Free bar restrictions - right or wrong?

joho

Hi all,

OH2B is insistent on a free bar at our wedding. I've come round to the idea but still think it is a bit of an extravagance we could do without.

But would it be mean of [STRIKE]us [/STRIKE] me to restrict things slightly by saying it doesn't include premium beers and spirits or cocktails?

I just think some people would take advantage completely by ordering doubles of the most expensive vodka or whiskey or whatever, and collecting drinks!

What do others think? And, yes I AM prepared for people to disagree with me and tell me I'm a tightwad!

knithappens

definatley limit it or your bill could be huge. I had a free wine and beer and soft drinks for children everything else had to be paid for. I have been to many wedding where they have free drinks to a certain amount , then once that cash is gone everyone pays, or they have first 2 or 3 drinks free, on a ticket system, guest presents a ticket and they get a free drink.

wantnomoneyworries

Its a tricky one! Went to a party last night where the hosts had put £500 behind the bar. When that was gone you had to buy your own drinks. But people did abuse it really - doubling up when they were getting around! At least if you put a set amount behind the bar you won't seem "tight" and won't end up bankrupt!

elliebobs

I think you are right! There will always be those who push their luck when someone else is picking up the tab unfortunately.

The only issue to your idea is how you would 'police' it. For example would you tell the bar staff not to serve free premium drinks??? It could lead to potential conflict, esp if someone is already pretty tanked up on the free lager and now fancies a free premium whiskey chaser to go with it.

One idea of the top of my head is to give everyone a bar voucher equating to what you would expect to spend on the bar, say 20-30 pounds each. That way they can drink as much Stella/cocktails as they want but once their voucher has been spent then it's time for them to dip their hands into their own pockets, or steal one of the tee totallers vouchers!

sammy_wheeler

i am really against free bars-- we had welcome drink (bucks fizz or orange juice) a glass of wine for each person (or juice) and a glass of bubbly for toasts.
i dont think guests expect free drinks (if they do then they are cheeky and not nice! Lol) and they bring their own wallets so i would save your money to be honest


but i know thats just my opinion!

mirrorimage0

i personally do not agree with people paying for thier own drinks at a wedding, you have invited them to your special day, they generally have travel expenses, outfits and presents to buy for you. it is you that want them there so i feel they shouldnt have to pay out further.

on the other hand if i have gone to a wedding where there is not a free bar then i generally do not spend as much on the present.

you can let the bar staff know not to serve cocktails or doubles but i dont hink you should tell people what beer they can drink

we had the welcome drinks and a free bar all night, we had booked a hall where we stocked the bar up ourselves and hired some bar staff for the evening, we had stocked up really well and still had loads left. yes som epeople did get drunk but there was no rows or problems.

hope you have a great day though. x

RainbowDrops

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

i personally do not agree with people paying for thier own drinks at a wedding, you have invited them to your special day, they generally have travel expenses, outfits and presents to buy for you. it is you that want them there so i feel they shouldnt have to pay out further.

on the other hand if i have gone to a wedding where there is not a free bar then i generally do not spend as much on the present.

Really? I never expect free drinks - it's such a massive frivoulous expence! And it certainly wouldn't affect the size of gift given!


OP it's very generous of your OH to want to give a free bar - I would think that just beer & wine is fine, with the rest being at normal price

Dizzie77

I went to a wedding where every guest had a drinks token, which they could exchange for a drink behind the bar. It worked really well and nobody took the p, as they were grateful for the gesture.
But if you do go down this line, you could perhaps put something on the back of the token to say that certain drinks are excluded, or maybe even put a monetry value on the tokens - so each person can have a drink of £2.50 or soemthing - if they want a double, they pay the extra.

sammy_wheeler

RainbowDrops wrote: »

Really? I never expect free drinks - it's such a massive frivoulous expence! And it certainly wouldn't affect the size of gift given!

completly agree- i think its very wrong for guests (or brides!) to expect/thiink they should- give free bar- if my friends thought this then they wouldnt be the kind of ppl i would like to hang around with to be honest!

joho

Wow! Rapid responses! Thank you all. I thought I would be the only one in on a Saturday night!

I personally NEVER expect a free bar at a wedding. I've only ever been to one with a free bar and the way people abused it was disgusting - literally taking bottles of champagne and having collections of half finished drinks in front of them.

Beer tokens isn't a convenient option. It's likely to be that we put a set amount behind the bar and hope it lasts a while. It'll be a late start in the bar and I imagine people will drop like flies after a long, hot day. I just need to convince OH2B that it is fair to put on some restrictions.

littlecat29

i think if you don't have some restrictions you could get a ''not very nice surprise'' when its time to settle the bill!! :-) You may have estimated a rough idea in your head for what you think ie 100 people x 2 drinks per hour at £?? per drink equates to £?? but i think it will be far more!!

I would also never expect to have a free bar at a wedding where i was a guest and it certainly wouldn't make me think that i have to spend less on the gift if i was expected to pay for my own drinks!!