The next question you're going to be faced with is whether you want a well bar, a call bar, top shelf, or soft bar.
The well bar – also know as standard, house or moderate is made up of generic brands of liquor that are your most economically priced. It usually includes scotch, gin, bourbon, rum, vodka, Canadian whiskey, red and white wines, beer and soft drinks. This is your cheapest alternative.
The call bar – This is your medium priced brands. It’s named a “call bar” because this is where guest can call for a particular brand for example “I’ll have an Absolut and tonic”.
The top shelf bar – Also known as the premium bar, is just that, your most expensive, top of the line choices with just about every different type of liquor offered.
The soft bar – Also known as a California bar, where only wine, beer, occasionally champagne, juices and soft drinks are offered.
So what does this all mean? What it means is that you can save nearly 44% by going with a well vodka rather than a top shelf or 60% going with a well gin rather than top shelf gin. The choice is up to you and your budget.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a site that will let you bring in your own alcohol, this can lead to quite a savings, sometimes. Be sure to ask about corkage fees. Corkage fees are the amount that the site charges to open and serve each bottle that they do not provide. It also covers the stemware needed, labor, and ice for chilling. Sometimes the corkage fees can be so high that it does not pay to bring in your own alcohol.
When buying your own alcohol, make sure you buy from a store that will allow you to return what you do not use and that offers discounts on large purchases. When trying to figure out what you will need remember:
One bottle of wine = 5 glasses
One bottle of champagne = 6 glasses
One case of wine = 12 bottles
One 1 ¾ bottle of liquor = 40 1.5oz servings
One five gallon keg = 53 12oz servigs
One drink every hour is average for guests.
(Figures provided by Nina Willdorf author of Wedding Chic)
Don’t forget when figuring your costs that you are also going to be paying for bartenders (normally $25 an hour and up) tips (make sure you cover the tip and not your guests, you don’t want a tip jar sitting out on the bar).
One question, I always get is about the champagne toast. “Do we need to serve champagne to everyone, have it on the bar or serve it at the table?” Unless you know you have a lot of champagne drinkers, I tell my brides to skip it. Let people toast you with whatever they have in their hands. Most people don’t even like champagne, so you pay a lot for it to be left sitting on the table. If you want to do the toast with the flutes for pictures, ask your site if you can bring in a bottle or purchase a bottle just for the two of you. Place it on the cake table and enjoy. Your guests will never miss it. If you’re not champagne drinkers either, have your planner fill the flutes with something else, no one will be the wiser (except your pocketbook).
Remember for safety reasons to close your bar at least 30 minutes before the end of the night. Also, have rides available for any guests that have had a little too much to drink.
The well bar – also know as standard, house or moderate is made up of generic brands of liquor that are your most economically priced. It usually includes scotch, gin, bourbon, rum, vodka, Canadian whiskey, red and white wines, beer and soft drinks. This is your cheapest alternative.
The call bar – This is your medium priced brands. It’s named a “call bar” because this is where guest can call for a particular brand for example “I’ll have an Absolut and tonic”.
The top shelf bar – Also known as the premium bar, is just that, your most expensive, top of the line choices with just about every different type of liquor offered.
The soft bar – Also known as a California bar, where only wine, beer, occasionally champagne, juices and soft drinks are offered.
So what does this all mean? What it means is that you can save nearly 44% by going with a well vodka rather than a top shelf or 60% going with a well gin rather than top shelf gin. The choice is up to you and your budget.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a site that will let you bring in your own alcohol, this can lead to quite a savings, sometimes. Be sure to ask about corkage fees. Corkage fees are the amount that the site charges to open and serve each bottle that they do not provide. It also covers the stemware needed, labor, and ice for chilling. Sometimes the corkage fees can be so high that it does not pay to bring in your own alcohol.
When buying your own alcohol, make sure you buy from a store that will allow you to return what you do not use and that offers discounts on large purchases. When trying to figure out what you will need remember:
One bottle of wine = 5 glasses
One bottle of champagne = 6 glasses
One case of wine = 12 bottles
One 1 ¾ bottle of liquor = 40 1.5oz servings
One five gallon keg = 53 12oz servigs
One drink every hour is average for guests.
(Figures provided by Nina Willdorf author of Wedding Chic)
Don’t forget when figuring your costs that you are also going to be paying for bartenders (normally $25 an hour and up) tips (make sure you cover the tip and not your guests, you don’t want a tip jar sitting out on the bar).
One question, I always get is about the champagne toast. “Do we need to serve champagne to everyone, have it on the bar or serve it at the table?” Unless you know you have a lot of champagne drinkers, I tell my brides to skip it. Let people toast you with whatever they have in their hands. Most people don’t even like champagne, so you pay a lot for it to be left sitting on the table. If you want to do the toast with the flutes for pictures, ask your site if you can bring in a bottle or purchase a bottle just for the two of you. Place it on the cake table and enjoy. Your guests will never miss it. If you’re not champagne drinkers either, have your planner fill the flutes with something else, no one will be the wiser (except your pocketbook).
Remember for safety reasons to close your bar at least 30 minutes before the end of the night. Also, have rides available for any guests that have had a little too much to drink.
No comments:
Post a Comment