Another.......dont know where

[slammer]

Hope this is ok to put on this forum. This is a wedding question. My son is getting married in January and we will have an open bar for a limited time with keg beer, bottle/can beer, soda, and wine. Mixed drinks not included as of now. Any idea what one can expect to pay for say 1 hour of this? 2hours? About 300 poeple invited. Have not talked to anyone at the event center yet but we will. Just wondering if any one has any words of wisdom and anything to look(out) for.

Thanks

[#fishhunt#]

Depends on where he is having it at. Kegs cost about $275 (7 years ago)a piece if it is at a hotel due to fees , ins etc.

One 16 gallon Keg is 170.66 12 oz cups of beer.

# one questions to determine how much beer will be drank I would first need to know if there was anyone from Wisconsin coming to the reception.

[Ebiz]

The keg beer is usually charged by the keg and they can help you anticipate how many kegs you'll need. Wine is charged by the bottle and bottles would be individually charged as well.

Be sure to ask about flat rate packages as well as I know some places will give you a flat rate for an hour or two.

FROM EXPERIENCE If they ask for a deposit ahead of time to cover the individual drinks, bottled beer, etc. - Be sure to make sure that they will be able to give you an itemized report after the event. At our wedding we did an hour of open bar for about 175 people. The bar service required a deposit equal to an average of 3 drinks per person and assured us that the unused balance would be refunded at the end. The bar was a bit understaffed and people looked like they were having to wait a bit for drinks however afterwards we conveniently received a refund of $6. Talking to alot of the attendees they said they had a lot of fun but there was no way that everyone there managed to get 3 drinks in that hour. When I asked to see the register receipt it was magically missing.

As for pricing, it will really depend on the venue and location. When we were deciding on a location every place handled things differently in terms of keg prices, bartending/corking charges, etc.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Lot's of money

I never thought I'd spend $1400 on beer in one night...

Oh well, it was fun!

[BobT]

If cost is your concern maybe you would be better off setting a cost limit rather than a time limit.

The food and drinks at a wedding are traditionally provided by the parents in celebration of their childrens' marriage but we all have our limits. If we throw a birthday party for one of our children it doesn't come as an endlessly open checkbook free-for-all. You decide what you are going to consider appropriate and affordable, not your guests.

When I was younger it was common for me to throw a party at my home and then just put the word out. My parties included live music and I'd start them with a keg or two, depending on my mood. Beyond that it was a BYOB affair. I didn't concern myself with whether everyone got in on the freebies or not. I felt I did plenty and based on the attendance I'd say it worked out fine.

[Ruegs23]

At my wedding a few years back, we had the venue let us know when the tab hit certain dollar amount. Once it hits your limit, you either shut down the free booze or dig a little deeper.

[slammer]

Thats kind of what we were thinking that we would set the amount and decide to stop or keep on. We want it to be open long enough for everyone to enjoy but not get out of hand.

[SFC]

If u have keg beer skip on paying for the bottled beer, totally forget the can beer. Throw out a number of bottles of wine u will pay for when they hit that number have them talk to a sober responsible person wether to continue or cut off, to save money stay with only a limited amount of bottles of wine,unless it is two buck Chuck! Or give out 2-4 drink tickets and call it good,Your getting married save your money for your drinking after you say I DO! U are not obligated to get everyone drunk.

[cold one sd]

My son is getting married this fall and he will be having two 16 gallon kegs at $195.00 each and they are serve yourself. If people want bottled beer or mixed drinks, they sell them in the bar.