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Wedding Packages - Cost

superheroprincesssuperheroprincess member
100 Comments
in Snarky Brides
I'm just wondering, for those willing to share, how does your wedding package pricing work?

It seems as though some people have a per person rate that includes food and alcohol in their packages.  Am I dreaming this?

Where I'm from, the bar price only tallied at the end of the night based on how much people consumed.  So the bar can add up to an additional $4000.00 to $8000.00 (beer = $3.50, mixed drinks =3.75 and coolers $4.60 each).  Our cost for the meal is around $30.00 per person.  If your bar bill is included on a per person rate, how much is it usually per person?

I hate the fact that I have no idea how much the bar bill will cost at the end of the night and would much rather have an up front price so I can budget towards that instead of a big surprise.


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Re: Wedding Packages - Cost

  • laurenclaire1386laurenclaire1386
    5000 Comments
    We're paying our venue on a per person rate. It's $45/person, and that includes all food, beer, wine, and champagne.
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  • sarah0725sarah0725
    5000 Comments
    The pricing is going to be different depending on where you are in the country. For instance, as my wedding is in NJ, I'm paying a relatively low price per person for my area, but it is significantly more than your $30, and we're allowed to provide alcohol separately, which will be much cheaper since we can get it wholesale.

    Is your venue completely unwilling to give you a per person bar package? You might be able to guesstimate what you'll be paying by thinking about who you're inviting, and how much they tend to drink.
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  • LesPaulLesPaul member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Our venue charged us per person for the ceremony and reception, plus a base room rental.  The cake was a set dollar amount, as was the catering.  We provided our own beer, wine, champagne and sodas, so we had complete control over the bar costs.  I think you will find the answer to this varies quite a bit by region.
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  • J&K10910J&K10910 member
    10000 Comments Fourth Anniversary 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    We have a per plate cost for the meal, and then the bar is separate.  Our bar packages have a flat rate for the first hour (for totally open I think it's $850 or something) and then a per person rate for each extra hour (again, for totally open I think it's like $3.50 per person per hour or something).

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  • zippitybzippityb member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited September 2010
    I got married in an unconventional place, so everything was brought in from outside vendors, so there was no per-person cost, really. I loved my wedding, but I do not recommend doing this without a planner as it was a pain in the ass.
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  • flamingtwig72flamingtwig72 member
    100 Comments
    Our bar package is $25 per person for three hours for top shelf liquor (and beer and wine, of course), plus an extra $4 per person for a champagne toast. There's also a 25% service and tax charge. Non-top shelf liquor is $20 per person for three hours. Hope that helps.
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  • JenGin74JenGin74 member
    1000 Comments Fourth Anniversary
    At our venue everything (food, bar, cake etc.) was included for one per person price. Check other venues in your area to see if any of them offer per person pricing
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  • heyimbrenheyimbren member
    2500 Comments
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_wedding-packages-cost?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:fd2b340e-1252-4ac6-a2c8-861ee645cd02Post:9d4c56b2-4ff3-478e-92d4-43cfcb05dad8">Wedding Packages - Cost</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm just wondering, for those willing to share, how does your wedding package pricing work? It seems as though some people have a per person rate that includes food and alcohol in their packages.  Am I dreaming this? Where I'm from, <strong>the bar price only tallied at the end of the night based on how much people consumed.  So the bar can add up to an additional $4000.00 to $8000.00</strong> (beer = $3.50, mixed drinks =3.75 and coolers $4.60 each).  Our cost for the meal is around $30.00 per person.  If your bar bill is included on a per person rate, how much is it usually per person? I hate the fact that I have no idea how much the bar bill will cost at the end of the night and would much rather have an up front price so I can budget towards that instead of a big surprise.
    Posted by superheroprincess[/QUOTE]

    So you have a consumption bar then. Not everyone has those- some venues will offer a fixed price per person for an open bar. That's what the girls above are describing.
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  • formerlymeowmeowformerlymeowmeow member
    100 Comments
    It all depends on your venue and region, like everyone else responded.  Another factor to take into consideration is time of year.  I was able to talk down my cost of per person by taking off $8 from the normal package price for my venue for my at home celebration.  It's winter time and they are usually slow because not a lot of people get married in MI because of the unpredictable weather. 
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  • superheroprincesssuperheroprincess member
    100 Comments
    Thanks girls!

    Where I'm from they only offer consumption bars (thanks for the new word!), there are no all inclusive prices available here so I was curious to see what people pay for that kind of service vs. a consumption bar.

    I realize it's different everywhere, that's why I was asking, to compare prices here vs. elsewhere.  My Fi and I watched 4 weddings yesterday and were amazed by the prices some brides paid for their fab weddings so I was curious.

    My $30.00 didn't include tax, it was just my dinner, I also have to add taxes, gratuities, cake, midnight buffet (which we're required to do by law at about $10.00 per person)...  My hall waives the hall rental fee because we'll be over 150 people catered by them. 


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  • lharri12lharri12 member
    500 Comments
    Our venue charges per person, and it includes the meal and 6 hours of open bar.  It is about $50-56 per person, depending on entree choice.
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  • IstremeneIstremene
    100 Comments
    You are having a Hosted Consumption bar and can really be the most expensive option as far as bars go.  Hosted is an hourly rate (ours is $20 per person for the 1st our and $7 for each additional hour).    You could also try having a "signature drink" that can be prepared beforehand by the pitcher.  Might help keep the cost down.  Good luck!
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  • JennaV26JennaV26
    1000 Comments

    We had our dinner which was estimated at a per plate, per person rate and then we had an open bar that was estimated to be $22 per person which is the club average. Once we got the final bill our party had ended up consuming $29 per person which is pretty outrageous, especially considering many people didn't drink. Basically we had paid for the estimated rate and were responsible for anything consumed above that after the event. Oh well. Everyone had a great time!

    Examine your final bill carefully though, our venue had added an extra $300 for the room rental that wasn't in our original contract so we had to call and get that fixed.

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