Open bar help?

allisonpaul86

So, my fiance and I were looking at a reception hall that has really reasonable meal prices, but there is 1 huge catch.... the open bar would be priced per drink.  No per person price.  I am sure this can get really expensive really fast.  Does anyone else have experience with this?  We are having approx 120 people.  I would say at least half of them are moderate drinkers...if we keep it to well drinks, what do you think the tab could run up to?  We really don't want to do just wine and beer so I think the per drink open bar might be the deal breaker.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

duckie1905

Ditto to the banana 100%.  Limits are bad because not only do they eventually require the guests to open their wallets at your event but if you have drinkers in your family and friends that know about the limit I'd bet you see some hoarding of the drinks going on.

Talk to the hall about your other options.  Limiting to beer and wine would be one way to reduce the cost. 

aerinpegadrak

Is this your only reception option?  Have you already signed paperwork?  We could afford the menu at our dream venue but not the bar, so we looked elsewhere.  Unless you know that most of your guest list barely drinks, consumption bars are pretty risky, and you don't want to be hit with a massive bill at the end of the night.

ohwhynot

We're hosting beer, red & white wine, and soft drinks and not offering any cash bar option. The bar manager at your venue should be able to tell you what a typical bar tab is for your size of a wedding.  Ours gave us a low end of about $900 to a high end of about $1300.  We're budgeting for the high end, just in case.   

Talk to the bar manager at your venue and you'll get a lot of helpful information.

tenofcups4me

What you're talking about is a consumption bar and it can be really risky since you don't know what you're going to end up spending till the end of the night. Have you aske them to come up wth a per person price instead? I'm very surprised they don't have one. Personally I'd be scared of a consumption bar (and I think the advice to put a limit on a bar and then turn it into a cash bar is a horrible idea!).