Open Bar Ideas

Unless you know for sure that someone over 21 won't be drinking, I'd just assume everyone will be. I wouldn't want to spend my reception trying to figure out who has or hasn't been drinking.

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I agree with this. I'm not sure how you're going to go about monitoring each person and their beverage choices at the reception. I'm not sure it's fair to ask bartenders to monitor in that much details, their job is really just making sure drinkers are 21+.

Edit: One idea I had was having some aesthetically pleasing “ticket” at each place setting and having the guest just hand it to the bartender the first drink they order. Then counting the tickets at the end of the night and charging based on that number.

So I'm assuming your venue charges a set amount per adult for their open bar package? If that is the case, how does the venue normally monitor this? It seems like the venue has no way of counting how many adults are drinking and are relying on you to make an educated guess. If it were me, I'd give them the number of adults attending between the ages of 21 and 65 and hope that's accurate.

I would only leave out the guests on your list that you know for a fact aren't drinkers, for example immediate family. Otherwise I don't think there is any reasonable way to ask people for that kind of information ahead of time Tickets etc. make it seem too much like a fundraiser or commercial event and may also confuse people that they are meant to limit the number of drinks. You may also have someone who is an occasional drinker and feels pressured into making a decision ahead of time. That's not a generous way to offer hospitality.

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I should provide more details. My fiancé’s family largely does not drink for cultural reasons, we anticipate saving a few thousand dollars because 50+ people will likely not have a single drink. If it were one or two people I wouldn’t care/track, but it will likely be substantial. I do not want to guess ahead of time in case I short our venue on the count. Just looking for creative ideas like a ticket for the first drink or something similar 😊

Maybe ask an auntie for help with who drinks and whose a tea toteller? If they don't drink alcohol at Christmas or Thanksgiving, they won't drink wine at your wedding.

Haven't been to alot of weddings, this is based on work Christmas Partys
people who drink got a wristband like when you pay to go to an amusement park. Another year it was glow bracelets [We paid $20 for just food, or $30 with drinks with this company] At my pre covid job they used raffle tickets. Company got some stuff as credit card rewards [a phone battery, a blanket, headphones ect] you got 5 tickets that could be entered in the raffle or exchanged for one beverage each.

Can you opt for a consumption bar and pay for beverages actually consumed? Bartenders would keep tally.

There is no way to monitor this. Count all guests 21+ separately from those who are underage.

View Quoted Comment Very rarely is consumption cheaper. There are posts on the search feature where couples have said that consumption actually cost them much more in the end because guests take a sip and don’t like the drink or the waitstaff clears the table too eagerly, Each drink poured adds up. Some bartenders may open a bottle to pour one drink and charge for the whole bottle. There is no way to hold anyone accountable with an open ended tab as opposed to a flat per person fee where they can drink whatever they want all night without the bar bill being in the 10s of thousands as it will be with consumption.

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Yes, I saw those posts and several persons disagreed with your assertions. In OP's guests list about 50 persons are non-drinkers/ never-drinkers, quite a large number. If, for liquor stocking purposes, one assumes the average open-bar drinker to consume at least 2 drinks (ask a venue for real #, or an alcohol calculator) then 50 guests are expected to consume 100 drinks. If the non-drinkers do not partake in that expected 100, is the lost value large enought to change calculation method? Can one even assume another 50 guests who are drinkers, could drink the others' fill and essentially consume 4 drinks each?

OP, you could ask the venue what are their estimates for a consumption bar and compare with the rates of the open bar pp. Another bar option is wine and beer only which can be easily monitored and tallied. If the issue is moreso not finances, but how does a host tally # of drinkers without offending guests or issuing tickets, then having the bartender tally in a consumption bar may be a preferred choice for you.

Agree that a consumption bar might be the way to go here. That would be way better than doing drink tickets etc.

Here's another option: you can create a specialty mocktail to add to your bar menu. In NY, mocktails are about 3/4 the cost of alcoholic cocktails (at least $12). Businesses profit because mocktails are typically elevated in flavor, show bartender's talent, and are tastier alternatives to soda for Gen Z & other non-drinkers. By serving your own specialty mocktail, you can include all adult guests as being served by the open bar, instead of investigating who will drink alcohol on your wedding day in strange ways.


Mocktail beverages are growing in distribution and can even be found in can or bottle form. Some popular drinks I've seen involve exotic juices, ginger, botanicals. Beverage Color and edible flowers 🌺 as garnishes will def be intriguing to guests. I, myself, served a refreshing N/A (muddled) blackberry mojito at my wedding. Good luck.

View Quoted Comment That's a good idea!