Catering is the biggest line in most weddings. The bar is the second, and it is the one where the pricing models differ enough that two quotes are genuinely hard to compare.
The four models
Per guest. A flat figure for every guest of drinking age, regardless of what they drink. Predictable, and it subsidises the heavy drinkers at the expense of the light ones. Ours starts at $20 a guest.
Per hour. A figure per guest per hour of service. Cheaper for short receptions, and it makes closing the bar an hour early a real saving.
On consumption. You pay for what is poured. Cheapest if your list drinks little, and genuinely frightening if it does not - there is no ceiling unless you set one.
Cash bar. Guests pay. It saves the most money and it is the one choice guests notice, so weigh it against everything else you are spending on their evening.
House against premium
A house package is a set of well spirits, a couple of beers and two or three wines. Premium adds call brands and usually a wider wine list. The gap is typically a third again on the per-guest price. Most couples over-buy here: unless your crowd drinks spirits neat, the premium tier is rarely noticed.
What to check
- Is the champagne toast included, or a separate per-guest charge? Ours is included.
- Are bartenders included, and how many per hundred guests? One per seventy-five keeps a queue from forming.
- Is there a minimum spend? And does it count toward, or on top of, the site fee?
- Is gratuity included, added, or expected?
- Can we bring our own? Where a venue holds the liquor licence, usually not - and that is the venue keeping the liability rather than handing it to you.
How much you actually need
The planning convention is two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after, for about eight in ten guests. For a hundred and fifty guests over five hours that is roughly seven hundred drinks. Our bar calculator turns your own numbers into bottles, kegs and cases - useful even if somebody else is pouring them.