Free bar at a wedding: yes or no?

MSE_Laura_F

Will you be providing a free bar at your wedding celebration, or will guests pay their own way?

And if you are providing a free bar, what's included?

This question has come up many times in the past, but it's been a while since the last thread closed. In 2021, with the world having shifted in many ways, where do you stand on free bars at weddings?

comeandgo

We had a free bar at our wedding a few years ago.  All drinks were free, we had to trust the bar staff and just left money behind the bar to pay for the drinks.

Misslayed

My first wedding reception (in 1979) was at my parents’ home and they provided all the drinks - not really a bar, as such. At my second wedding in 2013 we provided welcome drinks, copious amounts of wine with the meal, fizz for the toasts and then a pat bar, but we made a point of buying drinks for the evening folk. Best day of my life!

Torry_Quine

Never been to a wedding with a free bar. At our own wedding other than wine to toast we didn't supply alcohol. 

ChilliBob

We'll probably be putting a fixed sum behind the bar, so people can have a drink of three on us, then the rest is on them. This seems quite common in previous weddings I have been to. 

I don't actually think our wedding will be super boozy based on the ages and people we have coming. 

Penguin_

ChilliBob said:

We'll probably be putting a fixed sum behind the bar, so people can have a drink of three on us, then the rest is on them. This seems quite common in previous weddings I have been to. 

I don't actually think our wedding will be super boozy based on the ages and people we have coming. 

Now see there's my issue with this, I went to a wedding where the bride & groom put £xxxx behind the bar but it led to those who got to the bar first ordering 5 drinks each & thus using the funds up. So those who had been in photos etc got nothing.

gwynlas

A lot depends on knowing your guests and whether some might take advantage. Probably best to serve drinks on arrival. wine with the meal and whatever for toasts. Free bar is not very MSE

ChilliBob

Penguin_ said:

ChilliBob said:

We'll probably be putting a fixed sum behind the bar, so people can have a drink of three on us, then the rest is on them. This seems quite common in previous weddings I have been to. 

I don't actually think our wedding will be super boozy based on the ages and people we have coming. 

Now see there's my issue with this, I went to a wedding where the bride & groom put £xxxx behind the bar but it led to those who got to the bar first ordering 5 drinks each & thus using the funds up. So those who had been in photos etc got nothing.

Guess it depends on your guests and the vibe then. Another I went to had drink tokens on the table to avoid this situation 

superblade

We made tickets to say have a drink on us and gave everyone a couple of tickets. that way everyone got a fair share, there was still money left over and anyone who wanted a drink after could keep going until it ran out. Seemed to work really well!

powerspowers

I went to a wedding recently which was tickets and it seemed to work well! 

We had a pay bar but had a drinks package covering pimms, wine and a toast. Also put some money behind the bar to cover soft drinks as there was no alternatives in the drinks package for drivers. 

ChilliBob

We opted for a free bar setup in the end:
Pros:
* Nobody needed cash or card for anything
* No worries about if of when the tab would be reached

Cons:
* If our assumptions on how much people drunk were correct we could have saved circa £500 or so

We'll never know if it would have been better to go for the paid or free bar really, which is probably a good thing. It was certainly nice after first dance to not have anything else to worry about but just to have fun. I think our assumptions on what and how much people would drink were probably wrong on hindsight, but hey ho!