Cost friendly way to buy lots of beer?

Get a keg from a liquor store. Most places ask for a deposit so if you don't bring it back they take your money. The place we are getting ours from is $50 down and $150 for a keg for 100 people (we only have 40 guests) 4 bottles of wine, soda, juice(for the kids). Just an idea

Talk to local breweries and see what they can do for you.

BJs or Costco, I dont think you even need a membership to go to their alcohol department.

We got our beer from Costco. We did consider getting beer from a local brewery since the manager offered to hook us up, but getting a keg would have been a waste since we had less than 60 people in attendance and many of those didn't drink. We ended up getting bottles and cans from Costco. We even had left overs. I think the cost for all the beer was less than $100 for us. I don't remember just the beer because we also bought wine & champagne from Costco in the same trip.

Depending on the number of guests, a keg.

KEG

Costco

Ask your venue if you can have kegs, mine doesn't allow them, just bottles and cans.

We are doing ours through Costco. We only have about 40 drinkers coming (the rest are kids) and we are getting bottles from Costco plus a few bottles of wine to put out in addition to some from our own wine collection.

Keg I'm in between a keg and buying cases of beer

We are doing 2 kegs...they will run us about $100/piece.

We did ours at Costco! It was very affordable and they will let you return unopened cases! They also have a great selection of beer.

Just keep in mind with a keg you have to finish it or throw it out. Buying cases allows you to keep stock (or return it the store allows)

Walmart seems to be the cheapest choice, surprisingly.

Agree with checking local breweries. It would be fun to serve something local to your area. Plus you might get a good craft beer.

Kegger!

I know that canned/bottled beer goes on sale at most grocery stores the week before Labor Day which is fairly close to your wedding. (as does soda) You could wait for that sale and then stock up.

Just an idea. Same for other holidays. I learned this and bought all the pop for my sons Grad party just before memorial day last year. Saved quite a bit on soda!

We actually found Total Wine & More to be cheaper & have better selection than Costco. If you have one near you, check it out. They also have sales as well. We were able to return unopened cases. We got our wine at Costco though.

Be sure to check for your area on alcohol return policies before you buy. In California, you cannot return alcohol. Costco has a good selection of beer. At a minimum, get something light and something a little darker/heavier.