Toonie bar help!!!

View quoted message

I'm from Woodbridge (JUST North of Toronto) and the stags are different from the bachelor and bachelorette parties. It's totally a fundraiser that I find a lot of men do. Everyone's still having a bachelor and bachelorette party lol.

I find that the further out you get from Toronto and the GTA (like your friend in Stratford), the more common jack and jills seems to be!

I have heard (maybe incorrectly?) that if they are considered a "donation" then it changes things.

Does anyone know the legal side of this? Licenses that you need to acquire, loopholes (if there are any.) we are getting married in QC if that helps.

One way: they had a large float for the bartenders. The bartenders just did it like a normal bar in that way.

Second way: you give them money and they give you tickets - this is easier to carry for me lol than it would be for change. I just give a twenty and get the tickets. I didn't end up even using them all but thought extra money can go to the couples than.

Both weddings had cut rustic style bars and you didn't see the rest of the setup than that

View quoted message

Jack and jills can also be called stag and does I think, at least that's what they are called where I was born and raised (London, Ontario - right near Stratford). Jack and Jills could be the terminology outside the city, idk. I found a wikipedia article with all the names for it: Stag and Doe terminology - Apparently it is a Canadian thing lol

The stag could also refer to the bachelor party, lots of girls still have the bachelorette too, there might be another name for them: hen parties.

Here's the wikipedia articles with all the potential names for both bachelor and bachelorette parties:

Bachelor party terminology

Bachelorette party terminology

I don't know why we can't just have the same terminology all over the country IMO lol

View quoted message

I haven't been to any cash bar weddings myself but my parents have been in Southern Ontario, usually it is open bar scene!

View quoted message The stag is like the bachelor party? The girls don't have bachelorette parties? Where in southern Ontario are you from? I have a friend in Stratford and he says there are so many jack and jills!

View quoted message

I haven't seen many of those either. Lots of men have stags tho.

View quoted message Does everyone have a jack and Jill or are those uncommon as well?

View quoted message

I've never seen a toonie bar either!!! Honestly, all the weddings I've been to have just been open bar so I don't even see that many cash bars in Southern Ontario.

I will give one personal recommendation! I have been to a toonie bar and it is SUCH A HASSLE to carry around cash and all that change (not to mention you will have to make a bunch of change too!)

I recommend drink tickets or something people can pay for with a $20.00 and not feel bad for taking all the change! And then they can get 10 drink tickets and use that through the night!

Just a suggestion!

It's so weird how something like a toonie bar is so common out west, but in Ontario, we either have an open bar or a full cash bar.

I imagine the set up would look similar to an open bar with a tip jar, but instead have a jar for toonies!

I think we are going to post on our website that it is a toonie bar and then have a pretty informal set up with a "Toonies Appreciated" sign over a mason jar at the bar, but not have it be super strict, largely because my FH wants it to feel more like an open bar.

View quoted message You're right! All of our friends are having a jack and Jill, but are not having a toonie bar (largely because their venues will not allow it.)

Toonie bar is a saving on your end especially since the venue charges for the open bar per hour after the regular time given.

I have heard of the couple doing three tickets per adult for free drinks and then they spend their money to buy. You can ask the venue to have a sign to let your guests know the pricing for drinks, wine, pop and juice.

Another way to save on the wine is to purchase 1 white/red per table if the venue allows you to bring your own liquor into their establishment. Inquire about corkage fee too since most places charge for opening bottles.

View quoted message

Yup, it's pretty common out west. We're having one and no one is blinking an eye.

Conversely - out east, a 'Wedding Social' to raise money for the wedding is common, but if you had one out west people would look at you like you were crazy.

For me - A toonie bar isn't about the money - it's about the wastage. With an open bar, people get a drink, have two sips and put it down, forget where they put it and go get a fresh one. With a toonie bar, even though it's only 2$, people don't do that.

View quoted message So I am kind of wondering how people worked it (ticket stubs, donations, etc) and whether it felt more like a cash bar or more like an open bar? Thanks for your help!

View quoted message I think what I am finding is that toonie bars are more common out west? I am from AB and am keen to have one but we are having our wedding in ON and my FH (from ON) and his family are less keen.

I'd also do a quick search of the forums. There are tons of threads on this already with lots of great advice - that's where I found advice for my toonie bar.

I have never been to a wedding or function that had a toonie bar, but I would think that you would need a float of money at the very least as ATM's don't give coins and people may want to only buy a couple drinks at a time.

With that being my only knowledge... here are a couple links to past discussions about toonie bars that I hope help out:

Cost for Toonie bar

Toonie bar? yes or no?

Open bar, toonie bar, donation bar?

Toonie Bar

Alcohol toonie bar

Pictures on the other hand, I would think that the bar set up would look no different than usual, just with a sing like this in whatever theme you are doing for your wedding: