limited bar cost

futuremrsr2015 · October 2014

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

wrigleyville · October 2014

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

Yup. Or, you could keep the signature drink but use something common that most people are familiar with, like a margarita, rum punch, Jack & Coke, etc. That way, they probably already know if they like it or not.

LittlePeachBlossom · October 2014

futuremrsr2015 said:

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

This sounds exhausting. Plus ceremony? That's a potentially a 10-hour wedding. Yikes!

futuremrsr2015 · October 2014

LittlePeachBlossom said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

This sounds exhausting. Plus ceremony? That's a potentially a 10-hour wedding. Yikes!

The ceremony is 30 minutes tops, not everyone stays until the very end. How is it different then having the ceremony, cocktail hour, 4-5 hour reception then going bar hopping?

lavenderfields13 · October 2014

wrigleyville said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

Yup. Or, you could keep the signature drink but use something common that most people are familiar with, like a margarita, rum punch, Jack & Coke, etc. That way, they probably already know if they like it or not.

That's a good idea!

lavenderfields13 · December 2014

@jenijoyk @fran1985 would you mind coming back to share what the bar ended up costing? You can PM if you don't want to post it here/

Congrats as well!

Fran1985 · December 2014

lavenderfields13 said:

@jenijoyk @fran1985 would you mind coming back to share what the bar ended up costing? You can PM if you don't want to post it here/

Congrats as well!

hey @lavenderfields13! thank you! So first my bar list- I had 6 types of wines- 5 of them were $4.50 a glass and one was $6.50 a glass. I had 5 types of beers that were $3.50 a bottle, and two signature mixed drinks that were 5.50 a glass. I had 140 people , only about 6 people under 21 and I would call them a relatively high drinking group (most from MA) . My total bill was $3,200 and that includes a $500 champagne toast. My wedding reception was from 4-10pm which I think kept costs down too.

lavenderfields13 · December 2014

thanks @Fran1985 ! I'm thinking we'll possibly have around the same amount of people and prices are about the same. Reception will be from 7-12. Our venue gave us a grand total estimate based on $3500 for bar tab, hoping we can stay around that. It's scary just not knowing!

thank you!

jenijoyk · December 2014

lavenderfields13 said:

@jenijoyk @fran1985 would you mind coming back to share what the bar ended up costing? You can PM if you don't want to post it here/

Congrats as well!

Of course! I have no idea how it happened, but we stayed under $2,125. I don't know how much under... but that is what we paid ahead of time, and our caterer never asked us for more money. Our caterer was also freaking awesome, so maybe she stopped counting. I have no idea. But like I said before, we did a consumption tab and the deal was $5/drink for beer, wine, and sangria. Non-alcoholic drinks were free. We ended up having several last minute cancelations (jerks), so had around 120-125 guests. Of those, there were just a few (5? 7?) that were younger than 21 and/or preggers and not drinking. There were at least 20 guests who are hard core drinkers. Our cocktail hour started around 5:30, and our last call was at 11:30. So 6 hours.

A few extenuating circumstances that might have played into our lower than expected tab... there was a bar directly adjacent to our venue, and I noticed a few groups heading in there for rounds of shots (which they paid for themselves). Also, the beers we offered were all pretty high in abv (8-12%) which might have meant people drank them at a slower pace than they would have been drinking Heinekens or Coronas. Also, my group of friends is really into fancy beer, and our DOC/caterer looked the other way when a few friends brought in really special bottles, which several of us shared. DH and I actually mostly only drank bottles that our DOC let us bring in. So all those drinks would not have been counted in the tab. But really, this couldn't have been more than 20-30 drinks. (Or $100-$150 at $5 per drink.)

So for us, the consumption tab was a HUGE win. If we had done the $32 per person wine/beer/soda package that was offered to us, it would have been around $4,000. And it might have been more since two weeks before the wedding we were expecting (and would have paid for) 130+ people.

Fran1985 · December 2014

lavenderfields13 said:

thanks @Fran1985 ! I'm thinking we'll possibly have around the same amount of people and prices are about the same. Reception will be from 7-12. Our venue gave us a grand total estimate based on $3500 for bar tab, hoping we can stay around that. It's scary just not knowing!

thank you!

It is nerve racking! But if you prepare for the worst it feels good when its so much lower than you prepared for

I would say the mixed drinks were not popular- I dont think people were going around trying them just to try them.

JellyBean52513 · December 2014

futuremrsr2015 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

This sounds exhausting. Plus ceremony? That's a potentially a 10-hour wedding. Yikes!

The ceremony is 30 minutes tops, not everyone stays until the very end. How is it different then having the ceremony, cocktail hour, 4-5 hour reception then going bar hopping?

Bar hopping is not part of a wedding.

lavenderfields13 · December 2014

thank you @jenijoyk ! I appreciate it

hyechica81 · December 2014

wish i could be of help but i live in ct and all the venues in connecticut that are full banquet halls include full open bar in your reception package

we had a full sit down dinner open bar was 4 1/2 hours first hour was top shelf liqour like grey goose etc then they swiched regular liqueur like smirnoff or house brand

we paid with tax and tip it included dinner appz hot and cold full open bar dj cake and centerpeices 88 a person

i know in ma they dont offer bar as part of your package its a separate charge i think ri might be the same as well

beethery · December 2014

futuremrsr2015 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

This sounds exhausting. Plus ceremony? That's a potentially a 10-hour wedding. Yikes!

The ceremony is 30 minutes tops, not everyone stays until the very end. How is it different then having the ceremony, cocktail hour, 4-5 hour reception then going bar hopping?

Bar-hopping is an unofficial unhosted afterparty gathering type of thing, and not part of the wedding reception.

beethery · December 2014

futuremrsr2015 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lolo883 said:

futuremrsr2015 said:

lavenderfields13 said:

LittlePeachBlossom said:

I would do beer and wine ONLY with no signature drink. People generally know what beer and wine they like so they'll stick to their tried and true without experimenting. If you offer a signature drink, people would most likely want to try it even if it's not something they normally drink. There will likely be more waste because of this.

This is a good point. I planned on having some kind of drink with liquor that I liked because I don't like beer or wine. I plan on having smirnoff ice too since those are close in price to beer and I like those.

I second the smirnoff ice, I can't stand beer or wine (my mother is the same) so I would be SOL.

We asked for an estimate for open bar and the coordinator actually told us to budget 2 drinks pp for the whole thing (9 hrs) at 150 people the bill would be $4,500 if everyone only had two drinks the whole night. They do not have a per person option and you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol except the wine for dinner and if you want them to bring in something they don't normally have she said take the price at the LCBO double it and add a dollar.

This is way off. The rule of thumb is 2 drinks for the first hour, and a drink an hour after that.

Also, is your reception actually 9 hours long, or is that the whole time including your ceremony? That's insanely long. Most receptions are 4-5 hours, max.

O I know her estimate was way off, found out the other night that she no longer works at the venue so we are going to see the new girl next week.

We're looking at around 8 1/2 hrs for cocktail hour and reception.

I've only ever been to one wedding that wasn't until 1-2am (usually with the ceremony being between 2-3 in the afternoon)

This sounds exhausting. Plus ceremony? That's a potentially a 10-hour wedding. Yikes!

The ceremony is 30 minutes tops, not everyone stays until the very end. How is it different then having the ceremony, cocktail hour, 4-5 hour reception then going bar hopping?

Bar-hopping is an unofficial unhosted afterparty gathering type of thing, and not part of the wedding reception.

marie2785 · December 2014

If it helps, I was quoted $80/person for my reception. The reception is 5:30-6:30 for cocktail hour, and 6:30-midnight for the actual reception. This includes ~$30 for dinner, ~$5 for appetizers, $5 for valet parking, and $40 for drinks @ an open bar (avg cost of $5.50 a drink, so ~7 drinks) per person. Under 21's come in at $40-$60 depending on if they have the chicken fingers (kids option for the under 12s), or adult entree. This does not include venue rental, cake, flowers, or any of that stuff.

I'm actually debating about ending the reception earlier (10 or 11), not due to costs, but due to the fact FI and I's friends don't really party and they all have little kids, so I'm not sure many people will even be there past 11 :-/

MandyMost · December 2014

bostonbride2015 said:

penguin44 said:

Hmm, now I'm getting nervous. We are able to buy our liquor wholesale and bring it in ourselves, and we budgeted $3,000 for 150 people. Well, originally it was 130 people so I guess the price will go up. We're hoping things like kegs help keep the price down...
You'll be fine. I did this. We had two types of beer, four types of wine, vodka, gin, and whiskey. Plus tons of mixers. We spent less than $2,000 and had a bunch leftover. I had about 120 people. Make sure you use a drink calculator or ask your caterer for quantities to buy.

This. Buying your liquor wholesale is WAY different price-wise than paying for drinks at through a bar the venue provides. We pay our catering company for the bartenders and any specialty beverage mixers. But we're getting our liquor, beer, wine, bar fruit, ice, and mixers from a wholesaler, and for pretty decent alcohol we've been quoted around $3000 for 180 guests, and we're expected to get about $1000 back in unopened returns. And this is just outside of a major northeast city.

We just did it this way, at a venue in Boston (literally in Boston, not the suburbs or at all outside the city). For 150 people--many big drinkers, but also some pregnant women and designated drivers--our alcohol cost was about $1800. We did 3 beers, 4 wines, 1 sparkling/prosecco, and 2 signature drinks (one bourbon based, one vodka based). Obviously if you added in the cost of the bartenders and glassware and all that provided as part of the caterer's bill it would be more. But overall it was drastically cheaper than the venues that did it all-in-one. Other similarly-priced venues were doing $50-$60/person for open bar. That would have been $7500 minimum!

lavenderfields13 · December 2014

@mandymost what venue was that just out of curiosity? I'm from Boston and didn't come across a venue like that in my searches, not that I remember anyways!

limited bar cost

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