Who’s having just wine at the wedding?

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Like others have said, type of alcohol doesn't matter when it comes to drunkenness/roudyness. Plus, not all guests go to a wedding to just get wasted (and I have on wine lol).

The beer option is mostly for those who don't drink wine as an alternative alcoholic option. Similar to soda, tea and water. Not everyone drinks soda, not everyone drinks tea, etc. It's nice to have a second option for guests who can't drink wine or don't like wine, and the same could be said if all you had was beer (my neighbor is actually allergic to most beers, didn't know that was a thing, so if there was only beer, she wouldn't be able to drink socially with guests). I'm not knocking your decision or anything, just thinking from a guests standpoint.

Yep, it’s a thing! I’m allergic to hops, so I am not able to drink any beers. I also get migraines from the tannins in wine, so beer and wine only weddings are a huge bummer for me. I’ve learned to just carry a flask to those types of weddings 😆

As a bartender myself I would highly recommend you get beer along with the wine. Not every one likes or drinks wine, some people have reactions to it ( I get gnarly migraines from it, especially red wine- which is quite common), and it is more of a dinner drink.

Keep in my mind most light beers ( budlight, coorslight, etc) have less of an alcohol percentage than a glass of wine.

I would highly suggest adding beer to that plan if you can. Not everyone drinks wine, and hopefully you want to host all of your guests.

The timing with the bartender working until 9:30 is perfect.

We did beer and wine. Bought cases of wine and put bottles out on the tables and got a refrigerated keg trailer for the beer. Didn't need a bartender and everyone seemed content.

People get drunk off of any alcohol, including beer and wine. They often know what their own limits are so it doesn’t make sense for you to limit the options for them. It’s not your responsibility to act as a babysitter. The bartender is legally trained in how to cut them off and security is required to remove any troublemakers. It’s also acceptable to not invite anyone who can’t tolerate alcohol and becomes wild when they drink.


30 minutes is not a lot of time for someone to sober up before heading out. If the caterer doesn’t employ their own bartenders then it is their job to locate a contracted company for you to use. Self serve is a magnet for liability claims. Can you serve coffee at that time inexpensively?
In our families and social circles, maybe 1 or 2 people out of 200+ drink wine but they prefer cocktails or nonalcoholic beverages instead, so wine only or beer/wine only would be thousands in wasted money and alcohol. As a proper host, you need to figure out what you can comfortably afford that your guests will enjoy, whether it’s food or beverages.

We are just having wine for that very reason! Yes people can get drunk off of any alcohol but I know that people are MORE LIKELY to get drunk off of liquor and beer than wine. We are likely going to be serving wine for cocktail hour, dinner, and then a little bit into the evening. Again, not wanting drunk people at our wedding!!! My fiancé and I aren’t big drinkers but we have family that can go a little crazy so we’re sticking on the safe side, because we want a little something for the adults to enjoy but not go crazy!