Q. I'm supposed to purchase the alcohol for the
wedding reception .. for 160 people and I have no clue as what to
get or what to get please help!
A. Before you purchase anything, there
are several issues to discuss with the bride and groom and with the
catering manager at the location where the reception will be held.
First, find out if the reception
center will allow you to bring in your own alcohol. If they have a
beer and wine license or a liquor license, you may be required to
purchase all of the alcohol through the reception center and to pay
for the services of their bartender. This is a liability issue and
one that you probably can't get around even though the alcohol may
cost more when purchased through the reception center.
Unless the reception is being held at
a private home, there will be city, county, and state alcohol laws
that must be taken into consideration. You can find out what they
are by calling your city clerk's office or your county recorder's
office. Your facility will have to obey the law and they will have
to see that your group obeys it as well. Most facilities that do
not have an alcohol permit are only allowed to serve beer and wine,
not the hard stuff.
Ask the bride and groom how much
alcohol they want to host. For example, do they only want to
purchase enough for one drink per person, two drinks per person, or
more. You may have to remind them that they assume the liability
for anyone who drinks too much and does something foolish, such as
fighting with another guest or driving under the influence. That is
the primary reason for limiting the quantity provided (cost is a
factor too).
Also ask the bride and groom what they
want to serve. Do they want a champagne toast, white wine, red
wine, beer, and how much of each.
Now, for quantities. A keg of beer
contains about 220 servings. A pony keg contains about 150
servings, depending on the size of glass used. The average bottle
of wine contains about 6 servings, so you would need about 27
bottles for one serving per person. If you use champagne flutes for
a toast, you can figure on about 9 servings per bottle of
champagne. Therefore, 18 bottles of champagne would give each
person (how many are children?) one glass. If you use other,
larger, glasses, figure on closer to 6 servings per bottle.
You might price the various items,
then let the bride and groom know the price per bottle and the cost
of the beer and then let them decide how much they can afford to
have you purchase.
monthly
