How to do Alcohol...

FH and I just had a wedding consultation at Total Wine (they were great - check to see if they have a store near you!) and they used this (linked) drink calculator to help determine how much alcohol to buy.

As far as having a bartender, it will depend on your venue whether it’s required, but I’d highly recommend one either way. Most people will have 1-2 drinks/hour.

Your venue will probably require a bartender, I’d double check. I’d recommend beer + wine and if you want to have extra options, two signature cocktails that can be prepared ahead of time in a large batch. Cosco and Total Wine allow you to buy extra and return unopened bottles.

Many state laws require a bartender for liability reasons. Make sure you have plenty of nonalcoholic options for those who don’t drink beer/wine.

Is this going to be at a venue because then you probably need a bartender. Even if it's not, I'd recommend one anyway...they can cut people off if they start to get sloppy

As far as cost effective, if you go with less expensive brands, then it will cost less overall and sometimes you can return unopened bottles/cases depending on where you purchased them.

DEFINITELY recommend a bartender. We've been to two weddings without bartenders. At both people were completely BLITZED. At the first one, we were taking bets on who would fall/jump in the pool first (it was at an apartment complex pool - no one ended up in it, but we expected it). At the second one, they ran out of alcohol because people were pouring HEAVILY.

We are not doing a bartender-you don’t really need one for just beer and wine. Shop online for prices and deals. For wine, a lot of the time you can get deals when you buy the wine by the case. Our local Liquor Barn just had a 20% Off
Of all wine cases last week. Beer, you may look into getting a keg or see if canned beer by the case is cheaper. Depending on where you live, there online liquor stores that deliver and are relatively cheap. It’s not allowed in my state-but I managed to find some great deals that kept me in my budget.
Also, the last couple of weddings I went to, had only wine. Some guests actually brought their own wine and liquor which was kinda fun!

As many others said I’m sure your venue might require a bartender. I always imagined if we just did beer and wine only just having tubs of ice with beers in them and not having a bartender. I never could figure out the wine, because I wouldn’t expect to just have bottles out for people to pour.

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Luckily my venue doesn't have any requirements! I've always thought that I would just have the beer in buckets as well, and with the wine that's the reason why I'm considering the bartender because I don't want people to have to pour it themselves.

Bartender is highly recommended - what will you do if one guest helps themselves a little too strongly and your guests who like to imbibe miss out as a result?

If you want to have liquor, a good way to keep costs down there is to pick 1-2 liquors your crowd enjoys and stick to them. For example, vodka and rum, and then supply mixers like seltzer and cola.

If you are only serving beer and wine, the same rule applies - the more brands/types you offer, the more expensive it gets due to excess purchase. If someone only has one glass out of a bottle, you're still paying for the bottle. If you know your crowd's preferences, like you know everyone is a red wine or beer drinker, then stick to those. Choose one type of red and maybe two types of beer. Otherwise, one red, one white, two beers.

Limiting choices limits excess, which limits cost.

View Quoted Comment I would hope that they will work with you on pricing if they only have to pour wine vs making drinking or cocktails. I mean I get it that they probably have a set hourly rate but I feel like there is a difference between pouring wine and making drinks.

I think it would be fine to only serve the beer and/or wine using the ticket method. Each guest has X number of alcohol tickets. If they don't use theirs, in theory their partner or someone else could. Once they have turned them in, they can't get another drink and there is no cash bar. This would necessitate your use of a bartender, but I would think you could grab an uncle, in-law or friend to provide this for you with the understanding that it's their gift to you.

In my opinion this could cut down on people getting excessively drunk at your event which I think can be a problem. I was formerly married to an alcoholic who was drunk the entire weekend of our wedding including when he drove me, who was pregnant away towards our honeymoon, so I am a little sensitive to this issue. I think it's also somewhat fair, when your tickets are gone they are gone, but you are technically serving free alcohol with your reception meal. Honestly if people can't get through a reception without drinking a lot maybe they should leave early or bring their own?

I think as far as other people's opinions, you can certainly let them weigh in but it's YOUR and your fiance's day, so do what you need to do! I think it's more irresponsible to spend over your budget, than to try to make others happy when it's not their event. This is my perspective, best of luck figuring it out and best wishes!

View Quoted Comment A bartender pouring wine also helps as they’ll do a proper pour…guests self pouring tend to pour a little heavy which makes the bottles go by quicker !! Many guests (sometimes even accidentally) tend to drink more when it is self serve.


We had bartenders, and brought our own alcohol. This worked great. A lot of what we paid in for the bartending was for liability insurance, so that gave me peace of mind as well! We did a “full” bar with liquor and beer and wine but I’m not sure what would’ve been best , cost wise. We shopped sales, and shopped at places that would accept returns of unopened bottles. We bought wine by the case where there was a good case discount (like 10% or 20% discount if you get a full case)

Our venue required we get our alcohol from them and use their bartender so to make sure we didn’t go over budget I have mine set up to be half open/half cash bar. We are only offering beer and wine as well to help keep the price low.


It will be an open bar the first two hours of the reception which will take it through dinner and then anyone who wants to drink after 6pm will have to buy their own drinks with the bar closing at 8pm.

If you don't have a bartender then I'm assuming you'll be assuming any liability for uncontrolled consumption? Like, if someone drives home and gets into an accident? I'd check on that before deciding anything. Beer and wine is great hosting though, so no worries there!

I was a bartender for an acquaintance's wedding one time. See if you have any acquaintances or if someone you know has friends who are 21+ and are willing to be a bartender for $75-$100. We opened the beer bottles, opened/poured wine and the champagne when they did the toast. At the end the caterer let us take home the rest of the food, and the newlyweds let us take home whatever beer/wine was left over. It was easy, fun, and was nice to help out someone who was trying to save some money! Though double check with your venue that it's okay to do that and whatever licensing you would need. Some states are really strict about alcohol licenses.