Wine Service at Dinner Table

Do without it. It's a waste especially if theres an open bar girlfriend

Holy hell thats a lot of money. If you’re paying that much per guest to drink , no thanks to paying more for the wine. That to me is absurd !

I used to be a banquet server and you would not imagine how many bottles of wine we dumped down the drain at the end of the night when every table had 1 or 2 bottles each. Stand your ground. Don't do it.

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If we bring in our own wine, we won't have to pay the corkage fee for what hasn't been opened and would keep the remaining wine.

Lol, not sure if this changes your opinion but just to mention!

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I agree, it's totally crazy! They also charge extra to do a champagne toast but we are scrapping that all together, people can just toast with what they have in front of them.

However, I looked at several venues and they all had this rule. I am getting married in Beaufort, SC, which is pretty close to Charleston, which is a huge wedding destination and I think due to this, they are in a situation to more easily rip people off.

I wouldn't do it. Doesn't seem worth it for something that is 'free' on the other side of the room. I have only been to one wedding with wine on the table and I was a bit surprised by it. I am used to wait staffed wine service or heading to the bar. To be honest it came off as kind of cheesy to me.

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The wine would be served! Or so I believe...and hope so for the additional price!

I have had it on the tables before and quite frankly was happy to easily top myself up but I would prefer not to do that at my wedding, mostly because of our table settings.

Honestly, people are used to getting up to go to the bar. It just doesn't seem worth it for the price they are asking. It's just absurd.

I say no. $72 PP is a lot and will cover all the drinks they want. Plus, now wine bottles won’t interfere with your table decor. Please save your money. Your open bar is plenty. 👍

I also feel $72 per person is a lot but my Mom wanted to have "premium liquors" but now that I work it out, having the regular liquor was $67 per person, so not a huge difference. Curious, how much is everyone else spending per person?

My package comes with table service and I took it off. I was lucky because they’re actually crediting me for it (a whole whopping $2.50 a person). I thought it was silly since were already doing open bar and those who want wine will get it from the bar and those who want something else will get that instead. If you really want it I guess I would go with the bringing in your own, but if you don’t care that much I would think about dropping it altogether.

View Quoted Comment I don’t think it’s that bad but I live in a high cost of living area! We are paying $55 per person for beer and wine. Getting married at a winery and their wine usually runs $12-$15 a glass so definitely not serving two buck chuck haha.

We're getting married in San Francisco and are faced with the same issue - only our venue won't even allow outside liquor, beer or wine. So we're stuck with their alcohol and their prices. We made the decision that guests can get up to get their own drinks (including wine) at the open bar. No need to pay the extra costs with service during dinner. It's good to get up and stretch your legs every now and then ;-)

Where are you getting married in Beaufort that it is costing so much!? You're a lot closer to HHI/Savannah than you are to Charleston.

We charge $6.95-7.95 per persons for wine service. We would serve wine during salads and then during meal service. We don’t leave bottles of wine on the table, a bartender and a few servers walk around offering two wines. Brides will sometimes close the bar during meal service and do wine service. I can tell you that not everyone will want wine.......

Our bar prices run between $**** pp for four hours.....the last hour is $6.95-7.95 for the last hour making the bar five hours.

View Quoted Comment We are paying $32 for open wine and beer. If we have enough declines we will upgrade to the liquor package but we will see.

View Quoted Comment We are just under $20pp in DC for top shelf. But we get to bring in our own booze. If we did not have a bare bones venue and went with something more inclusive we would be in the $75-$100 range for top shelf (grey goose, patron, etc).

I encourage you to consider whether the guests you've invited will expect wine service with dinner, or will be content to have dinner with the drink of their choice from the bar. While wine with dinner is a staple for some, it may not be as important for all your guests to have wine throughout the dinner service. Best of luck!

We are not serving wine at tables - primarily because I think you end up with a lot of wasted wine. People will choose a red or white even if they don't really want it because it's right there. I was at a wedding last weekend and payed attention to this and noticed a lot of half full (or more) glasses of wine left at the end. We're going to trust that people who want a glass of wine can walk to the open bar and order one.

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We are getting married at Dataw Island Club. The whole area is absurdly priced, from what I could tell Savanah was on the more reasonable side but Hilton Head was outrageous...my only assumption is that its spilling out from Charleston but either way, they are getting away with charging these prices!