a full cash bar would so long as the hours for cash bar are at the end of the night anyway. Or inquire if instead of a cash bar you can do the open bar and then do a consumption bar. You wont know what kind of money the consumption bar will save you until the end of the night, but it will keep the guests from paying and if you leave it for the last hour or two you will have to pay for less drinks since people will already be toasty and will drink less the closer it is to going home

Consider splitting the 3 hour bar into 2 segments of 1.5 hours. Have no bar during dinner but serve wine table side during dinner. That will still save you upwards of $500.

@AL you're wrong every single venue we looked at closes the bar during dinner.

I think it really depends on the venue because ours specifically made it a point to let us know that NO drinks of any kind will be served during dinner time. Our Coordinator told us that it makes sure everyone at least gets to go through the buffet once, before dinner is no longer served. After dinner, the bar is fully up and running.

I would have the bar open from 5:30 to 6:15 and then from 7:30 to 9:45, as long as you are serving wine with dinner. I really doubt dinner can take less than 45 minutes, more likely an hour.

My venue was a restaurant and I believe the bar was closed but then again, guests got their drinks from the waiter to technically bar was OPEN but you could not go to the bar to order.

My brother's venue has open bar but during the dinner the bar closes and there is only wine service during dinner.

I would do open bar from 5:30-6:30. Serve wine only during dinner then open bar again from 7:30-9:30. Its normal (here in Michigan anyway) to do last call half an hour before the bar closes. There will likely be a rush after this announcement so then you are covered.

I have never seen the bar closed during dinner although I see PP saying its normal for them so it could be regional. Personally I think dinner is when guests would want a drink the most.

The bar has closed during dinner at every wedding I've attended. This is not uncommon at all. However, there is either wine service or bottles of wine on the tables.

I have never been to a wedding that closes the bar during dinner. That's the busiest time for the bar. People go up to refill their drinks while waiting to head to the buffet.

@OP - pay the extra money to extend the bar time. Our package comes with 2 hours, we cut costs in other areas to extend it to all 4 hours. Only cost us $700 to do that for our 130 adults.

I agree that at least where I live, all the venues we saw close the bar during dinner. The bar also closes a set amount of time before the end of the evening. I think it’s either 30 minutes or an hour before, I don’t remember off the top of my head. Would it be possible to do those two things and have it bring you down into the time frame you are hoping for?

@VC thanks, it sounds expensive when i convert currency - which I know is a bad thing to do, but that does make sense.

So, what our venue offered is during cocktail hour, we had roaming champagne, non-alcoholic punch and signature cocktail. The bar was open during this time (on a consumption tab basis), but I think most people drank from what was passed by servers.

During dinner, we had wine service - 2 bottles of wine per table, and a bottle of champagne for toasts.

Also, the bars usually close before the end of the function. Here, we close them about 30min before.

I have been to weddings that close the bar during dinner. Its annoying -- I end up getting multiple drinks for me and DH at once to last us through dinner. But its an option.

Bless you, for this reasonable response. Budgets aren't infinite, it frustrates me when people say "oh just cut your guest list". My fiance and I come from big families, would family rather be invited than not have to pay for their 4th or 5th alcoholic drink? I find that strange, free alcohol does not a wedding make.