Do you hate wedding couples who have a cash bar(have to pay) at their reception instead of a free bar?

Question

The biggest example of that would be Paul McCartney's wedding to Heather Mills. What a cheapskate!

Answer 1

You know, my parents are very, very conservative, and I was astounded that they are going for the open bar at our reception!! I was truly expecting them to say "No alcohol at all". Truth be told, most banquet halls include open bar in many of their dinner packages. I think mine is something like 5 or 6 bucks per guest if you price it out. So, it really isn't that much more if you look at the big picture to have an open bar. I mean, you can limit it to 3 hours or so, not the whole reception. Have it closed during dinner, I've seen that before. But when the dancing is going on, or the hors d’oeuvres are being served, I think it is definitely cheap not to give your guests an open bar.

So I agree with you. I wouldn’t necessarily *hate* the couple, that is a little extreme. But it is kind of expected in this day and age to have an open bar for your guests. But, there could be other reasons there is no open bar....religious reasons, bride and groom are on a strict budget and maybe didn't even have chair coverings too! I don't know what else.

I have only been to one wedding that had a cash bar, and it was in Worcester, Mass. I was very surprised by this because all my other cousins who got married out of this family (5 brothers and sisters) all had open bars at their weddings. But their weddings were all in New York State. This was the only "out of state" wedding we went to. Then someone else told me that they went to a wedding in Mass. and were very pissed off to find that it was a cash bar. Then she told me that there is some kind of law in Mass that you can't have an open bar? Not sure if this is true....but just thought I'd pass that bit of info to you. (By the way, my uncle who was the groom's father----the bride's parents paid for the wedding-----came over to my dad and slipped him 20 bucks and apologized about the cash bar. He said to buy the family a drink on him!) Mixed messages, weird.

Answer 2

I agree that it is nice if a couple can afford an open bar, however, I also agree that the celebration does not have to be about alcohol. If you need alcohol to celebrate, there are some other issues.
But I just wanted to remind all of you who are so aghast that a couple would require their guests to pay for things:
A cash bar refers to the ALCOHOL only. There would still be pop, tea, coffee, punch and whatever served to the guests free of charge (included with the catering) It's not like the couple is demanding that every guest fork over money to quench their thirst. They are just saying if the guest would like to drink alcohol that they pay for it.
I haven't decided what I'll do at my wedding. I think the cost will be a major deciding factor.

Answer 3

In Paul McCartney's case maybe it was a bit cheap. In my case, we had a cash bar but people knew in advance. For us to provide an OPEN bar for over 150 people was just unattainable. We had a great wedding a moderate budget. Everyone had a good time and if they "hate" me for having a cash bar then I don't need to be acquainted with them anyway.

Would people rather go to an event at a function hall with no liquor at all or a cash bar. I opted for the cash bar!

Anyone who's going to hate people for not providing them booze is just cheap themselves, too cheap to buy their own drinks. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, we provided a full meal and champagne for the toast that should be enough.

I don't expect people to provide an open bar at a wedding, that way if I do end up at one that does then it's a plus. Not to mention I live in Maine so our costs of living vs. our income brackets are probably a lot different then where others are at.

Answer 4

Paul McCartney did that....lol. He's got plenty of money. I went to a wedding last year where it was open bar for the first hour only, then it was only beer and wine after that. The thing is that both the bride's parents and the groom's parents are loaded! It's unbelievable how cheap the rich can be. We are nowhere near the financial situation these people are in (their parents even built them a very nice house!), but we still had a completely open bar when we got married this past June.

Answer 5

This is a once in a lifetime experience. Therefore it is responsible to make feel wedding guests welcomed.

I believe Cash Bars in a Wedding Party are very Tacky. I rather only offer soft drinks and no alcohol at all than to make a Cash Bar available if I cannot afford it.

Answer 6

I think a cash bar shows a real lack of hospitality. Chair covers for weddings cost money too so why not just ask your guests to bring their own chair to the reception?

We had a completely open bar (eg you could order anything you wanted, including top shelf spirits) and were a little nervous about what the bill might turn out to be but they were our guests so we were prepared to accept the cost. In the end the bill didn't turn out to be that big at all and no-one abused the bar just because it was free.

Answer 7

Its not being cheap at all.

I had an open bar at my wedding, but only kept it open to a point since I wanted to be responsible about the amount of liquor being poured out. My guests did so well, that they let the bar stay open a little longer before it turned into a cash bar. Paying for liquor can be costly.

Answer 8

I am not having a cash bar. I am actually getting married early in the afternoon. Even if I weren't, I would have a cash bar. I think in Paul McCartney's case, he should have funded the bar...he has plenty of money to do such, but for the rest of us little people?
I do not think it is unreasonable to have a cash bar available. Alcohol is quite expensive!

Answer 9

First, I think it is so reasonable and acceptable to have a cash bar. As a guest you should be there to celebrate the couple, not to get hammered. And also there are severe legal repercussions if you do have an open bar, someone drinks too much and they get in a car drive away and get in an accident...you can be sued for negligence. So, suck it up, have a good time...or turn around and leave...now who seems to be the cheap one?

Answer 10

I don't see anything wrong w/ having a cash bar @ a wedding-maybe the couple who're marrying don't have a lot of money, and that's understandable. If the guests are gonna get upset over a stupid thing like that, they shouldn't be there in the first place!! After all, no one's twisting their arm and making them drink. However, if it were me, I'd have all the non-alcoholic drinks be free and charge for all the others. That sounds like the most logical solution.