Hi, we are getting married in the UK this summer and are trying to decide what to do about the bar. We have a drinks package with the wedding so all day guests will get (on average) 2 drinks at the post-ceremony reception, half a bottle of wine with their meal and a glass of prosecco to toast with. We will also provide soft drinks throughout the day/ evening, and have a tea and coffee station in the evening. For me the drinks packages during the day at weddings are normally plenty and I never mind a cash bar, but we both thought it would be nice to provide some form of evening drinks for our guests, especially as we will have an additional 30 or so evening guests who won't have had any of the day time drinks.
We have about 135 day time adult guests (+ 25 or so children) and then a further 30 adults in the evening. Some of the guests won't drink much anyway. If we had a tab we wouldn't allow doubles or shots on the tab, so each drink at the venue would be about £4.50. We wouldn't open the free bar until after the meal when the evening guests arrive, but even so that is 4.5 hours of drinking. We can afford to put a maximum of £3000 behind the bar, which I am worried would run out. I was wondering about instead of money behind the bar giving every adult 3 drink tokens on their place setting and greeting the evening guests at the door with 3 drink tokens each. We could put some money behind the bar to cover soft drinks only (which are only a pound each at the venue). I just wondered which anyone thought might work best. I have only ever been to weddings which were either a cash bar or where there was a completely open bar, I have never experienced a tab running out, so don't know if people mind. Tokens just seem a bit fairer, but some people might find them a pain if they are trying to get rounds ect. Any opinions welcome.
Thank you x
