WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?

kate51485

A little long, sorry.  I got my reception venue contract today (haven't signed it yet though), and something caught my eye in the alcohol policy section.  Background - our venue is an esteemed hotel and conference center that happens to be on the campus of a major state university. Verbatim:

In keeping with our commitment to responsible service of alcohol in a university setting, the {Venue name} will: A) Card all guests who appear to be under the age of 25; not serve alcoholic beverages to guests without proper ID; and C) Not serve doubles, shots, shooters or multiple liquor drinks containing more than three liquors (i.e. Long Island Iced Tea).  Single drinks will be dispensed to patrons.

So if I'm interpreting this correctly, people won't be able to order shots or Long Islands?  I'm not a big hard liquor person so off the top of my head I don't know what other drinks have more than 3 liquors.  We are having an open bar so there should be lots of options...should I be concerned?

[Deleted User]

I have been to a few weddings, not near colleges which did not allow shots.  So people got drinks onthe rocks and strained off the ice. 

opalsky007

Never seen it before. But I've also never seen someone order a drink that complicated at a wedding. You'll still have plenty of options for your guests.

danieliza1127

Our venue wouldn't let people order shots either, so the bartender just poured them in regular glasses so it didn't look like a shot.

I think that's pretty standard language.  I wouldn't worry about.  People can live without doing shots one night, and the carding issue I think is pretty normal.  When it came up the other day on here, several people said they've been carded at a wedding reception before and lots of people said they never have.  It just depends on the bartender I'm sure.

lyndausvi

It's funny you just asked this.  Just 30 minutes ago I got out of alcohol risk training.

Anyway,do not be concerned.  It's standard for some venues do not to serve shots and drinks with more than 3 liquors for llbility reasons.

As a bartender, not very many people ask for Long Island Iced Tea's anyway, if they are told they are not available they just pick a different drink.  Not a big deal.

LauraT25

My venue doesn't do shots either.  They say on the website: "Moderate consumption of alcohol is part of many people’s normal celebration. Shots, by their nature, on the other hand, have the explicit intention of bringing people to the point of intoxication as quickly as possible. They have the additional elements of competition -- including peer pressure and bravado.  While it is not a foregone conclusion that there will be a problem every time shots are served, the odds are too great for us to consider this as an element of your special day."  I'm fine with this - people will still get wasted, it will just take a little longer.

They also mention that they reserve the right to check ID and that I should remind people to bring ID, especially bridesmaids, since they often forget.  I have talked to other brides who have had weddings there and they didn't check, but it's not a big deal to have it with you so it doesn't bother me.

kate51485

Okay, sounds like it's not totally out of the ordinary.  Thank you for the input You're the best, ladies of E!

AmoroAgain

Buahahaha.... Go MSU!!

betrothed123

Our contract said something similar.  We were okay with that because we weren't providing hard liquor anyway.  Whether or not you should be concerned depends on your guest list.  Do you have a lot of long island iced tea drinkers?

kate51485

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-anyone-seen-something-like-this-contract?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:21581924-3ddc-417b-a9a9-d4655f8135eaPost:74451c7b-5c00-4ead-976a-26c5a9104251">Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?</a>:
[QUOTE]Buahahaha.... Go MSU!!
Posted by AmoroAgain[/QUOTE]

Haha, you got me.  Maybe now I'll fess up to the degenerates who riot and burn couches in the street whether the teams win or lose ;)

squirrly

Seen it before.  The shots/shooters thing irritates some people, like FI, but they get over it.  Or tip the bartender enough that he pours them anyway.

kate51485

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-anyone-seen-something-like-this-contract?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:21581924-3ddc-417b-a9a9-d4655f8135eaPost:fec4099a-abf5-41b9-ae80-7a457bd85652">Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?</a>:
[QUOTE]Do you have a lot of long island iced tea drinkers?
Posted by betrothed123[/QUOTE]

Not that I know of :)  Although...I must admit it was my go-to drink freshman year of college since it was only 4 bucks and got the job done quick!

AmoroAgain

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-anyone-seen-something-like-this-contract?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:21581924-3ddc-417b-a9a9-d4655f8135eaPost:f3e39d47-7039-4993-9808-a2d727fc5826">Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract? : Haha, you got me.  Maybe now I'll fess up to the degenerates who riot and burn couches in the street whether the teams win or lose ;)
Posted by kate51485[/QUOTE]

Mmmhm.  My first year there was in '99 when we won the basketball championship.  No riot, but you sure as hell couldn't walk down Grand Rive because of all the people!  But, they brought riot police into the basketball arena where we were watching the game, and there were helicopters everywhere when we left.  Like, 3 circling campus.

banana468

I think that's fairly standard.  If you're a whiskey drinker, they'll poor one 'neat' or 'on the rocks' but not as a shot since the shot is generally associated with the 'get you drunk faster' group.

The venue appears to be doing exactly what we talk about here - coming up with ways to make sure that they don't overserve so that your guests don't break the rules.  Thus you have no reason to say, "I NEED to have a cash bar."  ;-)

kikibaby

Not judging at all, but I've never seen people do shots at a wedding... I must run with a boring crowd.

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-anyone-seen-something-like-this-contract?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:21581924-3ddc-417b-a9a9-d4655f8135eaPost:5b9e48a9-6db7-4bb7-ba27-9972a78752f3">Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?</a>:
[QUOTE]Not judging at all, but I've never seen people do shots at a wedding... I must run with a boring crowd.
Posted by kikibaby[/QUOTE]

10+ years ago my family would do a 'consin shot" at all wedding... They would roll out 100+ shots of Red Death and all the cousins (or wanna-be cousins) would do the shot together.  It was a family tradition until some venues did not allow shots anymore....  <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cry.gif" border="0" alt="Cry" title="Cry" /> 

kristinanddan

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-anyone-seen-something-like-this-contract?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:21581924-3ddc-417b-a9a9-d4655f8135eaPost:9a2af7bc-4bdf-48e0-8f45-531e451bddda">Re: WR: Has anyone seen something like this in a contract?</a>:
[QUOTE]Seen it before.  The shots/shooters thing irritates some people, like FI, but they get over it.  Or tip the bartender enough that he pours them anyway.
Posted by squirrly[/QUOTE]

We had the same clause in our contract. I'm not sure if anyone ordered a Long Island Iced Tea and the outcome of that, but our guests just asked for Jack on the rocks when they couldn't have shots.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I think it's fairly typical to not serve shots at weddings or most other open bar functions.

I'm just having house liquor for my wedding, which means people can order well drinks (vodka and cranberry, screwdriver) but I don't think they'll be able to get Long Islands either.

kikibaby

Oh I'm such a liar!  I forgot, we did shots of tequila at FSIL's wedding in Mexico. 

No wonder I forgot.  Ugh.

baby green bird

i haven't seen it, but it sounds reasonable and safe for the venue and your guest's safety. i wouldn't worry about it at all.