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Joey
WeddingWire Admin May 2015 Maryland

Costs for the bar

Joey, on January 24, 2018 at 08:05 Posted in Wedding reception 0 18

How are you handling costs for your bar? How do you budget to make sure your guests have a great time, but you don't break the bank? Are you supplying your own liquor? Going for a beer and wine only option? Including a signature cocktail? Prepaying a certain amount? Going full open bar? What is your bar plan?

Costs for the bar 1

Photo by Straight Up Bar Services in Surrey BC

18 Comments

Latest activity by Stephanie, on June 2, 2019 at 16:12
  • Stephanie
    Master July 2018 Alberta
    Stephanie ·
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    We provided our own liquor. We had wine, beer and a few signature
    cocktails. It wasn’t a fully stocked bar. I honestly wasn’t too concerned about running out. If we ran out, we ran out. We didn’t; and are still making our way through it!
    • Reply
  • Kristine
    Frequent user October 2017 Ontario
    Kristine ·
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    Venue was in Milton, Ontario
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  • Kim
    Newbie May 2021 British Columbia
    Kim ·
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    What venue???
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  • Vanessa
    Frequent user September 2019 Ontario
    Vanessa ·
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    I think both our families would be outraged if we weren't having an open bar

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  • Valérie
    VIP September 2019 Quebec
    Valérie ·
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    Our venu has different alcohol packages/options, so we've decided to offer 1 drink ticket for right after the ceremony (value of $8/pp) and wine at dinner (value of $18/pp). The rest of the evening will be a cash bar. This was the most cost efficient way of offering a little something to our guests.

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  • Alexa
    Devoted July 2018 Alberta
    Alexa ·
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    We have to pay a corkage fee(pay 4.50 per person for unlimited drinks) to the venue so that we can bring our own alcohol. that way we can do drink tickets to recoup all the money we paid for the alcohol and for bartenders. More than likely we will spend $1500 for alcohol, $500 for corkage fee and $500 for bartenders
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  • M
    Expert July 2018 Alberta
    Marina ·
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    We just set 5000 aside just for the alcohol. It is going to be a 60/guest wedding so it seems like it is enough.
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  • Vinod
    Top August 2017 Ontario
    Vinod ·
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    For the most part, there are venues that allow you bring your own booze though may charge for corkage fee. Some venues included mine at the the time may not allow it.

    Search out your ootions and see if th timeframe for open bar is enough and then go cash bar to avoid extra payments for the hours after.
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  • Laura
    Frequent user October 2018 British Columbia
    Laura ·
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    Most of our guests aren't big drinkers, so we decided an open bar would be a bit overkill. We're doing two bottles of wine per table plus two drink tickets per person. Any alcohol wanted after that will be cash bar.

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  • Holly
    Expert June 2019 Ontario
    Holly ·
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    My future in laws are covering this part! It will be an open bar. My mom and step dad are purchasing all the wine for us too.
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  • Candace
    VIP May 2019 Ontario
    Candace ·
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    Thankfully my future in laws are paying for us to have an open bar so we won't have to worry about costs
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  • Jen
    VIP June 2018 Ontario
    Jen ·
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    We are offering our signature drinks for free but all other alcohol will be need to be paid for by the guest themselves. We aren't big drinkers... in fact I'm certain I'm allergic to it lol I had a drink last night and swelled right up!

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  • Meghan
    Frequent user August 2018 Newfoundland and Labrador
    Meghan ·
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    We’re going to have a few bottles of wine for each table during the supper but then it will be a cash bar. An open bar was never in our budget but our venue advised us that open bars in their experience are a waste because people often lay down a half finished drink and forget about it then just go and get a new one because it’s ‘free’ anyways.
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  • Erin
    Master September 2017 Ontario
    Erin ·
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    We bought all the alcohol and had an open bar. We returned all the unopened bottles to the LCBO.
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  • Stephanie
    Beginner May 2019 Alberta
    Stephanie ·
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    Alcohol is a big cost always...... A lot of my friends and family have done open bar. Personally I feeel a lot of alcohol is wasted as people don’t feel the obligation to drink what they take. Toonie bars are also a good option if you can bring your own liquor in. A lot of places I’m finding do not allow you to bring your own liquor and prices per drink are around 7 bucks. That’s expensive..... so we decided to buy bottle of wine for the table, provide a champagne toast and give guests 2-3 drink tickets. I think that’s more than fair as we are on a tight budget. Good luck!!!!
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  • Tatiana
    Expert April 2018 Ontario
    Tatiana ·
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    We are having open bar, it was built into the cost per person as well. We might do based on consumption, our hall manager was saying that couples always pay for all in costs but overestimate how much the crowd will drink, i don't think thats an issue for our wedding though lol.

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  • Julie-Ann
    Curious February 2018 Ontario
    Julie-Ann ·
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    We are doing open bar during our cocktail reception between the ceremony and dinner. We will have wine on tables for dinner and then the bar will switch to cash bar.
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  • Kristine
    Frequent user October 2017 Ontario
    Kristine ·
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    Our cost for the open bar was all built into the "per person" cost for booking the venue.

    That was nice since I knew I wanted an open bar, and didn't have to worry about how much people would drink. The venue also allowed shots, which was nice.

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