Open bar question Quick meeting with venue cordinator soon?

Question

I am meeting with a venue today. Its a boat on the finger lakes in NY and They supply the food and beverage. I though to save alittle but still have an open bar I would buy all the liqour and beer my self and hire a friend as the bar tendered. would it be rude to ask the venue manager person If i can do this?

Answer 1

You're kidding right?

Do you want to usurp their liability coverage too if someone happens to get into an accident or get hurt too?

Seriously, they are running a business and most likely their liquor license and INSURANCE will not allow you to bring your own.

Save the bringing your own for a backyard BBQ.

Answer 2

You can ask, but they are going to say no. Think about it. It doesnt make sense.

Answer 3

you can always ask but I'm sure they will say no especially since they will probably make the most money on charging you for liquor.

Answer 4

you can ask but they will usually tell you "no" that is how they make their money. PLUS you don't want to have to take on the responsibility of a law suit when someone gets a DUI. Let the professionals do this. The extra money hurts but not as much as someone dying from being overserved.  

Answer 5

You can ask them, but I highly doubt if they will let you do this. Have you signed a contract with them? If so, I would definitely look at the contract - it should outline the specifics on food/beverages. Most of the time the venue will not allow you to bring any outside food or beverages - if they did allow this they probably wouldn't make much of a profit.

One thing you can do to save money is to have an open bar - but just offer wine, beer and champagne. Or, if you like hard alcohol, you can just have the well drinks - not premium. You could also do an open bar, but just do it for the first hour or two. That would also help you save money. You should definitely ask your venue though - they should have some options for you.

Answer 6

It wouldn't be rude, many venues allow you to supply your own alcohol because it is a way to save money.  You don't have to be worried about being rude to your venue. :)

That being said, they probably won't let you provide your own bar tender for insurance/liability reasons.  Especially if your friend isn't a licensed/trained professional bartender.  You can ask, but having liquor at en event is a lot of liability for a venue, so they usually have strict rules about who can physically serve it.  But that doesn't mean that you won't be able to provide your own liquor that you can buy at wholesale prices.  

They may charge you a "corking" or "bottle opening fee" to supply your own (so the can make some money from it), but depending on what that fee is, and what they charge for alcohol, you could still save a lot of money supplying your own liquor.  Just be sure to have them only open one bottle of each type of liquor at a time until it's empty so you don't get charged for it, and so that you can return any unopened bottles when the wedding is over.

Just be sure to get a list of all the fees and costs associate with the bar, and then do some hunting to find the best prices on the alcohol to see what option would be less expensive.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

They are operating a business and you are going to try to infringe on one of the ways THEY make a profit. I'm sure they will say no. If you want to do that, have the wedding in your back yard.