Bar Spend

Am I right in thinking you have a minimum spend of £11k which leaves you with £6k for a bar? That's utterly tons. My friends spent £2500 on a free bar and people were buying shots etc and we drank it dry of prosecco. That was similar numbers, people didn't take the mickey but people did have quite a bit.

Are there other ways to make up the minimum spend if you need to? You would need every person to spend about £100 a head on food and drink which is quite lavish in soem parts of the world, standard good package in London for example with three course sit down etc.

Sorry we actually are planning to spend about 6k on food and drinking leaving 5k bar bill - so £40 a head over the bar? To be honest the 6k we have spent includes pimms, top wine, good food and champagne for the toast as well as the cheesecake so if we pay a bit of venue hire then that's not too bad - just need at least 3k ideally over the bar

thanks

I think thats extremely high, with that amount of alcohol provided I know I would probably have a couple of cokes all night as I would be tippled already.

Have you tried negotiating with the venue? You dont want the worry on the wedding day of having a bill to pay afterwards, I presume if the bar doesnt make that amount you have to make the rest? We didnt have one of those at our venue, luckily as I cant really think apart from a couple of friends anybody who would have spent £40 that day.

I think this honestly depends on the sort of guests you have and how expensive drinks are. I went to a wedding where there was wine on the tables, plus a free bar from after the meal, and at about 8.30 the free bar closed & the bill was at £2800!

I think you're venues proposal of a minimum spend of £11k is ridiculous!

Sorry I should have been clearer I have already booked my wedding and get married on 29 May 2015. It is a beautiful old pub with a lovely beer garden that would easily make 11k plus in a day hence the figure as they are closing it for us. I think the 6k we have paid for is pretty reasonable compared to other places for the package we can offer the guests - I just wanted some ideas about what the bar bill may be so I can plan it. I know I spend a lot over the bar at people's wedding so wanted a general view point. Plenty of wedding venues I looked at wanted food / drink / hire fees of about 10k so I don't think it's ridiculous I just wanted to some help.

Thanks

Ah you have exclusive hire of a pub venue, I see!

I think it'd be hard to spend £5-6k on drink alone at a wedding, maybe with lots of drinkers you might spend £3-4k. What happens if the bar doesn't make that much from your wedding party on the day? x

Grooveechyk - we get married on the same day! 38 days to go!

How exciting - think it's just hit me how soon it is!

Any shortfall we would need to pay as a room hire cost. As I say I'm happy to pay some as the food and drink bill is good value for what we get compared to the other budgets. They are also going to keep us updated on the night as I would rather buy people drinks than just a room hire.

I I just want to try and budget a little - I think about 3 to 4k and maybe 1-2k venue hire is realistic.

thanks

Are you having any food in the evening? I know that won't take up a massive amount, but it all helps. Or what about asking the pub to lay on a sweet buffet or something similar?

I know I would spend at least £40 at a wedding, especially at the prices you have quoted, but then I am a raging alcoholic! ?

We have 80 in the day and about 20 extra in the evening. Day guests will have had four welcome drinks, half a bottle of wine, fizz for the toast and our favours are flavoured gin.

Our bar is a bit more expensive (central London venue) and our wedding co-ordinator suggested 2k to cover the bar. We are doing 3k - more raging alcoholics here! ?

I should have said that also includes an evening BBQ and cheese cake - that's why I think it's a good deal!

Could you not increase the number of day guests. It seems a shame to pay money for 'nothing' when you could have more food / wine etc.

So the £5k you are spending on your 70 day guests and evening guests includes food, wine and evening food? That is a good deal, until you have to spend an additional £6k on drinks! Is there any way you can have a set amount behind the bar and then the minimum spend be taken up by other guests, or do you feel strongly that you don't want anyone to pay for alcohol.

I don't think it will be a problem to spend the money if you have branded drinks etc and at least you will be getting a service fro it (e.g. food and drinks) rather than paying a hire fee which you would have to do depending on what was left. It's very generous of you, that's all I would say!

I guess by comparison we are spending £81 a head for day guests to include their evening food and then £7.95 per guest for evening guests, and our package includes two welcome drinks, half a bottle of wine with three course dinner, canapes and toast wine. Then fish and chips in the evening.

Good luck!

6k sorry. That includes - pimms arrival, canapés, 3 course meal with choices, tea and coffee, half a bottle of NZ Sauvignon blanc or Shiraz each, glass of Moët for 71 adults and 3 kids.

Evening BBQ for 120 and a cheese cake, plus table cloths and use of their outdoor games etc.

That leaves 5k to spend. I could put money behind the bar I guess. I'll have a think

Why not have free-flowing wine at the tables? I would easily drink a bottle of wine with dinner, (as previously stated, I am a raging aclholic.) Or ask them to make sure there is additonal MOET available for topping up the toasting drinks?

I don't think you'd get though 5k tbh, are plenty of people staying over or will there be lots of drivers, because obviously that will effect how much drinking people will do! I tend to spend about £10 at weddings because there's aways so much free booze. The last wedding I went to me and a friend got completely hammered for free because there was so much wine left on the tables (even though it was half a bottle per person).

You could put it behind the bar from start of the day. People might have a drink before ceremony if you are having it there - two welcome drinks won't last the two hours before your dinner if you are having a gap, maybe just tell waiters to make sure all glasses are tpped up throughout dinner as previous poster said more people will drink wine - our table went through tons of bottles over our half a bottle allocation. Moet all round for evening guests perhaps, or extra top up during speeches?

Or could you give champrees as a present to the best man etc as a present. In a way it is a really nice problem to have in that you want to spend the money - and people may take the mckey with a free bar, but not everyone. Also, if people are breastfeeding etc and it's a hot day they will definitely want lots of soft drinks which can add up.

Best man could get the drinkers a round of shots for the speeches - £4 a time that's £300 spent!

N,img back to then sat eedding we went to as a couple me and husband probably spent 30quid between us all night we are not really drinkers and at that that was peak summer outside so warm and thirsty.

if your happy enough to cover any shortfall I think as other posters have said have some fun with it, shots extra wine at dinner etc

Just put the £5k behind the bar, and whatever is left over is for the venue.

Easy.

Your minimum spend is £11k regardless - so breaking it down as £6k for a bizillion things is a false economy especially as you'll find it very difficult to meet £5k spend in drinks.

I think it will be hard to make those sorts of numbers to be honest. I went to a wedding last year with 10 odd friends all between the ages of 21 and 25. I don't think we spent more than about £150 between us, just because some of us were drivers and there was a lot of free alcohol so we didn't need to buy any. I know a lot of people who don't spend a penny at weddings, just because there's a large amount of free alcohol so there's no need.

Quite shocked that a pub will make 11k in a day to be honest.

I might be being dense - are guests going to be paying for their drinks in the evening, and then you have to make up any extra to £11K, or are you covering it all, and just want to know how much will be assigned to each part of the budget?

If we'd already had a reasonable amount of wine with dinner, I don't think H and I would spend more than £40 between us, certainly not each.

We are buying our own alcohol for the tables, toasts and welcome drinks which has cost us £250.

And the bar we have hired are around £3.50 a pint..

They said that £750 will most probably last from 3pm after the ceremony till 11pm that night.

We are having 75 day guests and 120 evening guests, so I don't think you'll need 5k!!

Even if we go over, there are going to be so many people who don't drink/don't want to get bladdered/are driving/are kids etc

Hope this helps in any way, Good luck.

Yes that's right - we pay the food bill and then evening guests but their drinks - any shortfall we pay the rest and I'm trying to budget for that! £750? That wouldn't last my OH family 8 hours I don't think! We have some big drinkers (Us Included but obviously some non drinkers too!)

Our minimum bar spend is £500... My family won't have any problem with this.

We went through exactly the same thought process when we booked our venue, which is a pub with a minimum spend, in order to have exclusive use. Our minimum spend is £7k (it's in January) and it's looking like we'll be spending £5.5k on food and drink - that's for reception drinks, canapes, 3 course meal, wine for the tables, prosecco for the toast, teas/coffees and evening food for 80 during the day and 120 at night. We have no idea how much people will spend and currently think that £1.5k is pushing it and we'll probably be left with a bill at the end - there's no accommodation at the venue so a few will be driving, plus most guests are not big drinkers so probably won't drink much more alcohol than that we provide. We tried to get an idea off the wedding co-ordinator about how much average wedding guests spend but she wouldn't be drawn - we couldn't work out whether it was because it was probably more than you'd think, or less! She did say though that only we know our guests, which was a fair point.

Originally we were spending £4.5k on food and drink but bumped it up a bit by adding canapes and more expensive food/wine options and decided to leave it there. Will you regret it more if it turns out you spent money where you didn't need to (i.e. you went way over your minimum spend) or if you're left paying money for essentially room hire? We ummed and ahhed about splashing out to upgrade the prosecco to champagne but ended up deciding we'd regret it more if we went too much over due to things we didn't really need/want.

I personally think 5k will be too much with the number of guests. By the time they've had the wedding breakfast it will maybe be 6-7 depending on your timings and the average venue will stop serving at 11-12. So you may only have four hours.

when we had our engagement party we had a minimum spend of £2,500 and we met that with 100 people but only by another £500 or so and that was 7:30-1. Plus drinks were fairly pricey.

Good luck with it

I thought this too. It seems like you may be overthinking it a little. How much to budget is 11k. You know that and from everyone else's posts you know it will be incredibly unlikely that you'll go over that. Unless I'm missing something I can't see why you need to work out how much drinks are going to cost in advance, if you already know your total spend anyway. I do get what you're saying about it feeling like wasted money, but if that's the amount you have to spend then unfortunately you don't have much choice.
I liked the idea someone else posted of inviting more day guests, if that's an option.

I don't just have 5k to put behind the bar otherwise that would be easy. I want to reduce the amount I have to pay by using the money guests spend at the bar. I'm just trying to work out how much that might be so I know how much to expect to pay after the wedding Thanks

I think I get it now. The pub needs to make 11k no matter what. You're spending 6k on food. If nobody buys a drink all night, you'll have to pay 5k. For every drink a guest buys, it's less money you have to pay the pub yourself. Is that right?

Sorry, I thought you were trying to budget how much you were spending on drinks per guest, not how much they'll spend themselves.

A few people have said about £40 per person which sounds fair. If it was me I would go through and work it out person by person - this person doesn't drink/will be driving so will maybe spend £10 on coke, this person only drinks spirits, etc etc. But I probably have too much time on my hands

I think you need to work it out on worst case scenario, if guest only spend £1000 on drink can you afford to pay £4000? That way you know you'll definitely be able to afford it and if they spend a lot more then at least you'll have money left over afterwards.

You've listed all the stuff you're getting - meal, evening buffet, wine on tables, toast etc and yes it does sound like a great deal for £6k - except it isn't £6k it's £11k minus whatever your guests spend at the bar, which with the best will in the world isn't likely to be more than £3k and very likely a lot less. Is there a reason you're not having more day guests? It seems to me that if you have to spend the money anyway you ought to get something for it.

It's took me a while to get my head around this ...

I might get lynched for this but, why have you left it so late to think about this? you have known from booking that the minimum spend is 11K, if you don't have a budget to cover the shortfall why did you book it?

It could just be me, but i think it's a dangerous move. I have no idea how much people will spend etc, but judging from replies i think you are probably looking at a few thousand shortfall... that's a hefty bill at the end of the day..

I would only have booked this if i was sure i could cover the full amount..