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Venue charging open bar for children?

coolwhipz1coolwhipz1 member
Name Dropper First Comment 5 Love Its First Anniversary
in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
Hey ladies, hoping you can help me out.

Our venue wants to charge us the open bar fee for those under 21. Now it's only $20, but were looking at about a few hundred dollars with all those under 21. I'm wondering if its even legal for them to charge for alcohol for those under the age of 21? Sodas and juices and the usual soft drinks are included with food so it's not like we need to pay for their drinks, they're covered.

If anyone has dealt with this or maybe knows I would very much appreciate it!

Tia
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Re: Venue charging open bar for children?

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    minskat30minskat30 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    That is odd.  Is the fee for the bar staff that have to serve both those under 21 the soft drinks/juices or the glassware? 
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    coolwhipz1coolwhipz1 member
    Name Dropper First Comment 5 Love Its First Anniversary
    I don't see how it could be, they would be served soda etc. if we didn't have an open bar. We're adding on the open bar package, and I had asked what about the kids, I was told everyone attending needs to be paid for. The food manager said although they wouldn't be drinking that he evens out the cost for them because others would drink a lot? Just seems like they can't legally charge for someone under 21 who can't legally drink? I'd really hate to pay for open bar for elementary aged children
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    minskat30minskat30 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Yeah, that doesn't seem right to me.  The food manager should quote you a cost for the open bar that "evens out the cost" for them by charging the approriate amount for the open bar.  I have about 10 kids coming to our wedding and we are not being charged for open bar for them.
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    JaxInBlueJaxInBlue member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Agree with PPs.  We only had beer and wine and our bar was stocked based on the number of drinking age attendees.  I'd negotiate with your venue.  See if they would reduce the price for under-21 guests to $8 or $10 per person or see if they will add things to your bar that kids would enjoy (maybe milkshakes or smoothies?) and that would more reasonably justify $20 per person. 
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    lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper

    At first I thought that was really odd.  Then remembered on the boat I use to work on had an  open bar included in the price of admission.   Kids 12 and under were half off.  We didn't get any type of discounts for those 13-17 (18 is the drinking age in the VI).   So I guess parents paid for an open bar their teenage kids could not use.   Umm.


    I guess it depends on how the do their pricing.  If it's a $20 per person to upgrade the package I think they should exclude kids from that charge.  

      However, if their pricing is says "$100 includes meal and open bar", then yes they can get away with charging kids for the open bar they are not using.  (although a lot of times they have a lower price for kids under a certain again, but not for teenagers.)







    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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    thurmanpowellthurmanpowell
    First Comment
    Every single venue I looked at with alcohol packages charged for people under 21, including kids. The rationale I was given was that the Bartender would still provide soft drinks/virgin cocktails for those who asked as well as card anyone trying to sneak by.
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    metalotakumetalotaku member
    First Comment
    my venue said no charges for open bar on those not legal to drink.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Comment


    We aren't having kids at our wedding and just randomly, it worked out that no one is under 21 either.  We are paying for an open bar but our coordinator took off three people (the photographer, the DJ, and the photobooth person).  They are included in our dinner counts but not the alcohol count.  We wouldn't have been charged for the kids either.
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    Dreamergirl8812Dreamergirl8812 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    My venue has a soft bar included and we are opting for $25/person open bar. They are not charging for those under 21 and I think I'm going to be able to not have to pay extra for an alcholic cousin (he's in AA, trust me it would be a huge deal if he drank- it's not like he can sneak some under the table).

    I think it would be ridiculous to pay for those under 21. Ask what the issue is. Is the bar tender checking IDs? If so, you shouldn't have to pay.







    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_venue-charging-open-bar-for-children?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:95271a99-38f6-4678-9498-ddbcd9229b37Post:b0aad12a-fd5b-4f46-8a0a-847c4f74053a">Venue charging open bar for children?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hey ladies, hoping you can help me out. Our venue wants to charge us the open bar fee for those under 21. Now it's only $20, but were looking at about a few hundred dollars with all those under 21. I'm wondering if its even legal for them to charge for alcohol for those under the age of 21? Sodas and juices and the usual soft drinks are included with food so it's not like we need to pay for their drinks, they're covered. If anyone has dealt with this or maybe knows I would very much appreciate it! Tia
    Posted by coolwhipz1[/QUOTE]



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