I’m planning for my own wedding reception but want it to be really informal in the style of a garden party. I want there to be a free bar where we will be supplying all the booze. Not sure whether this will be in the form of cans and bottles that people open and serve themselves or what the options are for getting an outside company in to provide bar tending services and even things like draught beer.
Tags: Anyone, booze, Free, Large, organised, party, Reception, supplied, they, Wedding
I’ve been to weddings with an open bar where it all was free, and to weddings where beer & wine was free but mixed drinks you had to pay for.
That will be quite expensive, just to buy the supplies. Do you not have a responsible friend or relative that would provide the bartender services? I would go to Sam’s Club to purchase the supplies & call your local brewery to see about a keg price for the beer. That would be cheaper than cans or bottles.
Plan in advance how much booze to allocate per person, and have more on hand. There are lots of party planning websites that will tell you how much to estimate.
I would strongly recommend a bartender, especially for a wedding reception.
Hire a bartender to limit your liability. Especially if this is held at your home. Most venues have bar tending services and some require you to use them. The most recent reception that I attended offered free drinks during the time the pictures were taken and people were eating appetizers and after that you paid for drinks. A free for all on the drinks can have bad consequences, Drunken behavior isn’t always pleasant. You know your friends and families well enough to know if this could be a problem.
Yes I have been to several and let me tell you, we went to a wedding in a mansion in Manhattan and the men were walking around with cans of beer and it was the tackiest thing I’d ever seen. Not to mention all the empty cans this produced that had to be collected from the tables, stair railings and other places where people had just put them down because there normally are no trash receptacles visible at wedding receptions.
If you’re having a caterer do the food, they usually can provide anything you’ll need for the bar including bartenders. It’s not a good idea to have people serve themselves because it’ll just turn into a free for all. If you’re doing your own food, you still may want to get a bartender just to help keep things under control.
look into local park pavilion buildings you can rent out- that way you can decorate it however you want, supply all your own food and drinks, and are responsible for cleanup. that is a very inexpensive, informal way to go. or maybe your local community hall or something. you can hire bartenders for your event- maybe even ask someone at your local bar to do it or look up in the phone book or online.
Any caterer can supply a bartender for about $25/hour. It helps to have a real bartender because they can help with alcohol control, make nice drinks, tell you what to order (do buy the booze yourself, it is cheaper), what glasswear you need, etc. You will use less alcohol if there is a bartender.