What did you spend on open bar?

I would look at how much drinks are at your venue and then budget for 2 drinks a person for the first hour and 1 per person for every hour after that. At my venue glasses of wine were $12-$16 each but obviously that will be different in a lower cost of living area.

Price depends on where you're located.


What is the difference in the packages, based on what your guests drink? Some people drink beer/wine only, others drink nonalcoholic beverages only, others prefer liquor and don't drink beer or wine at all.

Ours is about 1700 for 65 adults for a full open bar (all kinds of liquor, beer, and wine) for 4 hours, located in North Carolina

It varies. Ar our venue we chose a package for $19pp and we're spending less than $3k.

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We live in Houston so definitely not lower cost of living. I'll talk with the owner. I'm sure she can point me in the right direction for our guest count. Otherwise, I'll take the most expensive option and multiply it accordingly. Thank you for your input!

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The difference in packages is based on how involved you want the venue. They have basic set-up to all-inclusive. The open bar is complimentary up to $3,000. The owner said they can serve anything we want as they are a bar/restaurant during the week.

View Quoted Comment They include a bartender with each so guests are served?
At a bar, I would assume every package is all inclusive unless you have the option to purchase your own alcohol for them to serve. Personally I would go with the best that you can afford.

Take a poll of a handful of friends and family to see what would suit them best, as long as no one has to open their wallets.

Wow, complementary up to $3000?! I have never heard of that before. That is a really great deal! We won’t even be spending $3000 on our bar. We are having our reception in New Orleans, and Open bar (beer, liquor, wine, and all nonalcoholic drinks of course) is $24 per person for three hours.

View Quoted Comment Yeah, we have really found a hidden gem! The esthetic is to die for... the food reviews from past weddings and local Houstonians are top notch... and the bar is complimentary. Plus they handle everything else. The only vendor we will need to hire outside of them is our photographer.

View Quoted Comment Yes, the venue has three bars on property (one outside, one on first floor, one on second floor) and bartenders are included. Guests won’t have to walk far for drinks! Yes, the package is all inclusive.

View Quoted Comment That is a great deal!

We paid one cost of alcohol and food so unfortunately I can't tell you how much it was for just the alcohol.

Our open bar was just over $6000 for 110 guests for 4 hours of service. It ended up being so high because the beverage labor/bar service fee at our venue was $1800, and we were required to use their bartenders. Taxes are also high where we're located. We then paid an additional $800 for wine service during dinner while the bar was closed, and an additional $550 for champagne, which was not included in the open bar package. Obviously, this is extreme and on the pricier end, as we got married at an expensive venue. So the total was roughly $7350 for the alcohol for 110 guests. For the record, I personally think this was completely insane, but our parents paid for our wedding so this expensive open bar package was all their doing.

Included in our all-inclusive package of $9,500 was an open beer and wine bar; we added hard liquor on to that for $800 for 100 guests.

View Quoted Comment WOW! That blows me away. If you are still heavily drinking after $4,000 then it becomes a cash bar! I want to be a good host, but I’m not Mrs. Money Bags haha! Did everyone drink enough for that cost to be worth it?

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I completely agree that it was outrageous, and we tried to talk our parents out of it, but since they were the ones paying, it wasn't our decision...Our venue had a $5000 beverage minimum, but we upgraded to a different package with higher quality liquor so that raised the price, in addition to the champagne and wine add-ons during dinner. Some of the venues we looked at were even more insane, and one had an $8000 beverage minimum! My cousin in NY had her wedding at a fancy hotel and I know for a fact that their open bar cost well over 10 grand. I don't think that our guests were heavily drinking at our wedding (they had a normal amount). In my personal opinion, it was not worth it, but it wasn't my decision to make since I was not the one paying.

View Quoted Comment I understand. It was very gracious of your parents to pay that amount. Our whole wedding we are trying to stay $10,000 or under. It is amazing to me how prices vary throughout the US for weddings.

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Oh yes it was extremely generous. Our wedding would have been completely different had we paid for it ourselves

Mine is open bar and it’s $41 a head for anyone over 21.