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Learn the difference between a host bar and cash bar, and what you should know about how a venue will charge you for bar service. In addition, we cover the different types of bar service that you can offer to your wedding guests.
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Most venues allow you a variety of options when it comes to how you handle the bar service. In addition, different types of venues have different ways of charging you for the bar service. This video will cover the most common options available to you.
For weddings, the two most common bar services are a hosted bar, and a cash bar. It is considered bad etiquette to have a cash bar at a wedding because the guest is being asked to pay for part of the wedding.
A Hosted Bar or Open Bar as it is sometimes called, is the standard in the wedding industry and it basically means that, as the hosts, you are paying for the entire costs of the bar service at your event. There are two basic ways you can be charged for a hosted bar. The first is when you are charged a flat rate per person attending your function, and the bar is open for a pre-set number of hours. The second is called a consumption bar, and usually you are charged a rate by the individual drink or for each bottle opened at the bar.
A Cash Bar is when your guests pay ‘cash’ for their drinks—-usually by purchasing drink tickets and then redeeming the tickets at the bar for a drink. How this is done depends upon the rules at the facility you are renting, the liquor laws in your province, and what your liquor license allows you to do.
If you have a facility that allows you to arrange for your own liquor license and bring in your own liquor, you might be charged a corkage fee. This is usually a fee charged by the facility to serve liquor that they are not providing.
At your event, you have a choice regarding what liquor will be served from the bar. You could have a Beer & Wine Bar, a Cocktail Bar, a Liquor Bar, or any combination of these. The most common wedding bar service is to have a standard array of hard liquor (whiskey, vodka, rum, gin) and a selection of beer. In addition, you also have the choice of standard or premium liquor brands—-although the premium brands will be more costly.
If you are opting for a cocktail reception, you could have special cocktails named after the bride and groom. Shooters are also an option, and are usually brought out on trays during the evening and wait staff will offer them to the guests.
Not all guests can drink alcohol, or sugared soft drinks—think diabetics, or someone on medication, or a recovered alcoholic. It is always proper etiquette to supply options for your guests. Consider non-alcoholic beer, diet soft drinks, or an alcohol-free and sugar-free punch. A coffee and tea station might be popular with your guests, or maybe a cappuccino station. Having interesting alternatives for your guests is always fun and memorable.