Alcohol

cootieface123

Hey everybody.  We want to have alcohol at the reception but are running into a money problem.  As much as we would love an open bar, the prices we are getting are way over our budget.  So what we planned on doing is buying alcohol through out the time until our wedding and then hiring a bartender from a local bar or restaurant.  So here's my question...what should i do about stuff to go with the alcohol? Like sodas and stuff.  Everytime i imagine the bartender pouring a rum and coke i cringe because i think of a 2 liter plastic bottle lol.  Any suggestions as to how to handle the "add in stuff"? We are also having amazing alcoholic punch that my mom makes.  to make this a little more "fancy shmancy" we are putting the punch in vases and pretty pitchers.  Thanks everyone!!

danieliza1127

Cans would be easier to deal with than 2 liters.  With 2 liters you may have a bunch of half full ones by the end of the night.  With cans, you can get about 2 drinks out of one can and then recycle them.

lyndausvi

It sounds like you are still doing an open bar. Anyway, for sodas I would use cans. For the mixers. What we do on the boat is have cans of juices and then put them in to a plastic pour container.  That way it looks a little classier to mix drinks than from a can. Since you are bringing in your own alcohol, keep in simple.  For sodas I would have coke, diet coke, sprite, club soda, tonic and ginger ale.  Depending on your guests preferrences you can determine how much of each you need.  In general coke and diet coke will be the most popular.Juices - pineapple, orange and cranberry.Throw in some lemons and limes for garnishing.We also were able to bring in our own liquor. One thing we did was order everything from the local liquor store.  The cost might have been a little more (not sure as we did not compare), BUT they let us return everything that was unopened (even sodas and juices).  So in the end it saved us money and we did not have a lot of leftover stuff to worry about.      

cootieface123

lol yea i guess that is still an open bar.  i guess what i meant is that the alcohol is going to be sitting in our dining room instead of having a vendor bring it in. thanks for the can suggestions.  i think thats what we will probably do.

puppie

If I were you, I'd probably go with beer & wine, with a few "signature drinks". That would make your life TONS easier. If you have Trader Joe's in your area, you could go with "Two-Buck Chuck" for your wine. Cheap and everyone loves it.