Byob??

[pinkgirl]

I want alcohol at my wedding. I've been to enough to know that without it, the party ends early. Besides, it's what I want!

Anyway- I know that alcohol is expensive and I know that buying a bunch of it for a wedding reception is gonna be SERIOUSLY expensive. So how might I go about this? I thought about having everyone bring thier own beer. I also thought about having the reception at a place where they have a bar and then have everyone just pay for thier own drinks. Or maybe buying what we think is a reasonable amount for the wedding party and have the rest of guests buy thier drinks. How would this work?

[AllyM1]

At my reception we paid for $500 and then everything after that they had to pay for their own. I don't particularly like this, but 1. there wasn't a lot of money left over, and 2. I didn't want people getting trashed.

I personally would not have people bring their own alcohol.

[MOB Karen]

I think there are many many different ways to have alcohol at your wedding. The way we chose for Amber's wedding was that we are paying $67 a person for dinner at our country club, which includes four hours of open bar. :D

[rainbowtreat]

If I was to ahve the reception in my sisters yard as we were thinking of first every one who wanted a drinkw ould have had to brought their own. We ended up havign it at the hall that had a bar and every one had to buy their own.

[Kacie_bride]

You have several options. You can have an open bar for a set time limit to keep the costs down. After the time is up then they buy their own drinks. Keg beer is of course cheaper. That is what we are doing. Try to select a location that allows you to bring your own alcohol in. You can rent margarita machines and they are not that expensive.

[countrygirl]

We are having a cash bar. We will be paying for the first hour or so, but after that, they are on thier own. We can't afford an open bar.

[pinkgirl]

Thanks everyone. I think the cash bar will probably have to be the way we go. We're not made of money lol. Thanks for the advice :).

[WhiskeyGirl]

I would be worried about the technicalities and liabilities with BYOB!!!! It is to me a very touch and go kind of thing. If you cannot afford to supply your guests with alcohol, look towards a cash bar. That way a bartender can cut people off who have had too much and then you are not liable for them kind of thing.

[Smile1Jen]

We are having a cash bar too..we will probably pay for the wedding partys alchol but thats it

[WebLady]

We had a cash bar at our reception party. There was no one under 21 invited so we didn't have to worry about that part. I made several comments to our friends before hand to drink responsibly and bring a DD. I also think the bartender was cutting ppl off at 3 drinks.

Like Shawna said, I would be worried about telling ppl to bring your own.

[jakeswoman4ever]

We are having a keg or two and then if people want anything other than the beer they will have to pay for them at the bar.

[pinkgirl]

So, I'm guessing that with a cash bar you can just tell the bartender to cut them off when he thinks they've had enough? I don't want them to cut anyone off at a certain number of drinks, but more like, if they're getting trashed then tell them they're done. You know what I mean? Most of the people in my family can stop themselves before they get trashed, but the select few that can't, are going to be the reason for the cut off. Also, there will be under 21's at the reception, ones that I know drink now. So the bartender will have to really watch that.

[WhiskeyGirl]

A professional bartender will have the knowledge to know to id anyone who looks under 21, they will also not want to get that hefty fine that comes along with serving under agers!! They will also know when someone has had TOO Much!! Hiring a professional bartender should calm all your fears as they will know all of this from experience.

[Kacie_bride]

Not neccesarily. I've seen bartenders who don't cut people off and there is always the possibility of someone else going to get a drink for them, but at least it takes the liability off of you. Hopefully most people will be able to know when enough is enough.

[brewsells]

We are buying a keg for our guests as well as champagne for the toast. Anything beyond that the guests will have to pay for.You can serve quite a lot of people with a keg and they aren't too expensive (I am paying $130). IMO this is the most cost effective. However, when the venue serves drinks and the price is included in the per person, that may be just as worth it. I guess it all depends on the type of reception you are planning on.

[sherrybaby]

I am not against a BYOB at all we had that at our reception and it actually went perfectly, everyone drank different things. We did supply the wine.

[SoontobeMrsClark07]

My site automatically includes open bar in the price per person. Its only $62.50pp at the site. We asked what it would be without alcohol and they said $6 less. At that point we decided it was worth it.

Sometimes you can find all inclusive places that will have a really good price on open bar per person. The country clubs we looked at wanted $20 per person, but the caterers and "all-inclusive" sites wanted something significantly less.

You can always find places that allow you to bring your own alcohol. You may need to obtain an ABC license or have a licensed bartender.

Whatever you decide, your guests should be happy with. They are coming to share your special day, not to get trashed. Even if you decided to do no alcohol I think nobody should complain. Chances are nobody will and everything will be fine no matter what you choose.

[LaceyinPgh]

You need to check with your venue. In most states if the venue carries a liquor permit then they will NOT let you BYOB because of the liability to opens up to them. They are reposnsible for the alcohol people consume yet if it is BYOB they can't actually control who drinks what. Your best bet is to do a cash bar. Although I am adamantly opposed to asking your guests to pay for anything for anything atyour wedding, I am in the minority on it. If the choice were up to me, I would have no alcohol which you don't want to do or offer a limited bar of beer and wine. A couple of kegs and a couple cases each of sparkling wine, chardonney and merlot won't be nearly as expensive as a full open bar. Plus, you can usually return any unopened cases back to your liquor distributor for a full refund.

[auchlisa]

We bought one keg for $85. We are suppling the champaign, a punch that has alcohol and one that doesnt. We will also be making our own Jello shots. Then after that everyone is on their own.

[Amanda&Hugo]

Hi there,
For once I am glad not to hear people turning up their noses at cash bars. Some people just can't afford unlimited alcohol for everyone on top of the food and other expenses... I sure couldn't!! We had a cash bar which several people used, but in addition we also had the "upstairs bar" in my in-laws' suite. My FIL brought 3 hand-trucks' worth of rum, mixers, fruit, beer, wine, you name it! Even with guests coming in and out all during the rehearsal and reception it lasted out all weekend. Of course the reception facility wouldn't let us bring these drinks into the bar area downstairs, but the going room to room made for a great party. Just something else to consider if your venue won't let you bring in your own alcohol!!

[septemberbride06]

those are all very good ideas. We were kind of stuck on the same thing, because we are having an outside wedding, and there is no way to have a cash bar, or anything. We will most likely just rent margarita machines (actually my mom makes them herself), and buy a limited amount of beer. When that runs out, it's gone.

[AngelinLove]

We are having the open bar that is incuded in our pp price at our venue!!! Before we booked this place I was not sure what we were gona do, but then it was decided for us!!! I would just pay for a certain amount of alcohol and then have the remainder of the evening be cash bar!!! Lacey's idea to have just beer and wine is also pretty good too!!!