S/O Cash Bars-How Much Per Drink?

FutureJilliannD · May 2011

So I have never been to a cash bar wedding, and I'm curious-how much does the guest have to pay per drink?

I'm assuming it varies like in a regular bar, but anyone have any experiences they want to share?

mica178 · May 2011

The last cash bar (at a wedding) I saw was in the 90s, and I was underage. I have no idea.

pantherRN · May 2011

danz9 · May 2011

We do toonie (two dollars) or loonie (one dollar) bars in my home town at the local Legion. I have been to hotel weddings where we basically had to pay bar prices for the liquor.

em01092 · May 2011

I paid $3/drink-sex on the beach. They were medium size (idk how many oz, maybe 6?) and not very strong, but that's ok. Only had 2.

aragx6 · May 2011

In looking at venues I've seen some who post their cash bar prices and at least one was very steep -- $4 for a domestic, $7 for wells

I've never actually attended a cash bar wedding though, so most might run cheaper than what I saw on that one site.

WildRumpus · May 2011

I've been to a few weddings with cash bars, and it does vary. Beer was always cheap, but since I don't drink beer, I ended up paying $5-7 drink. Needless to say, 1 or 2 drinks was my limit.

annakb8 · May 2011

I've never been to a cash bar wedding.

Meg1036 · May 2011

The cash bar prices at my venue are pretty steep: $6.50 for a mixed drink, $6 for a glass of wine, $4 for a Bud Light.

edited: I'm not having a cash bar. But if I were, this is what it would cost.

mica178 · May 2011

At my venue, beer was $4-5, wine was $7-18, well drinks were around $7-8, some of the premium stuff was $15-20. That was consumption or cash.

Oh, and no, we didn't have a cash bar. In his younger days, H probably was responsible for a good chunk of everyone's bar bills. It was the least we could do to host them properly in reverse.

LuluP82 · May 2011

I've never been to a wedding with a cash bar either.

I do know, though, that at our venue, once the open bar ran out, we had the option to either switch it to consumption or cash bar (or close it). We did consumption, and they literally just charged what they charged for normal drinks. It was a hotel bar, so like $8-$14 for a glass of wine (it's what I drink, so what I know

). Since we opted for consumption (I am one of the adamant I hate cash bars and think they're akin to charging people for dinner crowd), they cut us a bit of a break, but it was like $2 off. I'd imagine a cash bar would operate on the same principle unless the host subsidized it a bit.

Celles · May 2011

I've never been to a wedding with a cash bar. Our bar package was $33 per person for five hours of unlimited beer, wine and house liquor. I heard afterwards that the bartender was VERY liberal with the amount of liquor he used in the mixed drinks.

The Mel and Todd Show · May 2011

I have never been to a wedding with a cash bar.

jenjenaz · May 2011

the place where i am having my reception charges as follows:
Premium brands - 9/ea
Call brands - 10/ea (huh? that seems backwards)
Cordials - 10/ea
Imported or Micro Brew - 7.50/ea
Domestic beer - 6.50/ea
House wine - 8/ea
Fruit juice, Soda, bottled water - 5/ea.

plus a 250 bartender fee and a 500 min bar charge guarantee.

amys325 · May 2011

I've never been to a cash bar wedding either, but I would assume that it will differ greatly where the wedding is. I live in Chicago and it would probably be around $5 for a beer, $8 for a glass of wine....

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · May 2011

The one wedding I went to with a partial cash bar, my 12 ounce bottle of Sam Adams was $6. So regular bar prices.

jenjenaz · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_cash-bars-much-per-drink-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:9cbb6447-272c-4e5a-b974-5491d984a67ePost:10c048a4-af9b-4bb8-a8ee-88a777ec5ab0">Re: S/O Cash Bars-How Much Per Drink?</a>:
[QUOTE]I do know, though, that at our venue, once the open bar ran out, we had the option to either switch it to consumption or cash bar (or close it). Posted by LuluP82[/QUOTE]

how does an open bar run out? or did you just basically time out (i.e. you had it for 4 hours and you actually stayed longer?)

my first wedding had 2 kegs and 2 bottles of wine on each table. anything other than that was cash bar. this time, i'm having an open bar. of course, finances are a lot less tight this time around.....

jemmini6 · May 2011

I've only recently attended a wedding that was hosted, almost everything I've been to was cash. Generally, it's similar to drink prices at restaurants. Beer is in the $4-$5 range, wine in the $6-$7 range and mixed drinks in the $6 -$10 range (depending on what you get).

LuluP82 · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_cash-bars-much-per-drink-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:9cbb6447-272c-4e5a-b974-5491d984a67ePost:16f2e06e-7c01-4f82-8f36-13114b355e7e">Re: S/O Cash Bars-How Much Per Drink?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: S/O Cash Bars-How Much Per Drink? : how does an open bar run out? or did you just basically time out (i.e. you had it for 4 hours and you actually stayed longer?) my first wedding had 2 kegs and 2 bottles of wine on each table. anything other than that was cash bar. this time, i'm having an open bar. of course, finances are a lot less tight this time around.....
Posted by jenjenaz[/QUOTE]

Oh it was the time. Sorry if I didn't make it clear. Our package came with 4 hours. We upgraded to 6 hours. At 6 hours, ppl were still partying, so the venue asked the planner if we wanted to shut the bar or keep it open and if open, swtich to cash or consumption. Planner asked my dad. We kept it open, consumption.

Brandiewine11 · May 2011

Most of the weddings I've been to have open for a while, then switch to cash at some point. It's depended on the region, but generally:

Beer $2-5

Wine $4-6

Liquor $5-10

mandysmear · May 2011

depends on the venue and the B&G. i've been to one where the B&G didn't cover any drinks at a hotel, so they were like $7each. i've been to hall weddings where drinks were $2. i've been to a wedding where drinks were $2each and then the bride and groom paid like $3each.

libbyloutoo · May 2011

Around here everyone has a cash bar of sorts
If the venue allows it, a toonie or $3/drink bar is common
If you are at a hotel venue, then you're looking at $6-$8 a drink.

opalsky007 · May 2011

At our venue, it would have been $3.50 for domestic beer, and up to $7.50 for liquor. We did not have super high end stuff available.

What I found really sketchy was that those prices were higher than what would have been true if we paid based on consumption (which we did). They upped the price to make up for the fact that they wouldn't be assessing the guests the 20% service charge that they did for us. :-/

par31 · May 2011

Your best bet would to be to ask the venue the price as each would charge their own prices

ootmother2 · May 2011

I don't think that I've ever been to a wedding with a cash bar,

I vaguely remember that one of my cousins had a gormet dinner with selected wines served. There was a cash bar outside of the room but I didn't see anyone use it.

Someone always says they are trying to protect guests from driving drunk but I don't buy that one at all. I consider cash bars at weddings a good sign of a cheap person overall.

I do understanding having cake & punch, tea, water, receptions if you are against drinking alcohol for any reason

jess9802 · May 2011

I've been to a couple of weddings with cash bars, but I rarely carry cash and so I just didn't drink. So I have no idea.

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