Pennsylvania-Philadelphia

Whats the deal with PA and Liquor?

So apparently the trend is that a lot of places want you to buy your own liquor. Our caterer is one of them.  Are there places near/in/around Philly that you can return unused liquor to? Or anywhere to buy wholesale?

Re: Whats the deal with PA and Liquor?

  • edited December 2011
    Who is your caterer?

    It is actually SOOOOO much cheaper and better, IMO, to be able to buy your own liquor.  Some places charge based on consumption and I've seen people pay upwards of 12k for alcohol alone.  We bought probably twice as much liquor/booze as we need for our wedding (because our liquor store accepts returns) and we only spent $2800 and that includes almost a full bar with 5 different specialty drinks.


  • edited December 2011
    tacco, you got all the liquor in NJ though, didn't you?  I'm not sure of any wholesale places in PA that take returns.

    If you want to be illegal, you can always venture to Total WIne in DE, or a Canal's store in NJ.  Both have good selection and take returns.
  • edited December 2011
    Canal's in NJ is the best. We purchased all of our stuff there. We've also used them for other parties in the past and have returned unused items.
  • edited December 2011
    MH - yup, but it's illegal.  We are such rebels!
  • edited December 2011
    I have to do the same thing because of the location. My caterer is going to give us a suggestion list and we are going to go to DE to get it all. It will end up costing us like $15 and everyone will be drinking a lot.

    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • cc+mmcc+mm member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are in the same situation (and are happy about it). The reason, as I was told, is that off site caterers in PA can not use their liquor license to purchase alcohol for you. Only on site caterers and sites with a liquor license can purchase and provide alcohol. So it works out for us to buy our own :-)
  • Sousa8611Sousa8611 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We have to buy our own liquor when the time comes. Chances are we'll eventually use it over time. Use it for when you have guests over to entertain or give as gifts? Sometimes people ask you to bring something to a get together and it doesn't necessarily need to be a food item.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards