Julia Altshuler > wrote in
news:U9ZHb.693837$Fm2.598296@attbi_s04:

> sf wrote:
>
>> As someone who has attended all types and also as someone
>> who will someday have to foot the bill for a wedding - I
>> think that an open bar for x hours, then beer/wine/champagne
>> with a choice to buy hard drinks at a pay bar afterwards is
>> the sane way to go. It gives people options and it doesn't
>> shriek "cheap".

It shrieks 'I really wanted an open bar but couldn't afford it for the
whole time, so you, all my friends and family, are forced to intuit
when it's time to bring your wallet/purse to the bar to pony up for the
drinks that were free just 15 minutes ago.'

> When I socialize, whether I'm the host or the guest, I'm hoping to
> meet people I have something in common with. When I find myself with
> people who have totally different ideas of entertaining and what
> constitutes a social event in the first place, I'm not likely to want
> anything to do with them in the future.

Gotta agree with you. There are branches of my in-laws that rely on cash
bars, and those are the only events with cash bars that I happily
attend.

When we got married, we wanted to do an open bar, but couldn't afford
the prices that the venues we considered would charge.

So we bought all the booze ourselves and hired bartenders. (We did it on
family property so there was no conflict with bringing booze vs. paying
for the venue's booze.)

I bought the hard liquor at a DC liquor store known for cheap prices. We
bought the wine at a winery we like, and the beer came from Costco.

We saved thousands, and when it was over, we had enough left over that
we didn't have to buy any booze for our personal consumption for over a
year.

Cate