6.6 drinks per guest sound okay?

spockforprez · November 2015

julieanne912 said:

OK on the wine, I'd consider doing bottles instead of boxed wine. That way, you can return any bottles you don't use. Once you open those boxes, you're stuck with it, and will likely throw some of it out. Plus, dumping wine in a big dispenser could change it's flavor, and not always for the better. ETA: You could get wine that has a screw top lid so you're not having to fuss with corkscrews and corks.

Also, for the wine, consider the weather and the food you're serving. If it's going to be warm, people will drink more white (which should be kept cold, so another reason the dispenser idea may not work if you're serving white). If it's cooler and you're serving heavier food, red will probably go faster.

You can get a perfectly good wine for under $10/bottle. It won't be as cheap as the boxed wine, but it'll be a hell of a lot better to drink. I did a Mark West Pinot Noir that was $9.99/bottle, and Stellina di Notte Pinot Grigio for $7.99/bottle. Most places will discount if you buy a case of 12 as well, and then you can just return what you don't use.

I did a case of each, and ended up with 3 bottles of each left over. We had 130 guests, 2 kegs and 3 liquor types with mixers, so less wine was consumed than if we just had beer/wine.

Reminds me, on the kegs, we had Bud Light and Fat Tire. The Bud Light was almost entirely consumed (but that's our crowd), and the Fat Tire was only about 1/4 of the way down in the keg. I think something like Guinness is super heavy, and may not go over as well as some of your lighter options.... unless your goal is to have them not drink as much.

Also, HIGHLY suggest hiring a bartender. I was so glad I did because they took care of everything, and helped with cleanup as well.

We aren't doing kegs. Bottled beer and cider. We have setup, restocking, and cleanup covered with our DOCs. The dispensers have a compartment for ice which we will use to keep the white wine chilled (and it will be chilled before being deboxed of course!). Thank you for the feedback on red vs white and weather - I'm sure we can mix up the ratio there. We'll be serving BBQ outdoors in May so I'm assuming warm weather.

Sorry to be short but I covered most of these things in my OP and comments.

spockforprez · November 2015

JediElizabeth said:

So question - does everyone just get additional insurance/ a bartender/whatever every single time they have a party and have people over at their house drinking? I'm not trying to discourage planning for the worst here....but obviously you take a risk any time someone comes to your house and drinks, and later drives home.

With that said, I do think hiring a bartender would be helpful just for the sake of having someone keeping the beer and wine stocked so you or your family don't have to keep an eye on it and worry about supply levels throughout the night.

Anyway, on to actual feedback - I'd try to break up the variety more in the beer like others have suggested. I don't consider Guinness to be super mainstream (unless it's St. Patrick's Day ) and I'd definitely go lighter on it. As a guest - I'd rather see a split between a lager (consider Sam Adams as an alternative to Yuengling), the Bell's Two Hearted, and I guess the Guinness (although I truly don't know many people who favor dark beers like Guinness as a beer they regularly drink).

Total Wine has an EXCELLENT drink calculator for a party on their website. You can select # of guests, how heavy you think people will drink, # of hours for your event, and then choose between beer and wine or beer, wine, and hard liquor. Either way, I'd still over buy if you can afford to since you'll be able to return the unopened packages.
Personally, I tend to invite people to sleep over when I get them drunk. But usually I can't fit more than 20 people in my home, including the hosts, and I know a couple of people don't drink, or use public transit or whatever. It's a matter of scale. When you're talking about 50-250+ people, some of whom you don't see or drink with often, or even know personally, it's much harder to take care of everyone. I would want to hire a bartender anytime I'm offering an open bar to that many people.

People can, and do, get legally drunk with a bartender. I am absolutely not trying to downplay the seriousness of drunk driving, but the reality is that a bartender won't prevent an alcohol-related accident or injury.

MesmrEwe · November 2015

1) yes, hire the bartender - you don't want someone UA drinking, getting behind the wheel, stopped UA/OWI, and you get your (or your Mom) butt hauled to jail on your wedding night for providing alcohol to a minor... Also, in many states you can also be held liable if there's an accident. At the end of the day, you know your guests and your assessment of risk.

2) Did you account for guests not wanting to consume alcohol in those "2 drinks per hour". Water bottles/Sodas/NA/juice boxes, etc. should also be factored in. Not everyone drinks alcohol, especially when they're going to be driving themselves home.

3) DH's cousins do the "drinks in a boat" thing all the time for grad parties... For a lot of reasons, get a pop-up tent that you can put the boat under (you can hit up the clearance sales right now - they're cheaper to own than rent). This prevents birds doing their thing in from above, it takes away the direct sunlight beating down on it to melt the ice, and provides a focal point for "there's the drinks".. Also, I would not use dry ice in your boat not only for safety but for the canoe as well. It's one thing if you're using an aluminum johnboat another for a fiberglass canoe... Ice is cheap!

lovegood90 · November 2015

spockforprez said:

lovegood90 said:

Why aren't you hiring a bartender??

I don't really understand this question. We had planned to have it set up as self-service, as described in my OP. I didn't really see the need for one. Plenty of people host parties without bartenders. We are definitely looking into the need for a license or liability insurance (we already planned to get event insurance).

Well yeah people have tons of parties without a bartender but we're talking about a wedding here, however casual. Also you're not new so are you seriously this shocked that people are saying it's incredibly irresponsible and (IMHO) not smart hosting to not have a bartender? I mean maybe I'm complete off base and your guest count is like 20 or something? Taking out the liability and safety issues, what about set up and cleanup? Keeping the bar area stocked/clean? I just don't get how it's so hard to understand the importance of a bartender for an event like this even if it's casual....

spockforprez · November 2015

lovegood90 said:

spockforprez said:

lovegood90 said:

Why aren't you hiring a bartender??

I don't really understand this question. We had planned to have it set up as self-service, as described in my OP. I didn't really see the need for one. Plenty of people host parties without bartenders. We are definitely looking into the need for a license or liability insurance (we already planned to get event insurance).

Well yeah people have tons of parties without a bartender but we're talking about a wedding here, however casual. Also you're not new so are you seriously this shocked that people are saying it's incredibly irresponsible and (IMHO) not smart hosting to not have a bartender? I mean maybe I'm complete off base and your guest count is like 20 or something? Taking out the liability and safety issues, what about set up and cleanup? Keeping the bar area stocked/clean? I just don't get how it's so hard to understand the importance of a bartender for an event like this even if it's casual....

I'm having difficulty understanding why people are choosing not to read any of the comments I've made addressing these issues in this 2-pages-long thread. We will get liability insurance and any required licenses. We have someone (a hired, paid person, not a family member or friend) to setup, stock, and clean up the bar. The only thing that is missing is someone leaning over to get themselves a beer vs. someone handing them a beer from behind a table. That is why I don't understand your question about a bartender. Why is it so important that someone hands them their drink instead of grabbing the bottle themselves?

spockforprez · November 2015

MesmrEwe said:

1) yes, hire the bartender - you don't want someone UA drinking, getting behind the wheel, stopped UA/OWI, and you get your (or your Mom) butt hauled to jail on your wedding night for providing alcohol to a minor... Also, in many states you can also be held liable if there's an accident. At the end of the day, you know your guests and your assessment of risk.
2) Did you account for guests not wanting to consume alcohol in those "2 drinks per hour". Water bottles/Sodas/NA/juice boxes, etc. should also be factored in. Not everyone drinks alcohol, especially when they're going to be driving themselves home.
3) DH's cousins do the "drinks in a boat" thing all the time for grad parties... For a lot of reasons, get a pop-up tent that you can put the boat under (you can hit up the clearance sales right now - they're cheaper to own than rent). This prevents birds doing their thing in from above, it takes away the direct sunlight beating down on it to melt the ice, and provides a focal point for "there's the drinks".. Also, I would not use dry ice in your boat not only for safety but for the canoe as well. It's one thing if you're using an aluminum johnboat another for a fiberglass canoe... Ice is cheap!

I've said repeatedly we will seek out any required licensing. We will have event insurance, and will see if that has any alcohol liability coverage.

I made a comment upthread that water, lemonade, and sweet/unsweet tea will be available.

All food and drinks will under a covered area. I'm not sure on the canoe thing; it's one my parents already own and is pretty old (hasn't been used in awhile). If that doesn't work out, we'll go back to galvanized buckets which was my original plan. Thank you for that feedback.

holyguacamole79 · November 2015

This site has some good information .... http://www.iii.org/article/social-host-liability

spockforprez · November 2015

holyguacamole79 said:

This site has some good information .... http://www.iii.org/article/social-host-liability

Thanks! I couldn't find anything specific to the county where the wedding is, but I did some research on the VA ABC website. I think I will call them my next day off with a list of these questions to see how we should set ourselves up, and get my mom to call her homeowner's to see what kind of coverage is offered and its limits. I got a couple quotes online for event insurance (including alcohol) this morning and they were cheap, under $100 for a $1 million limit.

julieanne912 · November 2015

spockforprez said:

julieanne912 said:

OK on the wine, I'd consider doing bottles instead of boxed wine. That way, you can return any bottles you don't use. Once you open those boxes, you're stuck with it, and will likely throw some of it out. Plus, dumping wine in a big dispenser could change it's flavor, and not always for the better. ETA: You could get wine that has a screw top lid so you're not having to fuss with corkscrews and corks.

Also, for the wine, consider the weather and the food you're serving. If it's going to be warm, people will drink more white (which should be kept cold, so another reason the dispenser idea may not work if you're serving white). If it's cooler and you're serving heavier food, red will probably go faster.

You can get a perfectly good wine for under $10/bottle. It won't be as cheap as the boxed wine, but it'll be a hell of a lot better to drink. I did a Mark West Pinot Noir that was $9.99/bottle, and Stellina di Notte Pinot Grigio for $7.99/bottle. Most places will discount if you buy a case of 12 as well, and then you can just return what you don't use.

I did a case of each, and ended up with 3 bottles of each left over. We had 130 guests, 2 kegs and 3 liquor types with mixers, so less wine was consumed than if we just had beer/wine.

Reminds me, on the kegs, we had Bud Light and Fat Tire. The Bud Light was almost entirely consumed (but that's our crowd), and the Fat Tire was only about 1/4 of the way down in the keg. I think something like Guinness is super heavy, and may not go over as well as some of your lighter options.... unless your goal is to have them not drink as much.

Also, HIGHLY suggest hiring a bartender. I was so glad I did because they took care of everything, and helped with cleanup as well.

We aren't doing kegs. Bottled beer and cider. We have setup, restocking, and cleanup covered with our DOCs. The dispensers have a compartment for ice which we will use to keep the white wine chilled (and it will be chilled before being deboxed of course!). Thank you for the feedback on red vs white and weather - I'm sure we can mix up the ratio there. We'll be serving BBQ outdoors in May so I'm assuming warm weather.

Sorry to be short but I covered most of these things in my OP and comments.

Sorry, missed the part about the ice holder. I still think pouring boxed wine into a drink dispenser is a bad idea. I know you mentioned you're not a wine drinker, but coming from this proficient wine drinker, the taste of wine definitely changes as soon as you open it up. For cheap wine, usually not for the better.

For just a little bit more money (which I did read that you said you have since catering is less than planned), you can provide your guests with something nicer than boxed wine. Plus, then you'd save $50ish by not having to buy the drink dispensers, and you don't run the risk of having to throw out a bunch of undrank wine from the dispensers.

julieanne912 · November 2015

spockforprez said:

julieanne912 said:

OK on the wine, I'd consider doing bottles instead of boxed wine. That way, you can return any bottles you don't use. Once you open those boxes, you're stuck with it, and will likely throw some of it out. Plus, dumping wine in a big dispenser could change it's flavor, and not always for the better. ETA: You could get wine that has a screw top lid so you're not having to fuss with corkscrews and corks.

Also, for the wine, consider the weather and the food you're serving. If it's going to be warm, people will drink more white (which should be kept cold, so another reason the dispenser idea may not work if you're serving white). If it's cooler and you're serving heavier food, red will probably go faster.

You can get a perfectly good wine for under $10/bottle. It won't be as cheap as the boxed wine, but it'll be a hell of a lot better to drink. I did a Mark West Pinot Noir that was $9.99/bottle, and Stellina di Notte Pinot Grigio for $7.99/bottle. Most places will discount if you buy a case of 12 as well, and then you can just return what you don't use.

I did a case of each, and ended up with 3 bottles of each left over. We had 130 guests, 2 kegs and 3 liquor types with mixers, so less wine was consumed than if we just had beer/wine.

Reminds me, on the kegs, we had Bud Light and Fat Tire. The Bud Light was almost entirely consumed (but that's our crowd), and the Fat Tire was only about 1/4 of the way down in the keg. I think something like Guinness is super heavy, and may not go over as well as some of your lighter options.... unless your goal is to have them not drink as much.

Also, HIGHLY suggest hiring a bartender. I was so glad I did because they took care of everything, and helped with cleanup as well.

We aren't doing kegs. Bottled beer and cider. We have setup, restocking, and cleanup covered with our DOCs. The dispensers have a compartment for ice which we will use to keep the white wine chilled (and it will be chilled before being deboxed of course!). Thank you for the feedback on red vs white and weather - I'm sure we can mix up the ratio there. We'll be serving BBQ outdoors in May so I'm assuming warm weather.

Sorry to be short but I covered most of these things in my OP and comments.

Also, fully aware you aren't doing kegs. I was just telling you what we did, so you could see how much was consumed, since that was your original question.

MesmrEwe · November 2015

spockforprez said:

MesmrEwe said:

1) yes, hire the bartender - you don't want someone UA drinking, getting behind the wheel, stopped UA/OWI, and you get your (or your Mom) butt hauled to jail on your wedding night for providing alcohol to a minor... Also, in many states you can also be held liable if there's an accident. At the end of the day, you know your guests and your assessment of risk.
2) Did you account for guests not wanting to consume alcohol in those "2 drinks per hour". Water bottles/Sodas/NA/juice boxes, etc. should also be factored in. Not everyone drinks alcohol, especially when they're going to be driving themselves home.
3) DH's cousins do the "drinks in a boat" thing all the time for grad parties... For a lot of reasons, get a pop-up tent that you can put the boat under (you can hit up the clearance sales right now - they're cheaper to own than rent). This prevents birds doing their thing in from above, it takes away the direct sunlight beating down on it to melt the ice, and provides a focal point for "there's the drinks".. Also, I would not use dry ice in your boat not only for safety but for the canoe as well. It's one thing if you're using an aluminum johnboat another for a fiberglass canoe... Ice is cheap!

I've said repeatedly we will seek out any required licensing. We will have event insurance, and will see if that has any alcohol liability coverage.

I made a comment upthread that water, lemonade, and sweet/unsweet tea will be available.

All food and drinks will under a covered area. I'm not sure on the canoe thing; it's one my parents already own and is pretty old (hasn't been used in awhile). If that doesn't work out, we'll go back to galvanized buckets which was my original plan. Thank you for that feedback.

What we have here is a failure to communicate... A bartender is going to check ID's and not allow those who are underage access to the alcohol as well as prevent someone from the over consumption of alcohol and "be the bad guy" for you when someone is sloshy drunk and needs the keys pulled completely. They're also who the liability is going to get shifted onto if they fail in their role. Many of the insurance policies you say you're going to purchase require there to be someone in this role (typically licensed on an individual basis through the state) in order for you to be covered, so make sure to read their social host policy closely because of the fine print.

Also, factor in that galvanized buckets and the boat have condensation - plan accordingly...

Knottie1444090863 · April 2016

DANG yes that sounds okay but there mayyy be some wildly drunk guests haha, idk if anyone coming to out wedding has a tolerance over three drinks without getting crazy. That sounds super generous and fun!

Knottie1444090863 · April 2016

Oh! One of your responses keeps loading as the original post for me- this may be why you are getting so many comments you have already answered.

Viczaesar · April 2016

@Knottie1444090863, kindly stop bumping old threads.

spockforprez · April 2016

Haha. This wedding isn't even happening anymore. But thanks Knottie#'s!

6.6 drinks per guest sound okay?

Re: 6.6 drinks per guest sound okay?

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