Would you be offended? Limited Tab Bar

Thanks, I'll take it into consideration. So far my guests think its a great idea, iif done tastefully. But I can see your points. I just hate 1 hour open, I would have to end up with full open then. I'll think about it when it gets closer.

No kids either, I'm very against that. Aint happening.

We are doing a consumption bar with a $1500 limit then switch to cash bar. We are also having an after-party bonfire where we will have beer and girly drinks to give out so the party can continue. Our venue's drink prices aren't insane so if it does hit the limit, it's not like $8/drink. I hate cash bars but we couldnt afford their stupid package they offered. It was like $30 pp plus tax and gratuity. I think that is outrageous. I mean I can guaruntee half my guests will not drink $30 worth of booze. And that was just beer/wine/soda! They tricked us because when we visited them they were BYOB and then they applied for their liquor license so now they wont allow us to do that. Grr.

Well it sounds like it's a bit mixed. Some of you would be offended and leave my wedding early and some would understand that weddings cost a lot of money!! I'm asking more if we need to plan to scale back our honeymoon to pay for the bar or cap the bar at a certain dollar value (think we'd allow wedding party to drink free all night and let non-alcohol drinks be free all night). We are limiting to beer and wine to keep cost down and the cap we are talking gives everyone 3-4 drinks depending on what beer or wine they choose. We'd also have coffee and tea included. Unfortunately the laws where I'm having the wedding say venue must provide everything and it's the same price for draft beer vs. bottles so that doesn't help any either. Table wine could actually be cheaper than getting wine from the bar because we'd buy by the bottle rather than the glass. We have some time to figure it out. I'm just scared of getting a $5,000 bar bill at the end of the night!!

@spicydeene, yea you just dont do them lol...

As far as tickets, ive never seen this either and in my opinion its tacky and its like your giving me a limit of only 3 drinks, granted i can buy drinks after my tickets run out but i would be more offended over tickets then an open bar

on a side note, if you can supply your own wine many wine shops will give a discount if you buy a case of wine so that can save some $$

I think this is definitely a regional thing too. I've been to quite a few weddings in my area and I have never been to one that had an open bar for more than a few hours. I've never gone to a wedding not expecting to pay for some or all of my drinks so I would definitely not be offended. We paid for 2 kegs, 15 bottles white wine, 15 bottles of red wine and champagne toast for 160 ppl. We didn't run out of any of the 4 and our guests did not seem disappointed in the least bit, everyone I noticed just stuck to the free stuff unless they didn't drink or only wanted mixed drinks.

Last Call is 10:30pm and the Reception ends at 10:55pm. Our wedding is on an island so guests have to take the 10:55 ferry (venue is pretty much next to the dock) and it's a 15 minute ferry ride back to Portland.

I wouldn't be offended if I knew ahead of time that it would be converting into cash bar. Just so I know to bring cash.

Definitely regional. I'm from NYC and I've never been to a wedding where they had a cash bar. It's always been open bar, and you tip the bartender (optional). Things around the country are different everywhere! My venue includes alcohol in its pricing, thankfully. Not to say it's not expensive, though! But if I went to a wedding and there was a cash bar, or if it was open bar and then cut off, or if it only allowed a few drinks covered and the rest I had to pay for, I wouldn't be upset. I'd be happy to be there regardless, and that's what you have to think about. The people who are there will be there for you and FH, and you have to do what makes you both happy and what you can afford. Period.

I've never been to a wedding where they even served alcohol period. Mainly because of the price of it!

To be honest I would NOT scale back your honey moon plans to have people drink for an extra hour on your tab. That just seems a little crazy to me. If I knew ahead of time the bar was going to be cash (say after dinner) then I would not be offended in anyway. I wouldn't actually be offended period but a heads up would be nice. I also usually bring cash everywhere I go and never assume anything is going to be free. Only in America...LOL

I was reading quickly so maybe I missed what exactly your plans were but can you just do beer and wine during most of the wedding and then during the pary after dinner open the bar for other drinks? You can always just stick to beer and wine the whole night too.

I can't imagine most of your guests drinking 5 drinks each. I rarely drink anymore but when I did that would be a lot for me to consume in 1 evening in public.

I agree no tickets though

I don't know if anyone said this or not, but why not supply your own alcohol? Many places allow you to buy it yourself, and they will charge a fee to serve it. It is way cheaper.

Yes, I am a vendor - but I went to many weddings as a guest before working at weddings. To be perfectly honest - having to pull out your wallet at a wedding is a little off-putting to many people - especially as they have bought a check or gift to cover the cost of their seat. (hopefully) Non-drinkers won't care - but let's face it, most people drink at weddings. I can tell you that the conversation at the table is annoyed by the fact that there is either no alcohol, or that it is a cash bar. If I were you I would look at other areas where you can trim the budget and have alcohol served. Keep in mind - you want your guests to have a good time.

As a vendor? In my experience, what I have seen are weddings without alcohol, or limited alcohol - have less dancing and break up earlier on average.

We kept ours to wine/beer/soft drinks and sweet tea. No-one seemed to mind that we didn't offer mixed drinks.

I wouldn't be offended, just put it in the invite somehwhere so all your guests arew prepared... Our hall let us buy our own so we spent $2000 and returned $600 worth, we made our own wine so for 60 bottles it only cost us $260. We went to a cash bar wedding last year and we just don't drink much... Not a big deal. People should be there to celebrat with you, not get drunk on your dime... I would certainly not change my honeymoon to let these people get drunk

I just went to a wedding this past September that switched to cash bar maybe 2 hours into the reception. The bar had signs up that said open bar while it was free and then put signs up that said cash bar when the time was up. There were little nice signs so not too tacky but it kept everyone informed and no one was shocked when the bartender charged them.

I wouldn't be offended at all , but just a word of warning. At my godson's wedding they made an announcement that the bar would be turning cash at a certain time and you would not believe the line that formed just prior with people getting two drinks each at the last moment. (I'm convinced some would have ordered even more if the venue had not had a two drink order per person all night - in case they were getting for a spouse, etc but to limit overindulging ) A lot of those drinks just sat when they got warm. People only got them cause they were free. So if you're going to switch to cash bar, do it early enough in the night to actually save money. It would have been cheaper for my godson to just leave the bar open for that last little bit of time as people were slowing down the drinking as the night went on anyway, well until the rush for the freebies.

A totally different thing: I wouldn't do the last call at 10:30, if the last ferry is at 10:55. That's definitely not enough time. Keep in mind that people may need to get their coats, say goodbye, walk to the dock even if it's next door, plus it takes time to get that drink and actually consume it.

EVERYONE is taking the ferry back as there aren't many places to stay on the island so goodbye time shouldn't be an issue. FH and I will go back on the same ferry as our guests but that is a good point on when to do last call. It could probably be pushed to as early as 10pm. This might help a little with cost too as the reception will start right after the ceremony (could be as early as 5:20). I'm not sure I like having the bar closed during dinner as a few people suggested as I do enjoy a glass of wine with my meal.

I think, though, that when people aren't drinking, they don't dance as much and are more likely to leave earlier. So don't be surprised if the party winds down a little early. I would try to offer something for free the whole night if you can.

You can do a free cocktail hour and then have it cash after dinner. Or drink tickets. I think you have to do some kind of system, otherwise someone is going to be stuck in the situation of "Sorry, the last person put the drinks over the budget, so you get to be the first person to pay!"

My venue REQUIRES the bar be closed during a meal. This might actually be the law in my state, as my mom said it is very common. This way people EAT and get some food in their stomachs with that alcohol. If they put a sign on the bar, people will know to get a glass of wine before the food is served.

OK, so if you recalculate the bill, with 3 drinks per person, what happens then? Even if you start at 5:30, have the last call at 10, have dinner in meantime, I really doubt people will have 5 drinks on average.

Sounds like since everyone has to go back on that ferry, you don't have to worry about people leaving early... you have them trapped lol

Mwahahaha!!!!