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Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
Knottie0682519
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Alcohol
I am having around 230 people are my reception. We are paying for beer and wine and if the guests want a mixed drink they will have to pay for that themselves. I was wondering how many kegs and 1.5L of wine would you suggest getting?
Thanks
Thanks
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Re: Alcohol
First and foremost, your reception is a thank you to your guests for attending your ceremony. With that said, it is very rude to ask your guests to pay for their thank you. It is perfectly acceptable to have a beer and wine only bar available. If you'd like, you can add a signature drink for the alcohol drinkers.
Beer is a know your crowd kind of thing; I'd get 2, one light basic beer like Coors and one craft. But my crowd loves craft beer. The amount of alcohol is fairly subjective; my family consists mainly of large men who can drink. Either way, I'd round up from what any calculator tells you.
According to Kegerators that is 12 kegs and according to Total Wines calculator that is 68 bottles of wine. I used 230 for total count for both calculators and used 6 drinks per guest so this is probably on the high side. Unless you're related to me, then it's a goal.
It's absolutely okay to only have beer and wine (we did) or to offer beer, wine and a signature cocktail (or two). It's not okay to charge for some things over others.
If this is a venue "thing" as in your venue won't fully breakdown your bar to only have the selections you host, you need to push back on that.
ETA: spelling is hard
Would you invite someone to your home for dinner, offer them iced tea for free but charge them for a soda? No? Then why would you do something like that at your wedding?
Sigh. Again, money is not a valid explanation. Nobody said ZOMG YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FULL OPEN BAR FOR EVERYONE!!!! Limited bar is perfectly acceptable.
And @DrillSergeantCat Heck yeah, you should be charging for sweetener. Who do your guests think they are, anyway?! You aren't made of money! Bastards.
You absolutely don't need to provide anything other than beer and wine, hell you don't even need to have alcohol since a dry wedding is perfectly acceptable. Why do you feel that you need to offer more than you can afford?
I don't bring cash to wedding receptions because I assume the hosts are actually hosting, and that my drinks are paid for. If I saw people ordering beer and wine with no issue, and then I ordered a gin and tonic and was then billed for it, I'd have to leave the drink on the bar and walk away. . . how awkward for the bartender who now has just wasted a drink, and likely awkward for you as you'd likely be on the hook for paying for it.
Just offer what you can afford to host. If you can't afford to host mixed drinks- which is totally fine- just don't offer them. Have your venue put up a few signs on the bar that lists exactly what is being hosted, so there's no confusion for your guests.
I chose not to have a full open bar because the cost of adding in all that liquor for mixed drinks was very high. Instead we hosted a limited bar- beer, wine, and a single signature drink.
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
OP I think you might be taking people's comments wrong...No one is saying you should pay for liquor if you can't afford it. Absolutely not. If you can afford beer and wine, that's awesome and totally reasonable. But if liquor will break the bank (which is fine - it's not required), then just don't offer it.
The point people are (correctly) making is that you should have anything at the reception that people have to pay for. Not cake, not an alternate menu choice, not liquor, not coffee....you get the point. So if you can't afford something, not a big deal btw, just don't offer it.
For example, I would have loved to offer a bottle of giulio ferrari but couldn't afford it. I didn't offer it and then charge people...I just didn't offer it. That's the point.
It seems even sillier to me to insist on a cash mixed drink bar when you're providing the alcohol and bartending services. It's not like you can blame it on the venue.