Working on getting alcohol planned out. We are doing a self-service beer, wine, and cider bar, no bartender. The beer and cider will be bottled and set up in a canoe with dry ice and regular ice for chilling. For wine we are doing a boxed wine hack: cut open bag and pour into serving dispenser, serve in 6 or 8 oz plastic tumblers. The dispensers we are buying have the little ice bucket built in at the bottom which will keep the white wine chilled. (I think we are going with these: http://www.smartyhadaparty.com/3-Gallon-Sculptured-Plastic-Beverage-Dispenser-i10445.aspx.)
We are purchasing from Total Wine & More because we have heard their return policy is generous in terms of unopened items.
- Wine - 3 boxes each red and white, this is about $80 (don't have the details as I hate wine and my mom looked up this one) and is 144 "pours"
- Cider - 6 twelve packs Woodchuck, 6 twelve-packs Angry Orchard, this is $192 for 144 bottles
- Beer - 5 cases Bell's Two Hearted, 10 twelve packs Guinness Draught, this is $340 for 240 bottles
- Total - 528 drinks, at 80 guests that's 6.6 drinks per person, for $612 plus tax
I'm not a big drinker so this is a bit out of my league (although I plan to indulge in a couple of Woodchucks!) but any thoughts on this setup? Our venue is rural, so folks will be driving themselves and I'm assuming will self-regulate accordingly, as opposed to a hotel or shuttle setup where they can drink freely.
Re: 6.6 drinks per guest sound okay?
This was suggested by our coordinator, who is the catering and events manager for a local restaurant and has done dozens of weddings, so I'm pretty confident in the process. But, if it doesn't work out, regular ice it is!
Things I would consider:
It's a matter of scale. When you're talking about 50-250+ people, some of whom you don't see or drink with often, or even know personally, it's much harder to take care of everyone. I would want to hire a bartender anytime I'm offering an open bar to that many people.
PP's seem to have it covered. I agree you should have another option like Yuengling, maybe cut back on the Guinness for something else (unless you know your guests are huge Guinness fans). Other options could be Sam Adams or Magic Hat #9. And I also agree on buying more if the return policy is good.
Why aren't you hiring a bartender??
Formerly martha1818