Bar question

paper123

My daughter is getting married at a hotel which includes an open bar and reception for 4 hours (+1 hour cocktails).  There is no charge to have a 5th hour of reception.  The question then is what to do for the bar.  We can either have

1. no bar for that last hour
2. pay for what people consume (although we can put a $$ amount limit)
3. pay $6/person for the open bar that hour (wedding will be 200-225 guests).

I think $6/person for open bar is extremely high.  For that last hour I am sure it will mostly be the bride and groom's friends (which there will be a lot )plus a few relatives.  We are leaning towards option 2 but I don't know what limit to put on it.  (my husband and I would just close the bar for the last hour but we have been outvoted!)  How much of a limit would you put for a 5th hour?  Drink prices would average $6.50-$7.30 (includes tax and surcharges) and be just beer and wine.

Thanks for any advise! 

tldh

I'd cut the reception at four hours.  You'll have a cocktail hour in addition to this.  Add the ceremony time, and I can't imagine guests sticking it out for a full five hour reception.  At that point we'd be talking 6 1/2 - 7 hours of their time spent at the wedding and festivities. 

Simply Fated

If you close the bar towards the end, you could run the risk of people taking that as a hint to leave...
Then again, most of my friends stop drinking even before the last hour to make sure they can drive home sober. So it might not even matter either way.
Are your guests big drinkers that it might be worth it to pay a flat fee of $6 per person? Or do you think if you pay per drink, it would be more worth it? Only you can really answer that, since I'm sure you know your guests better than we do lol.

kimp67

Considering it's $6 pp for an open bar & the average drink price is $7, I would say go for the pp charge.  If you have 100 people for the last hour & they each have 2 drinks that would be $1400 versus $1200 for 200 people @ $6 pp. I would look at the guest list & guess how many people will stay for the last hour & if they're "drinkers" or not. 

melissamc2

I'd just have a coffee and tea station out for the last hour and close the bar, myself.  While we had some HEAVY drinkers at our reception, all but a handful had quit drinking and switched to the coffee and tea in the end - and a lot of the ones closing the place down will be designated drivers, anyway.

 The per person charge isn't high at all, honestly, but I can definintely understand you not wanting to pay it for that last hour, particularly since some guests will have left by then and others just won't drink that close to leaving.

I disagree with cutting the reception time, though, unless you just know it's not a real "party" crowd.  We had a 6.5 hour reception and we were told that we had over two dozen still on the dance floor when the DJ called it a night, and probably 50 guests still hanging out and socializing. 

paper123

Thanks all for your thoughts.  The ceremony will be at 5 pm (It is a Sunday of a holiday week end) with the cocktail hour at 6. Dinner then starts at 7 pm.  the whole night will be over at 11 pm.  We would expect that the bride and groom's friends would be the only ones (besides parents and a small handful of relatives) left for the last hour. This is in a hotel so the out of towners (and you never know... locals might splurge for a room so they don't have to drive home) will be staying at the same place.  Because my husband and I are not drinkers we have no concept of what dollar limit to put on that last hour.  I would like to limit it because the wedding, to me, is expensive and this is an area where we could save a little.  The bride and groom are not big drinkers at all but do not want their friends to think it is weird if the bar is shut too early.  We have no experience with this so any and all thoughts are welcome.  What has been your experience at weddings you have been to?  Is the bar shut early?  

Ashes_3

I think closing the bar the last hour would be the wise decision. If there isn't a shuttle then those who are driving need to sober up!!!! Have a coffee station or something.

frogurt814

Well, it's not uncommon for bars to stop serving alcohol 30-45 minutes before they close, so I would think it would be ok to close the bar at the reception within that time frame too. 

But I'm confused, is the cocktail hour included in the 4 hours?

I Want Cake

Don't a lot of places cut off liquor service 15-30 minutes before the end of the reception?  If your space does that, keep this in mind so you get what you pay for.  I'd probably just pay for what people actually consume and hope people switch to coffee. 

paper123

Thanks for your responses.  I will definitely check to see if they cut off early so I get what I pay for.  However, everyone who says to pay for what is consumed.... what limit would you put on it?  Thanks

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I think $6/hour for an open bar is fine. That's about the cost of one drink.

But I'd just cut the reception at 5 hours. Our reception was 6pm-11pm, cocktail hour included, and it worked out fine. It was also the Sunday of a holiday weekend. Some people left at 10 or 10:30.

If you don't expect people to remain in the last hour, why not just have the bar open until 11:30, pay cash at the end (no limit) and close it 30 minutes before the end? If you have half the guests there (probably not even that many) and they each get one drink (again, probably not likely), that's $700 vs. $1200.

SaraAndrew2010

I would pay per consumption. As you said, not everyone is going to be around at the end of the reception, so it would be silly to pay $6/person for everyone including people who aren't still there.  Also, the recpetion may not go on for an extra full hour, so you may not be even the full hour of open bar you are paying for.  As PPs siad, not everyone will still be drinking right up to the end of the reception.

paper123

Thanks again everyone.  I think a few people are a little confused.  The cocktail hour is 6-7.  reception is 7-10 however there is no charge for reception to go to 11 pm but the issue is what to do about the bar because the bar is only til 10 pm. We will do consumption for the last hour but we will have to put a $ limit on that.  I prefer to just shut down the bar at 10 pm but as I previously stated I was outvoted so we will compromise but limit it by a dollar amount.  I assume that most people there the last hour will be young people (I'll be ready for bed but will have to stay to the end!) 

We will check to find out if they shut the bar down a little early anyways.  Also will check to see if coffee is available.  thanks.

JustKate

$500.  Not everyone will drink, you can control the cost and once it's over, people will get the hint that it's time to go. 

NillaWafer10

Closing the bar for the last hour seems the safest for your guests.