Opting to go the “BYOB” route for your wedding bar is a very popular choice these days, and it is the main reason why so many couples are choosing to host their weddings at venues without liquor licenses instead of the traditional hotel/resort model that has existed for decades. This route is often suggested by planners and venues to give your guests a unique experience and save money.
Although a BYOB bar is often significantly less expensive than hosting a bar at a licensed venue, it can be very easy to underestimate the true costs associated with opting for a BYOB bar at a venue that allows this model. Let’s explore some of the hidden costs, challenges, and drawbacks that couples will encounter when opting for a BYOB bar as well as what to watch out for if you choose to go this route. And if all seems like a lot to manager, consider Peak’s much simpler stress-free model!
What Is Needed
The main components needed to host a bar at your wedding can be broken down into four main categories: bartenders (staff), glassware/decor (rentals), alcohol (product), and everything else needed to set up a bar: mixers, non-alcoholic beverages, garnishes, ice, bar tools, chill tubs, etc. (bar setup).
Typically, you will be advised to use your food caterer or a bartending company for the bar staff as well as for the bar setup. The bar staff are billed at an hourly rate, and the setup fee is billed as a per-guest charge that includes everything needed to host a bar except for the alcohol. These companies may even handle the rentals, in which case they are outsourcing this service to a party rental company and adding additional fees to make it worth their while. By definition, the BYOB model assumes that you will go to a liquor store and choose, coordinate, and pay for your own alcohol to create a customized bar menu for your guests.
Depending on how creative you want your menu to be, your wedding bar can range anywhere from basic (beer and wine) to complex (full bar with specialty cocktails, interactive stations, and curated services). These choices will impact each of the four categories mentioned above – the more complex the design, the more resources you will need to make it happen. You will also need to make sure that all of these elements are coordinated and planned for in your budget as well as that the staff are trained properly to execute your plan with expertise.
To help you account for everything you'll need at your BYOB bar, we've put together a free downloadable checklist.
Unforeseen Costs and Budgeting Challenges
It is difficult to keep track of your bar budget when you are combining quotes and invoices from several different companies. Most companies do not offer a one-stop shop solution or an unlimited supply of anything, so you will need to make some educated guesses on what types of products to serve, what specific brands, and how much of each product you will have to order.
You will probably want to overestimate these quantities so that you don’t run out of anything in the middle of your wedding, but you also won’t want to overspend – it is almost impossible to get this exactly right, so you will need some cushion in your budget to account for over-ordering.
Also, be careful to look at the totals on the quotes that you get, not just the costs of each item. There are often delivery fees, processing fees, service fees, and restocking fees that can be easily overlooked when shopping around.
Time and Stress
Since this plan assumes that you will be doing some of the legwork yourself, you will need to think about how much time this will actually take in both the planning phase and in the days leading up to your big day. The last thing you want to be doing the day before (or especially the morning of) your wedding is stressing out about anything. What will you do if a product that you ordered is out of stock or if a delivery is running late due to traffic?
Do you have a plan if you run out of white wine during cocktail hour because it is suddenly the most popular item being ordered by your guests? What if the bartenders didn’t get a copy of the email that you sent last month with the specialty cocktail recipes? You get the point. Also, some liquor stores and rental companies have very long delivery “windows” as well as restrictions based on weekends, delivery zones, and availability that you will need to plan for.
A New Alternative
The truth is, you have another option that will save you money, time, and stress. Peak Beverage is a bar catering company that operates as a combination of all of the previously mentioned elements. By combining all of these services and keeping them in-house, Peak is able to charge you less than the model mentioned above (and way less than hosting your event bar at a liquor-licensed venue).
Our bartenders are professionally trained; we provide unlimited quantities of alcohol through our own liquor license; and we provide all of the supplies needed to host a bar without having to use a rental company. Our pricing model is based on a simple per-guest fee that varies based on the level of products and services provided, and we are able to customize requests beyond our carefully curated, event-specific bar menus.
Peak Beverage not only guarantees that no menu items will run out during the course of the event, but we also have a “best price guarantee” that ensures that you are saving money compared to any other combination of services and service providers listed above. Ask us for a quote for your upcoming event by filling out a proposal form today!