Word of warning- invoiced for guests bringing in own booze

Good grief, that's something I would never have thought of- though now you mention it I'm pretty sure my venue has a similar policy... we certainly aren't allowed alcohol based favours and they charge corkage if we want to take our own booze... never occurred to me that guests might take their own and create this sort of bill, though now you've mentioned it, I can think of a few of our guests who might do this ?

What an awful thing to happen. You invite your nearest and dearest, pay a fortune to feed and water them and the silliness of a few stick you with a big bill that isn't budgeted for. I'm so sorry for you.

That's so bad! Do you have a suspicion who it might have been?

I would be argueing that they should have been policing that. Not you. You are not responsible for it. If it was that much to warrant 750 quid then they let it happen in order to extract more money from you.

Do not pay it!!!!

Wow. How awful to be slapped with a bill like that after your special day

I think we will have to warn some of our guests... I can think of a couple who would (and have been known to) do this! And the corkage prices are extortionate at our venue!

It's rude that your guests allegedly did that, but how could the venue justify £750 for a few bottles?

Oh that's just ridiculous. Tell the venue to stuff it.

I know lots of people who bring booze to weddings but keep it in their room to sneak in their drinks in the evenings. Mainly because bar prices in nice hotels are so expensive!

I dont bkame lame your friends but you should tell the venue to get stuffed. It's not your fault.

If its in the contract then you may be stuffed.

However, most people are guilty of this due to stupidly high hotel prices - I know I am. The problem you have is that they were less than discrete and didnt keep popping back to their room to top up every now and then.

Its just a kick in the teeth really by those who didnt have any foresight or respect for you and the hotel to whack you with a stupid cost for more than likely just one or two bottles.

Thanks all - my husband (still feels odd calling him that a few weeks on!) is planning to ask hotel to provide evidence that would stand up in small claims court. After all, it's the hotels word against ours - what proof do they have to it it being our guests / why didn't they point it out at the time?

The wedding co-ordinator showed me a bottle the next day (of archers I think, which I really can't imagine my friends drinking) and said more had been found, when we were checking out to which I said "i never saw anything yesterday, but if it did happen as you suggest then i'm sorry" - she said she'd have to speak to the manager on their course of action - bingo a bill several weeks later.

£750 is totally un-proportionate against the loss of profit they would have made, had they sold the supposed private alcohol at the bar. They can't claim about lower than average takings either, we had around 73 people who we believe would have drunk alcohol in the evening - so probably lower than average for a wedding (huge number of day guests were kids who went home), but they can't assume all guests will order a drink or even drink alcohol - what if we were mormons / muslim?

Like you say I know people do this, as I've done in the past, but a small hip flask / innocuous bottle in your bag or keeping it in your bedroom is how you do it - I suspect they just gave up caring / being discrete by end of the night if they infect did bring in their own booze and its not a ruse the hotel try out on every couple?

As you say what proof do they have. She showed you one empty bottle and said there are more. They obviously didn't see your guests drinking their own booze (unless they prefered to get gnore it but collect the empty quickmsomthey could bill it) and neither did you. She didn't show you more than one bottle either. Surely with no proof she can show you or a court she can stuff her bill. As for bar takings down well some drink a lot and some don't and bet the bar takings aren't the same for every wedding.

Cor what a cheek from your venue!! As if you haven't paid them enough money already?!?!

But I'd never even considered taking my own Booz to a wedding!! Have I missed a trick here?!?! ?

They can't just arbitrarily charge you £750 to cover the bar losses unless they can show that they lost....£750 of revenue.

If all they can show for their evidence is a couple of bottles of Archers then that's about all they can bill you for.

Otherwise that's an invoice for goods/services which have not been provided. And despite what their contract might say, they can't do that.

I do feel for the venue as it must be incredibly annoying to lose money in that way but it doesn't mean they can just take £750 off you. Two wrongs and all that.

And surely just because someone wrongly took their own booze doesn't mean they would have bought that many drinks from the bar ifmthey didn't. They would have probably bought and drunk much less. I wouldn't pay it.

Wow ? Thanks for sharing. That's awful that you're getting charged for something that was out of your control. I hope you can sort it out so you don't have to pay.

i know it's not the same but my venue only allows white real petal confetti and only to be thrown in a certain place, I am worried that despite putting it on the invites not to bring confetti that guests will do so anyway and i'li get charged a clear up fee!

we have to pay a £500 damage deposit to our venue. If anything other than real flower petal confetti is thrown we loose our damage deposit!! That'll be one expensive confetti shot!! ?

Wow, that is an extortionate bill. I take it that they already have the money from you as you mentioned a deposit? I would ask for evidence and contact a solicitor if need be.

However, if you signed a contract stating that you would pay this cost if guests brought their own booze then you may have no choice. Perhaps you could try to come to an agreement with the hotel?

I've never even thought about bringing alcohol to a wedding! I hope that none of our guests do that as we aren't allowed alcoholic favours or our own booze etc x

On the confetti one, I have come across that one a few times and have been told that it has to be done in a certain spot but there is always an uncle who says "ah its a wedding I am not being told where to do it" and then will throw.

To help avoid the issue the best thing to do is move people into the spot that is allowed and THEN give the confetti out.

That is outrageous, £750! I would agree to try and neogatiate with the hotel over the cost, and maybe ask for CCTV and say to the hotel that you plan on getting the guest(s) to pay that for you, so you would like to know who they are. If they can't provide that, then surely they can't prove that the brought in booze was from your wedding? Unless you had some ultra exclusive clause that only you and the wedding party were allowed in the hotel.

I've also never thought to bring booze to a wedding, but, I like beer, and red wine - which is always available.

For the 2 brides with petal confetti issue, could your registrar not remind guests, before you enter about how the venue has stipulations on confetti and as such the bride and groom have provided their own so they don't receive a fine? If people hear the word fine they may pay more attention.

We have put a note on our invites that confetti will be provided as we are only allowed a certain type at the venue. We will wait and give it out right before the confetti shot and I've prepped bridesmaids and ushers to keep an eye out for people getting their own out. The only person I'm really worried about is my nan, but I will have a word with her and remind her, and then she will have her bag searched on arrival ha ha ha xx

Check the terms and conditions on your agreement, ask the venue how they know it's alcohol from elsewhere. Generally speaking a bottle of wine at most hotels is between £10-15 a bottle for the kind of wine a guest would bring in, the £5 supermarket labels. If you argue that their loss of revenue would be linked to the amount of bottles they found and get them to prove how many bottles they found then you might be able to pay face value for the number of bottles. Hopefully that will work out cheaper. It's a shame that a few people were selfish, this is one of the reasons I'm doing a DIY style wedding, my friends all carry hipflasks.