Alcohol at wedding?

Question

Ok, Our wedding date is set for June and I'm trying go around and get costs of stuff we are going to need. We are planning on 150 people maybe a little less. What would the cost of alcohol be? like for a few types of beer, wine, champange??
I dont want to break the bank over it but I still would like it there. (both families are drinkers)

The catering company we are going with doesnt supply booze. Would it be cheaper to get a few kegs and cases of wine??

Answer 1

This is what I did. We had a June evening wedding and we had 6 cases of wine. 2 of shiraz, 4 of white wine (I think it was split evenly Chard and Reisling but I may be off on that). We got one keg of beer as well.

Now of course the cost all depends on if you like $6 bottles or $60 bottles. I had a very tight budget and it was either find a cheap bottle or half the wine amount. We went to Total Wine (do you have one of those near you) and grabbed several bottles of the inexpensive (under $5) bottles. Some were horrible and we hated. Some were quite good. Then of course you get a discount by the case.

As a gift, I was given one case of champagne. I had that behind the bar and the bartender was told that was for the wedding party only.

Most weddings we go to have an after-party. The young people all go back to a groomsman's house or the hotel and drink. My groomsmen took the keg back with them and it still wasn't finished. Plus all in all, I think we had about 1 case of wine leftover. People didn't drink as much as we expected.

But roughly I'd say limit your options. A red wine and a white wine. Perhaps 2 of each so you could have a Pinot Noir and a Merlot. But you don't need to offer the full range of wines. Same with beer. I'd get one type of beer. One keg is more than likely plenty. It's cheaper by the keg and I've yet to meet a beer drinker who was so picky he only drank one type of beer.

Personally I'd skip the champagne and the open bar idea. That can run you up a fortune. I'm not sure what our total beverage bill was--b/c being that I live in the South and it was June--I had many drink options. Tea (sweet and unsweet), water, and a pineapple punch in the fountain.

Answer 2

How much liquor will you need for 100 guests? Talk to your bartender, but here are some averages:

Beer: 2 cases
Whiskey: 1-2 liters
Bourbon: 1-2 liters
Gin: 2 liters
Scotch: 3 liters
Light rum: 2 liters
Vodka: 6 liters
Tequila: 1 liter
Champagne: 1 1/2 cases
Red wine: 8 bottles
White wine: 1 1/2 cases
Dry vermouth: 2 bottles
Sweet vermouth: 2 bottles
And of course mixers, soda, fruit wedges, swizzle sticks and a bartender (you will want most likely a bartender and a bar-back to help the bartender and to keep the lines down).

THE LIMITED BAR
This is probably the most popular option. You offer a selection of drinks -- beer, wine, and mixed vodka drinks, for example -- and set specific consumption times, such as cocktail hour, the toasts, and an hour after dinner. Consider hiring waiters to pass drinks on trays rather than letting guests go up to the bar. You'll have to pay for the waiters, but you'll probably save money on alcohol, and fewer guests will go overboard. If you limit the amount of time the bar is open, make sure waiters circulate during dinner to refill glasses of water and soda.

I would say each hard liquor item on the list can go around $20/liter or bottle. You can get lovely wines for less than $11/bottle.

Answer 3

Well, I don't know about the heavy stuff..
That would be expensive.. BUT;;
At Aldi's (I'm not sure if there's one where you live - It's a store) , They sell Non-Alcoholic wine. It sells or $2 a bottle. Get as many of those as you want, and no on will know it's non alcoholic. [: It's good if you don't want a bunch of drunks running around on your wedding day.


It tastes great, so I've heard,
It'll save you a lot of money (Think about all the other expenses you have to worry about - Cake, Dress, Decorations, Food.. )
- If you don't want anyone to know it's non alcoholic, (The label is real small) Take a black sharpie, and draw a nice, neat line over "Non-Alcoholic). It'll look like it's just a line on the label. [:

If you don't choose this answer, that's fine, I know, I'm cheap haha XD But it's a good suggestion, even for 150 people!

Congratulations, and have fun at your wedding! ;D

Answer 4

If you want to have alcohol without breaking the bank, you should have beer, wine, and possibly champagne for a toast. There's no need to have liquor - it's expensive, and people tend to drink too much of it. Our venue provides bar services, and our beer/wine/soda/tea/coffee/punch option is $15 per person (in addition to food). Very reasonable, in my opinion. We're having 100 - 115 guests.

If your caterer doesn't supply drinks, go to a big whole sale store like Specs and get a couple of kegs and wine in bulk. They can help you.

Answer 5

Hi. Of course, everyone is going to tell you "it depends", which is correct.

Are you bringing in your own alcohol? Of course, that will be cheaper, but then you will need to hire bartenders. Is the venue supplying the alcohol?

For my son's wedding, we went to the venue....asked them to look through their books on weddings and they were able to give us an estimate based on a past wedding with the same amount of guests.

OR....if you are supplying your own...simply call a distributor. Again, they will be able to help you! That is their business! They will be able to tell you how much you will need for that size crowd.

To give you a "rough estimate"....we had about the same amount of people for my son's wedding
~ we had an "open bar" from 6-9,
~ a glass of wine for everyone who wanted one at dinner;
~ 2 bottles of champagne for the head table;
~ then beer and wine ONLY after 9 p.m. except for the wedding party and parents.

And our bill was about $1,800

Answer 6

It depends on the venue. Some venues allow you to have alcohol from outside and they will charge you for the service only. Other venues only will allow you to buy the alcohol from them, and the rates will depend on how many liquor types will you have and the hours that you will be serving, plus an hourly fee for the bartender.

On average, one hour of limited bar (beer, wine) costs about $25 per person. This rate also depends on your area.

If you are buying the alcohol yoruself, whole sale is the best option.


Good luck

Answer 7

I agree that you should limit the alcohol. Maybe have a couple of kegs, and some bottles of wine. You don't want a lot of wasted people at your reception. Save that for the after party :)

Answer 8

I think the easiest thing for you to do would be to call local distributors for pricing. Where I live you can buy a keg for around $75 and rent the tap for $25. We also have both Coors and Budweiser in town and you can rent a trailer from them that has 4-5 different kinds of beer in it. I have no idea what this costs, but I have friends who did it for their weddings.

Answer 9

as long as you keep it simple the price should not be to bad. like just beer and wine. it depends if the venue is providing it (then it will be $$$) or if you can bring your own then that will save allot of money ! and don't have a cash bar that is a little cheap. you don't host a party and ask friends to pay for the drinks.

Answer 10

A lot depends on how the venue handles it. For us, alcohol was included in the per-person rate. Some places allow you to bring in your own (which would be very inexpensive, but you'd need to hire a bartender). Others charge you per drink, and others have a sepearte per-person charge. Check with your venue first about what your options are.