Our wedding reception is going to be about a 40 minute drive for most of the people attending. We are extending our reception to 5 hours instead of 4. We are having open bar for 4 hours and switching to cash bar for the last hour. Our thoughts behind this were that it would encourage people to slow their drinking down a bit to prepare for the ride home. How do we communicate to the guests that the bar will become a cash bar for the last hour? Is this something that we tell them in advance or that the dj can simply announce during the reception? Also, is this going to be viewed as cheap?
A good host never asks their guests to pay for anything, so, a cash bar is not really proper. Close the bar an hour or so before the end of the reception if you want people to slow down on their drinking. But, note that for those who are already impaired, too impaired to drive, one hour may not be enough time to sober up to drive. But, that will depend on what they drink and on the person's metabolism. Top Wedding Questions Forum Moderator - "Write your sorrows in the sand, your blessings in stone".
I completely agree. Asking guests to pay is like asking them not to forget their wallets.
I agree that you could simply close the bar and bring out coffee and other non-alcohol beverages. And, I also agree that an hour is probably not enough time to become sober. Rebecca Black, Etiquette Now
open bar question
