Cash bar...to Have or Not To Have

Cash bars are in poor taste. Your wedding is not a fundraiser or a bar, it's a party. The experience should be free for your guests.

I agree with standard etiquette, that hosts should pay for whatever they serve for food and alcohol, or simply not serve it. That guests should not open their wallet at your private party, any more than they should have you pay for dinner or desserts or drinks if you went to dinner in their home. The idea of selling drinks to your guests as a fundraiser is appalling. Please, don't.

This doesn’t sound like a cash bar, it sounds like you’re like selling alcohol at your wedding as a fundraiser for your honeymoon...? That’s extremely tacky. Please don’t do this.

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I agree with this!

View Quoted Comment This, 100%.

No. Just no.

So you're doing an open bar with extra steps? Because if it ends up costing more than your fundraiser makes you'll just be paying for it. How do you plan on coordinating this with the bartender?
Seems tacky and like too much effort to me.

Unpopular opinion apparently, but I think you should do what you want. If I was a guest, I wouldn’t really think about it bc it’s your day not mine

So not only would your guests have to pay for their own drinks, but you would be charging them in order to pay for your vacation? I honestly can’t think of anything ruder.

We're doing a cash bar, just not as a fundraiser. Soda pop, lemonade and ice tea are included. If you're wanting to do a fundraiser for the honeymoon honestly forgoing the registry and asking everyone to donate to the honeymoon fund would probably be better recieved. Just my 2 cents

I don’t think legally you can purchase the alcohol then charge people for it. You could only have a cash bar if it’s supplied/handled by the venue and bartenders.

View Quoted Comment A cash bar is legal just like hosting any event and charging for it. Raffle, Quarter Auction, crab feast etc.

View Quoted Comment Not doing a registry. We are having other beverages as well that that aren't for purchase. TY for your opinion.

View Quoted Comment Guessing you've never heard of a honeymoon fund where guest donate to it. It's basically the same. How do you consider it rude if it's the same thing?

View Quoted Comment Lol apparently 🤯

View Quoted Comment The experience is free. It is a party. However I don't feel as though it's rude. It's very casual and I'm known for my cocktails.

Wow....I've been to cash bar weddings and never saw it as an issue. Better than dry weddings or BYOB but didn't know it was really looked down on like this. Thank you all for your honesty.

A cash bar is almost always a no. But I’m guessing that 50 person list is mostly family so it’s probably fine. Definitely would not tell them they’re funding your honeymoon though

It would be better to do a limited bar such as beer and wine only than a cash bar. Most guests won’t be expecting to pay for drinks, so if you do decide to go that route, you may want to consider letting people know so that they bring money of some form with them.
Also, check the laws in your state. It sounds like you want to buy alcohol yourself and then resell it which isn’t necessarily legal without a license. There’s a lot that goes into being able to sell/serve alcohol. I personally wouldn’t recommend going that route either way. It could come off as offensive to some guests, even more so than a typical cash bar done by a venue which is also usually best avoided.

View Quoted Comment That depends where you live. Here and the 3 other states I lived in, raffles, auctions, bingo games are all restricted bylaw to registered charities, who have to get legal permits. but that is not true in all states. Some places , legal. For weddings, or honeymoon funds, still seen as rude, but not illegal.