Nowadays, most weddings have some variation of an open bar, where the couple (or whoever pays for the wedding) organizes everything that is served that night. An open bar simply means that the host pays for all the alcohol. Open bars are popular at weddings, parties, and corporate and charity events. At an open bar, wedding hosts will bear all expenses.
Open bars started out as a trend and are now a necessity at most wedding receptions. Having one at your wedding reception is ideal if you want to offer your guests a more memorable experience. Although many couples choose to have an open bar at their wedding reception, theirs doesn't necessarily need it. You can also choose a dry wedding if alcohol simply isn't a wedding expense you want to prioritize.
From calculating how much alcohol to buy for a wedding to selecting an open bar wedding package, here's what you need to know. Couples have many options to choose from that can affect the final cost of their wedding and bar services. Many, but not all, wedding catering services and venues offer alcohol packages along with other services. I don't know about you, but I think it's a very high price to pay for an open bar, just as important as I think open bars are for a wedding.
A dry wedding is the best alternative if alcohol is not an important part of your culture or tradition. So what is the right choice for wedding planners? If the budget stretches, can you leave the bar open or will you offend your guests? USA TODAY asked the experts. More guests will mean paying for more drinks, so it's important to know how many people will be attending your wedding reception. In the end, price is only one factor in determining the best bar for your wedding for the guests, for the party and for the bride and groom themselves.
Wayfaring Weddings also participates in affiliate programs with ShareASale, Rakuten and others, and is compensated for referring traffic and business to certain companies. The flat-rate pricing “may work to your advantage depending on how many people drink, says New York wedding planner Katharine Phillips of Katharine Phillips Event & Design. Open bars have become a staple at wedding receptions, but they can often be a stressful part of wedding planning, especially if you don't know much about the protocol and cost of serving liquor to a large group. I tend to think that it's better to have a limited bar than to have your guests pay for some or all of their drinks at your wedding (but that's me).
