Free drinks at party

LittleMrsThrifty

I am organising a wedding anniversary party for my parents. I want to ensure that everyone is able to have a drink or two 'on me' (in addition to a buffet I am paying for). I really can't afford to do a completely open bar all night and besides it would be difficult to operate as it is in a public bar, although we have our own area. Everyone is coming and going at different times, so I can't give everyone a drink on arrival. If I put a set sum (eg £500) behind the bar, people who arrive later may not get anything and people not at the party might drink off our tab.

I have wondered about either having some cards printed and giving everyone a couple when they arrive so they can go to the bar and exchange for a drink of their choice. But is that tacky? Are there any other ways to do it?

Thanks in advance!

lulu_92

I like the card idea, to be honest. It's probably the best way to do this, although it needs to be made crystal clear to the bar staff that these cards are accounted for.

LittleMrsThrifty

lulu_92 wrote: »

I like the card idea, to be honest. It's probably the best way to do this, although it needs to be made crystal clear to the bar staff that these cards are accounted for.

Thank you. The bar staff seem pretty on top of it so I think they will be fine to take the card off the person, add their drink choice to a tab and then I'll pay it off at the end.

I'm worried people will think it is tacky/tight to be going to the bar with a token to get a drink but I just can't afford for it to be completely free.

Only other option might be to have it free until a set time but even then the costs could rack up to more than I can afford.

Izadora

I think most people will just think that it's generous of you to provide any drinks as I always expect it to be completely 'buy your own' if a party's held in a public bar.
The printed cards idea also seems the easiest way to deal with people arriving at different times.

JulieElizabeth

Yes, I agree it is quite generous to provide any drinks at all

davetrousers

Put a monetary limit on each ticket. Otherwise people will be have large Grey Goose Vodkas rather than a pint or a single normal vodka.

jackyann

I think it absolutely fine to set a limit like this, it remains a generous thing to do, and I think people rarely expect an open bar.
Have you asked the staff how they would like to do things? They must be used to this.
Another option - which doesn't suit everyone, but is the one I have seen most - is to have a certain amount of wine, beer & soft drinks set out.
Are you having a toast? That makes a difference.

I have been to a few parties where there was a glass of wine on arrival, after that pay for your own, with soft drinks free all night. One of the reasons for offering free soft drink is that it encourages people to keep their alcohol intake low!

Your token idea gives people a lot of choice, which I think thoughtful of you.

CAPTAINBLONDECHICK

LittleMrsThrifty wrote: »

Thank you. The bar staff seem pretty on top of it so I think they will be fine to take the card off the person, add their drink choice to a tab and then I'll pay it off at the end.

I'm worried people will think it is tacky/tight to be going to the bar with a token to get a drink but I just can't afford for it to be completely free.

Only other option might be to have it free until a set time but even then the costs could rack up to more than I can afford.

I agree - the cards are a good idea and people would be grateful for what you are offering, nevermind worrying about it seeming tight (which it isn't!) as it is generous of you to offer those couple of drinks free in the first place. I think people would see it as a lovely gesture to be honest, and I doubt there would be anyone turning up expecting to not have to pay for their evening's drinks.

If you had it so that it was free up to a certain cut-off point, you just know there would be some chancer who would be ordering their entire drinks for the evening all before the deadline! They would be cramming as much as they possibly could onto one tray while claiming it is for their entire table!!! (we all know someone who is like that!)

:rotfl:

Bean83

Tokens are a great idea, I've been to a wedding where this as done and it worked really well.

To keep control of the cost, you could limit what the tokens can be used for - at the wedding I was at you could only use the tokens for a bottle of a certain beer/cider, a medium glass of wine, a single shot of spirit + mixer or a soft drink. That way no one can take the mickey and be ordering triple whiskeys at your expense!! You could put a list by the bar of what the token can be used for.

nearlyrich

I have been to lots of events like this it works and it doesn't look tight or tacky I think it's generous of you and it would be silly to be worrying the bill will be massive more than you can afford that would spoil your enjoyment of the occasion. I hope it all goes of well and you and your parents have a lovely evening.

TBagpuss

I agree, it is not tight or tacky. Discuss with the bar staff ahead of time what the tokens will cover - it is probably simplest to have a fairly limited range.

I haven't used this system for a wedding or anniversary party but we did have it at a work christmas party. In our case, we were given the details when we arrived and I think (it's a few years ago now) that one token was good for a small glass of wine or a half of beer, and that you needed 2 if you wanted spirits. I assume that this was based on the charging rates at the particular bar.

You could also have 2 colours of tokens, one for soft drinks and one for alcoholic drinks, (if the venue can't set out the non-alcoholic stuff for people to help themselves)

It's also absolutely fine to limit what you will pay for to a set selection - Gordons and Schwepps for the G'n'T's, not Tanquery and Fevertree, for instanace.