Bride on a Budget: How to Cut Bar Costs without Cutting out the Fun!

What is the most important thing to a Bride besides her looking her very best…that all her guests have a great time and are out on the dance floor until the very last song. How does this happen? Good music + good food + good alcohol = a GREAT party!

What most people don’t realize is that “good alcohol” does not mean a premium choice bar that is open all night. No Bride wants alcohol induced drama associated with her wedding day; it’s a recipe for disaster!

Cost cutting solution #1 – Offer just beer and wine during the reception. Most people are either wine or beer drinkers…..Still not convinced?

Cost cutting solution #2 – In addition to #1, offer a “Signature Drink” during the cocktail hour – one signature drink in honor of the Bride and another in honor of the Groom.

Cost cutting solution #3 – Close the bar during dinner and have a “last call” 30 minutes before your venue end time. Surely your guests can go one-hour during dinner without alcohol….if not, you may want to re-consider your guest list.

Venue Question – Can I bring in my own alcohol? Something you may want to consider, if available, as it may also help cut costs.

How Much in a Bottle – If you want to calculate consumption, a fifth of liquor is 25.6 oz. Each drink is 1.5 to 2 oz. of alcohol, which means you can pour 12 t0 18 drinks per bottle. For wine, each glass is 5 oz., which means you can pour five drinks per bottle of wine. For beer, a full size keg is good for 165 beers.

Standard Ratios – The ratio of drinks for full service is 20% liquor, 15% beer and 65% wine. If you are serving only beer and wine, the ratio is 20% beer and 80% wine. You should also calculate one drink per guest per hour. For instance, if you have 100 guests and alcohol is available for five hours, you should plan on serving 500 drinks. For a full service bar, 20% of 500 drinks means 100 mixed drinks, 15% of 500 is 75 beers and 65% of 500 is 325 glasses of wine. For wine, you should plan on an even split between red, white and champagne.

Bonus Tip: Be sure to find out how your venue calculates the bar bill — is it by consumption or simply a set charge per adult. And, stay tuned for next week’s Blog “Consumption Based vs Per Person Based Bar Bills: Which is Better?”