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Tips for Serving Alcohol at Your
Wedding |
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You need to provide your guests with some type of
refreshments (food & drink) at your reception. However, the
choice is up to you as to what you serve and how you serve
it. You decide what type of alcohol to serve or you can
choose not to serve any alcohol.
The bottom line is... You should not feel obligated to
provide an open bar for guests for the entire evening. It is
your decision (based on your wedding budget and other
factors) whether to have a cash bar, limited bar, open bar
or some other variation.
Open Bar throughout the entire reception. This is usually
the most costly option. Some facilities will charge a per
person rate (i.e. $15-35/per guest) or charge you based on
the amount of alcohol consumed such as per open bottle, by
tenths of bottles consumed or per drink. Another issue to
consider with an open bar is the liability involved as
guests may be tempted to drink more. Each state has
different laws, so be sure to check with your reception
facility and caterer regarding liability insurance.
Open Bar for the cocktail reception(1 – 1 ˝ hours) and cash
bar during the remainder of the reception.
Cash Bar for liquor (mixed drinks) and serve complimentary
beer and wine throughout the reception. You can serve a
variety of bottle beers or purchase a keg of beer.
Be creative - instead of offering your guests the typical
run of beers, try to include some of the newer micro-brewed
beers. You can still offer the old stand-bys for those
guests who are committed to "their" brands, but you'll be
pleasantly surprised by the feed back you'll receive on
being somewhat adventuresome!
To save money on your alcohol bill, serve a champagne punch
as your choice of alcohol.
Always include a wide assortment of interesting and
delicious non-alcoholic beverages. Try hot apple cider for a
winter wedding, pink lemonade or fresh brewed ice tea for a
summer time wedding.
Serve specialty drinks like Margaritas, Pina' Coladas or
Sangria. For an early afternoon reception, try Mimosas and
Bloody Mary's. Have a wine bar that serves a variety of
specialty wines. These don’t have be expensive either --
there are plenty of great moderately priced wines available.
To save money, serve house brand liquors versus top shelf…
(i.e. Smirnoff vs. Absolut).
During the cocktail hour, have the wait staff serve wine and
champagne on trays to your guests. First, if you have many
guests, it will cut down on the line to the bar. Second, it
will make your guests feel as they are receiving "top-notch
service". Third, you can save money on your bar tab when
guests choose a glass of wine or champagne versus hard
liquor.
If you’re having a champagne toast, find out if the guests
will see the champagne being poured. If not, it's a good
place to save some money by selecting an inexpensive brand,
since most people just sip for the toast! It may enable you
to spend a bit more on the wines you'll be serving with
dinner.
Offer your guests a choice of red or white wine with dinner.
Many times if wine is served with dinner, guests will be
less likely to order another drink (i.e. hard liquor) which
can cut down on your bar costs.
Consider an international coffee bar during the dessert
hour. You can serve Kahlua, Bailey's, Tia Maria, Grand
Marnier and other cordials that your guests will enjoy with
coffee.
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