Pay by consumption open bar? How do i go about estimating this cost?

There is no way to guesstimate that. Do not have tickets or anything where guests have to pay. Either have limited or full based on what you can afford. Plus you don't want to be stuck with beer and wine only if your guests don't drink beer or wine. By not having a per person cost, they are hoping your guests drink themselves silly so you will be stuck with a ginormous bill after the fact. Keep looking asap for a bartending service that charges per person.

I agree with PP. Consumption bars tend to be WAY more expensive than open or limited open bars that charge per head. If your guests are big drinkers, then I'd keep looking and try to find a caterer that offers a bar package that charges per person, not per drink.

I have to agree the previous posters- I’d Keep looking for another vendor to provide your bar/bar tending services. Consumption bars tend to be way more expensive than set per person prices. And there’s really no way to estimate what the total cost will be. If you want to be able to properly budget for your wedding and not have a surprise total at the end of it, I would find someone else for the service.

I agree with the others. There really isn't a way to guess how much each person is going to drink. For example, I don't drink at all, but you could have some at your wedding that drinks like a fish. I would keep looking for another vendor.

Totally agree with previous people. Our venue has a beer/wine package that was offered but we opted to not do that. Out of the 80 guests, maybe 3 might drink wine & there are some that don’t drink at all but with that package we would be paying for then to drink anyway. The venue does provide the mixers, soda, water & tea with no charge to us. We’re providing a limited bar. My fiancé is kind of a beer snob so we’ll provide around 5-6 of his favorite beers. & his signature drink of Malibu & Coke. I don’t drink at all so my signature drink will be fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade (thanks to my stepsister). I know a few of the guests like coffee after dinner while enjoying dessert. My venue recommended bring in some jugs of regular & decaf from Dunkin’ Doughnuts or something like that because that’ll be cheaper.

On average prepared to spend about 40 to 50 bucks per person, just so that way you’re not too overwhelmed. My place does full open bar and they charge $28 per person, but I know for a fact that everyone will drink way more than $28 each. I would say plan on50 bucks per person that way you’re not too in over your head.

On average be prepared*

View Quoted Comment Thanks!! $50 sounds like a safe number to use. The wedding party will party for sure, half of my fiance’s family likes to party, the other half moderate or light, and my family is mostly light drinkers and will probably drive home fairly early. I was thinking with a limited open bar I could pick more reasonably priced drinks.


I am definitely worried about the cost being higher with this, but it’s a very inclusive venue that I’ve been interested in and the food prices are extremely fair for a plated dinner. Plus I wouldn’t need a single rental and my main vendors would be taken care of. So I’m really hoping their bar service cost is doable for us. I’ll have to think on it more!

I think they say that people tend to drink 2 drinks during the first hour and 1 drink each hour after that. So you can estimate your costs by running the numbers based on the amount of people you anticipate having and the cost of the drinks you will serve.

View Quoted Comment Another good way to judge to is to factor two drinks per hour per person. Depending on how much they charge per drink, the standard is usually two drinks per person per hour. And good luck!