Open bar vs Toonie bar?

Our families aren’t big drinkers. We will have a two alcoholic cocktails for our cocktail hour. We will be serving wine during dinner. Then the bar opens we are thinking of having an open bar

Hi.
I am planning on having a cash bar at my upcoming celebration. It is a potluck with a cash bar but I have specifically told everyone 9 months in advance and i have asked for no gifts.

I am trying to figure out if I should be charging 2$ or 3$ per drink, none alcoholic is free. Toonie bars have been around since I have been of drinking age! 20 plus years. The prices have not increased with inflation. Do you really feel 2$ is standard and adequate?

You're going to see a wide culture divide about this issue depending on the region.

In Southern Ontario, the etiquette is generally for the party host to pay for the food and drink. You can limit the number of drinks via drink tickets if you have a strict budget but otherwise, it's usually seen as bad etiquette if a guest has to take out their wallet to pay for a drink to a party they're invited to. It would be like making you give me money for an orange juice when I invite you to my house for dinner.

Personal opinion, toonie bars suck. People rarely carry cash on them, especially in formalwear. And that drink never really stays a toonie because some people will feel pressured to tip. With drinks potentially priced at $10-$15 each, you're looking at a major hassle for guests just to save around 20% on costs.

Another option would be a donation jar. I went to a wedding last spring who did that and thought it was a great way to help with some costs. People threw in whatever amount they wanted to donate and it was open bar.

Hi Julia,

I can appreciate and understand the advantages of having a cash bar (may limit people's drinking to a degree) however I have to say, I much prefer an open bar, and I am not even much of a drinker. I just think it's nice to treat your guests to that, if I go to get a drink, I'd rather not have to be pulling out change from my purse and then tipping, etc. When hosting, I think it's best to always limit any work/effort for your guests as much as possible so that all they have to do is show up and enjoy!

I would be causes about an open bar only because most of the time people get carried away with their drinking and also guests will leave their drink on a table forget about it and then go and get another one and the bride and groom are paying for it.

I've been to a few toonie bars and I think that's a great idea and it keeps the cost down but just remember you and your future spouse will be paying for the remainder of the drink.

My husband and I did a cash bar but that was our decision since we didn't want to be paying for everyone's 11-15 dollar drinks. Our guests were actually very positive about it because it made them think twice about getting completely drunk.