Open or cash bar?

Whether or not to serve alcohol is one thing, but debating having guests pay for their own drinks can cause quite the stir.

Breanna Lingerfelt, Grandview’s event specialist, makes the case for both options.

Open bars are exactly what they sound like – guests are served freely. “With an open bar, you choose your tier of wine.,” Lingerfelt said. “If you're for more of a budget wedding, you're going to go with our Sycamore package. If you really care about the kind of wine you're serving, you're probably going to do Chateau, or you're going to special order cases.”

Cash bars require payment for each glass poured. Couples often fear that pay-per-drink will cause contention with guests, but these worries go largely unfounded. There’s nothing wrong with a cash bar if booze is breaking your budget. Remember, a cash bar is better than no bar.

“If you're happy with the venue and you're happy with the overall day, then don’t worry about asking your guests to pay for a drink,” Lingerfelt said. “They'll be fine either way.”

Regardless of the option chosen, consider the type of drinks your guests will prefer. Lingerfelt noted one wedding in which a couple had $3,000 of specialty wine imported from California that went largely untouched. She reasoned the weather was too hot to enjoy the specific drink. “Usually when it's hot, guests want a cold white.”

It’s important to get a rough estimate of how many “drinkers” you plan to host. Couples can bring up to two types of liquor for a $45 corkage fee per type – not per bottle. For instance, $90 gets you two types of liquors and as many mixers as desired for Grandview to prepare and serve. However, note that all alcohol is yours whether it’s served or not. Unless you’re willing to take a surplus home, make sure to budget accordingly.