"You can pay for liquor"

Although his phrasing was a little "in your face", can I ask whether or not you are offering a cash bar for liquor?

Yeah, that's a bit harsh for most. I would say something like "Beer and wine will be available at the reception" or something like that.

I wouldn't address it at all frankly. Just serve what you're going to serve. I really hate partial cash bars because it's confusing to everyone and servers hate it. It's time consuming too, especially at the beginning when the guests really have no idea what to expect.

I like the idea of a bar menu with the wines, beers and sangria options. Actually, one of my weddings last week had an apple based sangria as their sig drink. It was great.

In my area it's super common to have hosted wine and beer, maybe a signature drink, and cash bar for anything else. A sign at the bar stating hosted drinks is sufficient for people to figure it out, they usually know the drill, and I've never ever heard anyone complain about this set up being rude at any wedding I've attended.

Definitely not offering partial cash bar which is why I don't even want to call attention to the fact that the venue has liquor. I don't know that they'll move the liquor out of sight though, so the menu on the bar is the plan.

FH doesn't grasp why we shouldn't even present the idea of liquor since he thinks it's fine for people to buy it.

Only having wine and beer is pretty common, and I think that if you provide a sign with options, most guests will understand that that is what is available to them and won't ask for liquor beyond that. If your FH insists on having some sort of wordage concerning liquor, perhaps you could say something like "Wine, beer, and sangria will be offered at the reception. Additional liquor is available for purchase". Ultimately I agree with Celia though, that you don't really need to address the liquor at all, especially if you're going to have other alcoholic choices available for free.

ETA: I was typing this while you posted about not offering a partial cash bar. Scratch my wording above.

I think beer and wine bar is perfect. I like your idea of having a sign that shows the beer and wine options that you will be serving. There is no need to mention anything about liquor, and I think its kind of tacky to add anything on a menu or sign about liquor available for purchase. People will infer that if liquor is not listed on the menu, then its not being hosted.

It sounds like you're not offering hard liquor at a cash bar, so the first thing you need to do is square that away with your FH. You don't want him to be telling his friends and guests that they can buy hard liquor. Let him know that the bar is hosted, no money will change hands, but that the bar menu is wine/beer.

I wouldn't mention cocktails or alcohol on your website. I do, however, believe that your bar menu signage is appropriate. All you have to do is make a sign for every bar serving at your wedding with your choices (one for the cocktail hour bar and one for each bar serving at your reception). If you don't want a cash bar for hard liquor, tell your event manager. If a guest asks about buying a drink, the bartender needs to be prepared to tell the guest that there is no cash bar and what is being served is listed on the bar menu. Your choice of hosting beer/wine is perfectly acceptable.

ETA: Here's a vote for adding sangria. I'm not a beer/wine drinker, but sangria would be enticing.

Don't you love these arguments we get into with our FH's over the wedding? Sigh...ready for this to be over.

I went to a party that had beer and wine only. So they had a little sign that informed what options were included and had the pricing for the cocktails and etc. I love sangria so that's a great option.

Sunni, I truly do love these arguments. I should just show him this thread. He's trying to put a question now that says "But how will I get plastered on just beer and wine?" With the answer "drink more!" Or "we're sure you'll figure it out". Sigh again.

I seriously hope he's joking about the "but how will I get plastered on just beer and wine?" question on your website. This is a wedding, not a frat party.

LOL too funny. "Who makes up these rules?" sounds like something my FH would say, and I can't deny its a good question.

We plan on doing hosted wine & beer and offering a cash bar for cocktails and liquor. I understand that not everyone likes beer and wine (myself included) and at least want the option to be able to purchase mixed drinks and liquor. We plan to put a menu sign up that says, "Bar Menu: Brand of beers, wine list, and other drinks available upon purchase."

Every wedding I've been to that only offered beer & wine I've had the option to buy other drinks and I was so grateful. I would have been a little upset if I could only drink beer, wine, soda, or water.

That's my plan. I'm hoping the venue actually hides the liquor so nobody even tries.