What does "open bar" mean to you?

Open bar just means you don't have to pay for your drinks. What you decide to provide is up to you. In Pennsylvania, unless the venue has a liquor license, they can't provide alcohol. You have to buy it and we serve it. That gives people a lot of choice in the brands they buy. We give recommendations as to type and quantity that most people need. We usually recommend 1 red wine and 1 white wine, a regular and a light beer since it is easier. It's surprising how long people can take to make up their minds on what type of wine they want when given to many choices.

We are having an open bar (full beer, wine and liquor) however, our venue will not serve shots.

Thanks everyone! This really helps us out. I drink wine occasionally but have never ordered it at a wedding, so I wasn't sure if others typically do or not. It seems like people definitely expect it though so we will offer it. @JK8115, we aren't technically providing our own alcohol, but we do have to order it through our venue (and they put an upcharge on it as their "fee" for serving it). We just have to let them know what to buy. I really appreciate the responses.

We were charged a flat fee which usually open bar is a list of things the venue supplies, you generally have the option for Top shelf or normal. You can cut the cost down by only have signature drinks also.

Open bar means all the alcohol you want without paying for it. Most of the time its a regular bar which means smirnoff vs gray goose or jose cuervo vs patron. You can serve w.e you want I would do like 5 diffrent kinds of beer along with a tequila, a vodka, rum, ect

Open bar- guests don't need to get $ out in advance for the bar.

It can be a fully stocked bar or a limited bar. Usually beer and wine are expected, and then some liquors. If it's a fully stocked bar you have all of the options, but if it's limited you might have a couple signature drinks, a few of the most popular liquors, etc. I would get beer and wine though.

Beer- you have this organizes. Usually a light and heavier option.

Wine- at least a white and a red.

Most tables have an uncorked bottle of white and red on them during the dinner.

Open bar to me means the host offers beer/liquor at no cost to guests so I can order a midori sour, my husband his beer and we don't pay for it

We had open bar (not top shelf) and cannot even tell you exactly what was offered bc I never made it to the bar, the drinks kept coming to me lol I think not allowing shots is pretty common though. Our venue had a no shots policy and everyone was fine with it.

An open bar simply means that alcohol is hosted by the hosts. Whether that is wine and beer only, or all liquor and wine and beer and champs, doesn't matter. Open bar just refers to there being no cost for the guests.

An open bar for this Italian lady means all booze are covered within reason. Feel like an after dinner drink with dessert? It's covered. Ask the bartender for a lycheetini? Give him/her a really good tip for making it, but it's covered.

You want a shot of the $500/drink Louis XIII cognac, have at it on your dime. And an disgraciada on you for being rude enough for expecting it! (I have to laugh over the finer points of a disgraciada)

Http://apracticalwedding.com/2014/06/how-to-buy-alcohol-for-your-wedding/

We had an open bar and my venue actually didn't allow shots, so I don't really see it as weird or rude not to allow it.

And I'm with everyone else, basically means I have access to liquor that I don't have to pay for. I would expect, wine, beer and an assortment of liquor.

I would be bummed ... and also much drunker ... if there were no wine.

While I wouldn't say it's common to say "no shots," I do know that some venues don't even allow them to be offered.

This was sent to me yesterday and I loved it!

Thanks everyone! I'm pinning these links to share with FH later. I appreciate it. And lol @Maltese-- that's hilarious! A wedding and free booze almost always go hand-in-hand.

I think the no shots thing varies by area. When I was looking at venues the majority of the wedding factories didn't allow shots, mostly for liability reasons.

As for what to get I would say beer. Wine at least one red and one white. You might also want something sparkling, although skip the champagne most people can't taste the difference. For liquor do a signature drink or two. Or do vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, tequila, and some mixers- sour mix, some juices, etc.

A standard bar that provides alcohol for no charge to guests. I'd consider this to be a few types of wine and beer, a gin, rum, whiskey, and vodka.

I think the shot thing is more dependent on the owner of the venue...ours, for instance does NOT allow shots (they will make an exception for a photo op or something like that but thats it). But there are other venues in the same zip code, city, county and everything that do allow the shots. And, like Natalie said, it was for the liability reasons. I think if you provide something, your guests will appreciate it...maybe beer, wine and two signature cocktails? Or limit the liquor served to vodka and rum?