Booze at a wedding

If everyone at the reception drinks themselves into a coma I'd say that would be a reflection on the character of those you call friends, not a chance occurrence spurred by alcohol happening to be gratis at what's supposed to be a classy celebration.

 

i like where this thread has gone lol. good input though.

 

well again. i like free stuff. my .02. it could be free anything id take it (no not herpes etc or suprise bs)

 

i don't expect anyone to get that drunk there. there are one or two i'm worried about, but they're all pretty chill.

 

They are already taking time out of their lives, spending money on gas to get there, some are flying, they are paying for a hotel, just to see you get married. The least you could do is give them drinks on the house.

 

I don't think it matters either way as far as the guests go. I think it has more to do with the person paying for the wedding ability to afford free drinks.

I'm guessing the guest are getting free food / NA drinks and are not required to bring a gift???

I think if the person or persons invited decides they don't want to come to your wedding because you want them to pay for something not everyone at the reception may not want then you are asking the wrong people to attend to start with...

 

a wedding bar is like a college party. just decent cheep booze to start n by the time the party is in full swing, people will be too hammered n wont care wat they drinking! as long as its free!!
and god bless the creators of Costco.

 

I had a cheapo wedding reception after getting legally married states away from home. Cheap meal and beer and wine, but we said no gifts, your presence is enough on the invites.

Don't expect nice gifts and registery if you cheap out.

 

That's true, the weddings I've skipped out on we're all friends of my wife, where i really really didn't want to go in the first place. So if you want to guarantee you don't get any freeloaders, then charge for drinks.

 

Open bar if you can afford it. Otherwise, as long as beer is free that's all I care about I usually don't drink mixed drinks.

 

I'm getting married this summer, were buying a bunch of beer and putting it in troughs with ice. No hard stuff at all, unless you bring your own. I dont drink hard stuff and were on a budget. People have already complained about no real open bar, when I tell them I'll have it if they foot the bill, they quit bitchin in a hurry.

 

Bottom line, don't make people pay for anything.

If you have people coming from out of town, out of state, out of country, they are already paying to be with you. Don't insult them.

Do whatever is within your budget. If that is just beer and wine, fine. I have never heard anyone complain about free booze. And if they do, they are freaking losers from whom you should disassociate yourself.

Weddings are motherfucking expensive, people understand.

 

See? This ^^^^

 

I think you know who will skip your wedding, or stiff you on gifts.

 

thats what i will do at mine. may have some hard stuff. no wine at mine!!

 

Last wedding I went to was a paid bar but drinks were at cost. The couple paid for the bar tender, but no one made profit on the booze. So drinks were like a buck or two. I thought it was a great compromise. The only free booze was a bottle of wine per table.

 

Most of the weddings i go to have what we call a toonie or loonie bar. Doesn't cover the cost of booze and mix in Canada but it certainly helps. Most people would rather pay for booze then make the new couple foot the bill. Most of the time a open bar is the biggest expense for the new couple who are often just starting out with many other expenses. That being said I'm getting married in a month and we are having a self serve open bar. All 28 out of 31 people are driving 7 hours to make it to the wedding so we feel that it is the least we can do.

 

Free

 

I wouldnt do unlimited but instead put a dollar amount twards paid bar.. at my wedding our reception had a room charge of like 3600... the amount for food and everything was like 2300 so to make the 3600 price we put a partialy hosted bar up to 1300... we did three beers two wines and one mixed drink... as the night went on and our tab was almost out we made an announcement that it was almost out and people started linein up to put more money down on it like 5 minutes after the announcement we had another like 600. But our reception was at a property that had a hotel and had like 6 different bars a movie theater and a 6 hole golf course so noone was going any where...best party ever!

 

Free open bar is always the best. That being said, you've got to do whatever your budget is capable of.
The point of gathering with friends and family after your wedding ceremony is to celebrate and have a good time. Booze or not, the people that care about you will enjoy the occasion. Good luck.