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Too much for premium open bar?

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in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
I'm trying to figure out how much the bar should cost per person for a five hour reception.  Most places we were looking at charge about $20 for top shelf open bar including tax and gratuity, the next most expensive being $26.  However, the place we liked the most charges $31 a person, and they want an extra $1 pp for imported beer.  This seems crazy to me, especially since a few of the other places offer more for the $20 price.  I'm not sure what the bar should cost though, or how I can negotiate their price down, especially since they came down really easily on the food prices but seem kind of insistent about the bar price.  
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Re: Too much for premium open bar?

  • PeavyPeavy member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    Do you like that place better because overall it's a nicer place?  Venues charge commensurate with their ambiance and amenities.  You are going to pay a lot more per person at the Beverly Hills Hotel than you will at the local Marriott, because the Beverly Hills Hotel is a much nicer venue to begin with.

    What are the other venues charging for food?  Does the price per person average out?  You need to find out what the cost per person is for the food/beverage package.  Then you can make comparisons.
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  • lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    $31 per person sounds reasonable to me.  That is just over $6 an hour.   At a standard bar a drink is between $3-$9 per drink depending on what they are drinking.


    Alcohol is generally harder to negotiate.  Not in possible, but harder.   Picking a less expensive brands or limiting the varieties help get down the cost.


    Just for comparison - we got married in SJ, but could bring in our own alcohol. We had a premium open bar.   We paid about $17 per person.   We could have had them provide the alcohol for a price of $28 per person. (this was 4 years ago, so I'm sure prices have increased some).






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  • melb2013melb2013 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Comment
    That sounds reasonable to me.  We're paying $32 per hour for premium open bar in the Boston area.  That price includes tableside wine service with dinner.

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  • Sassenach1743Sassenach1743 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Anniversary First Comment
    That's reasonable!

    We are paying $25 per person for the first 3 hours, then an additional $7 per person for each hour after that. Breaks down to $39 for 5 hours / $46 for 6 hours, which I thought was pretty good considering we are in Santa Monica, CA. 

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  • TurtlesAllTheWayDownTurtlesAllTheWayDown member
    First Comment Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    It sounds reasonable, if you are willing to pay that.

    Does that include tax and gratuity? Does it include more bartenders than the venues that cost $20? Does it include stemware in addition to just the alcohol, which the other venues might hide in their meal or service costs, rather than bar costs?

    I would look at the price per person over all at the venues you are considering for what you want - parking, dinner, hors d'oeuvres, alcohol, tax, gratuity, etc. Compare the total price. See if you can get them to a price you are willing to pay overall.
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