Cash Bar
A cash bar is a particular bar option available for an event where each guest must pay for their consumption of alcoholic drinks. A cash bar is just like going to a bar in the fact that the drinks must be bought. A cash bar has options in terms of:
- Which items to provide
- Which items are to be for free, if any
The client could have arranged for only the beer, wine, juice and soda selections to be served for free but everything else would need to be paid for. The reason for a cash bar is because at most events, there are people who drink much more than the allotted two or three drinks per person. There are also variations in the amount of alcohol people can or want to consume and a client might not want to pay for other people’s habits. Alcohol, just like at a restaurant, greatly increases the price of a bar. So some people will opt to make people pay for their drinks. A cash bar has become common at weddings because there are so many other costs to be accounted for. A cash bar is also common for a client who doesn’t drink or whose majority of guests do not drink. In this instance, it is appropriate to cater to the majority and offer non alcoholic drinks for free and request that the guests do wish to consume hard liquor and/or cocktails purchase them out of their own money. The benefits of a cash bar are that it:
- Eliminates extra costs for the client
- Could encourage people to monitor their own alcohol consumption
- Could tame the environment of your event
If guests are required to pay for each alcoholic drink they consume, they are more likely to drink less than they would if there is an open or hosted bar. A hosted or open bar is the exact opposite of a cash bar. It is a bar in which all alcoholic drinks are free and unlimited to your appropriately aged guests. An open bar could just be for a certain period of time or for the whole evening depending on the crowd and budget of the event. The issue of alcohol at an event is really personal and needs to be carefully considered. For instance, having an open bar at a church luncheon might not be a wise idea, while offering an open bar and cocktails at a movie premiere after party is smart.
