How many hours of open bar?

seadog30

Hi,

An open bar is a must for us.  How many hours of open bar do you think is enough for a 6-7 hour wedding?  The first 30 minutes or so will be the ceremony, there will be no cocktail hour, and we'll go straight to the reception.  So, t he reception itself will probably be closer to 6 hours.

Our package offers 3 hours of full open bar, but the cost to add another hour is ridiculously expensive.  3 hours seems on the low end for me, but I wanted to get everyone else's opinion.

Thanks.

jacquikev

3 hours seems fine to me. That is more than enough for people to drink what they need 

LexiMS

3 would work if you close the bar during dinner and offer tableside wine service.  I believe that per MA state law the bar has to close 30 min prior to the event ending.

Starmusica

I think if you are not going to do open bar all night.. you need to figure out a good transition for your guests. If it simply goes from open to cash in the middle of the event with no warning... you may catch people off guard. Is there any movement from one location to another at the venue or anything like that where you could smoothly go from open to cash?

seadog30

Thanks for the input.  We will not be doing a cash bar.  It will either be 3 hours of open bar and nothing after that, or 4-5 hours of open bar.  I'm trying to get an idea on whether or not we need the extra hour or two.

noodle_oo

I agree with Star.  In my mind, true open bar means the guests don't have to pay for drinks all night.  After 3 hrs, there will still be at least 2-3 hrs of your reception left, and I know as a guest I would want another drink during that time period.  If you just do beer and wine, can you afford to host the bar all night?  That would be better in my mind than 3 hrs of full bar and then 3 hrs of cash bar.

Or do as the PP suggested and close the bar during dinner, do wine on the tables for the dinner hour and then do 3 hrs of open bar.

Starmusica

Seadog- obviously it is up to you but I would highly suggest against having an hour or two with nothing. I think guests would be pretty upset if the couldnt even buy drinks...

celadorr

We are doing an open bar of beer/wine only.  I have no desire to pay for people to get drunk.

seadog30

Thanks for the input.  I'll ask about just wine during dinner and open bar after that.

However, since we will not be having a cocktail hour, would you, as guest, be upset that you could not get a drink besides wine until after dinner?

noodle_oo

Seadog: yeah, as a guest I'd rather a cash bar than no bar.  When you say the bar would be closed after the 3 hrs, does that mean just no alcohol or no soda/water also?  Because I know I'd need a drink of some sort, especially if there is dancing.

No, I think a lot of people close the bar duirng dinner and just serve wine/water on the tables.  Guests are pretty used to that and many will bring a drink from cocktail hour to dinner.  Although, you don't have a cocktail hour, so does that mean no bar at all before dinner?  Sounds kind of weird.

Shazzie116

I'd suggest even doing a quick cocktail "half hour", and give people the opportunity to grab a drink and mingle a little bit before eating. They might want to say hi to you or catch up with people they know before sitting down for a meal. I find that cocktail hour in general is the best time for people to be able to socialize since you're seated for usually an hour or so eating, and then if there's dancing, the music is louder and people are all over the place. 

May I ask why you're going straight from ceremony to dinner? I'm just curious. 

MVJP10

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_many-hours-of-open-bar?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:cc54f92d-2418-44a8-ad26-230799e61e34Post:a05a7968-8683-4203-9a69-3a76fd4d5bd6">Re: How many hours of open bar?</a>:
[QUOTE]We are doing an open bar of beer/wine only.  I have no desire to pay for people to get drunk.
Posted by celadorr[/QUOTE]

It is possible for people to get drunk from beer and wine.