My Fiance and I are paying for the majority of our wedding ourselves, so we've been doing a pretty good job at keeping our selections in check in terms of budget. One question mark that remains (we're getting married in August so we have time to figure it out) is what to do about the bar at the reception - cash bar all night, open bar all night (or some variation of), open bar for cocktail hour only, etc. We don't have an exact headcount yet but we sent Save The Dates out to a total of 142 people. At that rate, our wedding planner told us an open bar for the night would run an average of $22/person, or right around $3K (ouch!). I've heard countless opinions on cash bars, the majority of which say that it's a total bummer for guests to have to buy their own drinks after traveling (for those that aren't local), paying for a hotel, buying us a gift, etc. That said, a good majority of our wedding guests are drinkers, hence our apprehension of picking up the tab for an open bar right before our honeymoon. We can slice and dice an open bar any way we want (put a cap, only for a few hours, only offer one type of wine, beer, etc.) we just can't bring any outside alcohol in. I realize this is a question of personal preference and budget, but I'm curious to know what you've seen done and/or heard that works well. I'd love to be able to offer something for free all night, but the thought of picking up a $3-5K bill right before our honeymoon is terrible, lol. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!