Cash Bars & Open/Hosted Bar options – Advice Needed!

2. Hosted bar beer & wine for cocktail hour and dinner (about 5:30-7:30) 3. . Hosted bar beer & wine until a set dollar amount is hit. As a guest, what would you all prefer?

"I'm also worried that some guests will just get completely hammered/fall over drunk because they’re not paying."

Just throw this sentence out. Don't let yourself assume that your guests are going to suddenly become drunken idiots because they're not paying. People get smashed paying $4 a drink at bars alllllll the time--paying or not paying for it won't change anything.

I would say keep it open, but limit the options. Just do beer/wine, or do mixed drinks for only the cocktail hour or something.

ETA: As a guest I think I'd prefer option 2 or 3. Something about a drink ticket doesn't sit quite right with me, I'm not sure why.

This has been discussed many times here. Most will say: not hosting properly (paying for drinks) your guests is rude. If you can't properly host your guests, cut your guest list. The general consensus is usually beer and wine is better than a cash bar or no bar. If you can do beer and wine for the whole night I think that is best. I can see it getting confusing with the time limits.

^ yes what they said, its not up to you how drunk people get, they are adults.

Guests are fine with free beer and wine.

About people getting wasted, if there's someone who would get plastered at a wedding with an open bar, he/she will probably get plastered too at a cash bar. It's about the person, not about it being free or not.

Can you do unlimited beer, plus wine bottles at the table for dinner?

Because no one ever gets drunk on their own dime.

I just posted about this last night. FH and I decided to have a cash bar. There are several guests that would get sloppy drunk and then try to drive. In Virginia, if we provided the alcohol, we can be held responsible for an accident or Heaven forbid, if they killed someone. It's just not worth the risk. While they may still get drunk and try to drive, the risk is lessened by not providing free alcohol. There will be drinks available during cocktail hour, but the cash bar is available during the reception. FH (a retired cop) and I (a nurse) don't care if people don't like it. I don't go to a wedding expecting to have alcohol available and neither will my guests.

Here we go again.

Do wine and beer all night. Maybe add sangria, which shouldn't be a problem for your venue but gives you some more options. Don't make people pay to have a drink after they've paid to come there, buy you a present, get new clothes, hire a sitter (sometimes) and taken a good chunk of their day to celebrate with you.

Don't switch from free to cash in midstream; it's confusing and awkward for the guests, the the venues hate this. It also puts your bartenders in the uncomfortable position of explaining to guests why they used to be able to have a drink, but now they have to pay.

Don't do tickets; it's a wedding, not a carnival.

And Kimi, what a great host you are; "I don't care if people don't like it". Stellar. And guess what? You can still be sued.

This may go against WW's etiquette, but personally, I would not be offended at all if someone provided drink tickets at a wedding. That still feels like open bar to me. 4 drinks a guest is plenty in my mind, especially since there will be some who don't drink and will give their drink tickets away to the heavier drinkers. I HATE when the bar closes at weddings. It makes me sad. But it seems to happen for some amount of time at almost every wedding I go to.

If you HAVE to do one of the above I am actually least offended by the drink tickets. I agree with some of the others that the less heavy drinkers will give their away to the heavier drinkers. Do drink tickets at a wedding come off as looking kind of cheap? Yes, I do think so, but it's much less confusing and more cost effective for your guests than your other plans.

I actually would prefer the drink tickets. I don't drink beer and rarely drink wine. The drink tickets give me the option of having a mixed drink, and I would probably give a couple of my tickets away. However, the way that is probably the most acceptable to all your guests is beer and wine all night.

I would definitely prefer the drink tickets. Some people on here are so militantly against cash bars, but in my area that is what like 75% of the weddings are. It is kind of accepted practice that at a wedding with a cash bar, you spend less on the present. It all works out in the end. If it is something your guests are used to, then it should be fine.

I agree. Let adults adult. Do open bar with beer and wine for the duration of the wedding. That should cut down your costs by a few thousand dollars. I've never seen drink tickets at a wedding and would find them confusing.

I know the subject of cash vs open bar has been beaten to death and I know how most people feel about a cash bar but not a single guest that's invited will expect a hosted bar all night (even just beer and wine). Open bar all night just isn't a thing here. Seriously. That's why I'm asking which "bad" option would be the best. I agree tickets are weird but it's something the venue offers so I figured I'd mention it. I liked the idea of not having an open bar cut off time that leaves guests wondering. I'm going home this weekend and will need to find out how much my parents are thinking for alcohol (they're paying for everything). Maybe this is where FH and I just say ok and pay the difference.

Dram shop only applies to commercial vendors. This means that your venue is held responsible for over serving, not you. As said previously, guests will pay to get drunk. By your explanation, you would still be liable Kiwi.

Wow those all sounds terrible.

People will get hammered whether it's open bar or cash bar if they really want to. Let adults be adults. Responsible, licensed bartenders will cut people off if they become too out of hand. Drink tickets feel carnival-y and open only partially is confusing and when guests find out they will "stock up" on free drinks and get hammered anyways (if that's their end game).