diy Open Bar

We also get to BYOB for our venue, so we'll have bartenders but basically provide them with everything. We haven't gotten married yet so I can't tell you how well it works haha but we've tried to base stuff off of the alcohol calculators you find online to at least give us a basis. Then, we've decided to buy everything from places we could return unopened stuff to so that way we can at overbuy and then return what we don't need/use if we don't think we'll use it at home. I really like that this way we can control how much we spend on the alcohol and get exactly what we want. The only thing that does make me nervous is running out of something.

Yes. The best advice I can give is that you know your crowd better than any online calculator. I did all the research, read all the numbers, but still felt it came up a little short. We got extra of the stuff that we knew our crowd liked to drink.We were sure to buy from a store that would allow returns of unopened bottles, but also opted for specific brand that we knew we liked, so that we would be able to use up the leftovers of the open things. We came to over by because we really didn’t want to run out. We kept liquors and mixers fairly simple— 5 basic liquors (Bourbon, rum, vodka, tequila, gin), Keeping in mind what your people like (we probably would have skipped gin if it hadn’t been an outdoor summer wedding, when I knew people would be very into gin&tonics— but don’t feel like you need to get *everything*)— standard Juices and sodas for mixing, with the exception I have a couple additional specialty mixers for drinks that we were very interested in (margaritas for me and manhattans for him!)

The only real “DIY “issue we ran into With the case of wine that accidentally got left in the car That we discovered a couple days after the wedding 🤣, So I do recommend keeping a solid inventory list haha!

I hired bartenders and have been purchasing all my liquors. We are sticking to only a few options: beer, wine, bourbon, and malibu rum with mixers of just soda and tea/lemonade. You want to base it off of how many guest you have. Speak with your bartender and they will tell you how much to have. I know I have ten big bottles of rum, and twelve bottles of Bourbon and the bartender told me that was enough for 225 guests. Plus if you buy they stuff you like to drink, having stuff left over doesn't hurt because you can take it home.

If you have wine, make sure to have three options: sweet white, dry white, and a red. This will give all your wine drinkers their options.

For beer, cans are the easiest because you can returned unopened boxes. but stick to only having 1-2 options of beer.

It's easier to do a controlled open bar so you aren't buying ten different liquors. If you stick with just a basis of each category, it's much easier. Also cross check prices, some times it is cheaper to buy at a Kroger liquor store than an actual liquor store.

Also, you do not have to please everyone who asks about your bar. If they drink fireball, that does not mean you have to supply it.

Also, make sure your bartenders know not to just open bottles indiscriminately, If you’re planning to return the extras— This way you don’t run the risk of ending up with Three opened vodka bottles and one that was open just for like one drink . Our bartenders were very good about this With the liquor bottles, but we had also hoped to return some of the mixers and the mixers they just opened everything.

How many people and what do they drink?

If you have a beer crowd, I definitely think you need at least 3 options, I don’t think 1 would cut it! Bottles or cans do seem more ideal than a keg though , as with a keg you could be stuck with leftovers and you’d need to be sure all your guests want the same thing. Bottles (or cans) allow for better variety and less waste. I think it’s important to have some standard light beer (ex Bud Light), and then you can play around a little with craft beer to cater to your tastes . We went for an IPA as that’s my favorite and big amongst my family , and we knew we wanted a Pilsner or a brown ale to appeal more to my husband’s tastes. We ended up adding a wheat beer which wasn’t up our alleys but we knew we had a few guests who are into them and figured some people might go for that as it was a nice summer day (...it turned out to be what we had the most leftover of! But no biggie, we’re not offended by leftover beer 😝). And we did a hard cider knowing we had a few people coming that drink that almost exclusively !

We’re also kind of wine snobs and have a heavy wine drinking family, so were careful about our assortment and took peoples’ favorites into account. We went for 2 reds and 2 whites (Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds, and Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay for the whites) and people seemed happy with the selection!

catering to peoples’ specific tastes seemed to really work for us on the beer and wine front! If you don’t know what some of the extended family drinks, try asking parents — they might have a better idea

First things first did you check with your venue that you can do byob? If so we actually contacted a local bartender and asked their opinion on drinks and mixers. They had better ideas than we did and also gave some tips on where to buy

Following because we are also trying to do this!! We are planning on 2 types of beer and 2 types of wine for the time being. We have until September to figure it all out though!!

View Quoted Comment Hi! How did it end up working out??