Cash Bar

The wedding is at a hotel, so of course everything is over priced. We are considering not having an open bar, but a cash bar. Some say a cash bar is tacky. What do you say? And if a cash bar is tacky, do you have any suggestions? Also, what other beverages would be okay to toast with?

You could opt for an open bar for a short period of time (1/2 hr-1 hr) and then cash, or only have beer/wine on the open bar and other drinks are cash (again limit the time). You and the site rep can agree up front to a specific amount of alcohol and when that's reached, you are notified and can decide to switch to cash only or serve more free. And, generally paying by the drink is less expensive also. If you have exhausted the reception budget before drinks, then have a cash bar, but provide the toasting drinks free. Also, you could consider having a bottle or so of wine at each table with dinner and then cash bar for everything else.

Champagne or a quality sparkling wine are the traditional drink for toasts. You can offer non-alcoholic beverages such as a non-alcoholic champagne, ginger ale, club soda, punch, or white grape juice for toasting as well.