Full Open Bar - Overrated or Underrated?

I think alcohol in general is over-rated.

As long as drinks (always a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic if the host desires) are provided and there is no request for payment for anything offered, it's fine.

Underrated. I think having to ask people to pay for drinks is unfair and quite frankly tacky. To avoid having people get too hammered; you can impose a 'no shot' rule. No shot allowed. Drinks are fine, but nothing in a shot glass. This forces people to put the alcohol in a larger glass, which indirectly forces people to drink a little slower (at least thats the hope - thats what we are doing).

Food and drink make a celebration. Drinks play a big part in our lives (not in a bad way). I'm actually including a drink preference on my rsvp. As well as ordering some premium liquor for a few select people

Overrated. Where I’m from it’s expected to have a full open bar, however we have several guests that will take advantage of it & make fools of themselves so to avoid that we are having a dry wedding with sparkling (non-alcoholic) cider & mocktails.

Not sure if it's either, but we're doing an open bar and I honestly find it easier to keep track of. Although it's overrated if you look at price alone

Underrated. Guest look forward to open bar. I feel the bar is part of the wedding.

I love open bar we paid extra for open bar!

Overrated. I used to work at a restaurant that hosted a ton of weddings and the amount of wasted alcohol was ridiculous! Not to mention, once the shots started flowing it would often turn into a complete and utter mess. This was a really beautiful classy place, yet when there was an open bar, we just knew one of us was cleaning up some nastiness in the bathroom at some point. People just can't seem to control themselves.

I'm a fan of the consumption bar. You set a limit of what you want to pay and after that, if people want more, they can pay for it themselves. I'm paying for a party; not for people to get sloshed.

Underrated. Less stress for everyone at the wedding and for us. We didn’t have to worry about anyone complaining, and it gave everyone the opportunity to have fun!
Worrying about money at a wedding to buy drinks is never fun!

Underrated. I wouldn't have a wedding without one. I try to have a variety of drinks available when I just have people over to my house. I'm not a big drinker but more than a glass or two of wine and I have to worry about migraines and beer is even worse for my system.

Overrated... waste of money and alcohol. We’re doing a Toonie bar and of course wine on the table for dinner!

Overrated. It's a huge expense. And people abuse an open bar ordering shots they won't drink.


We will have a cash bar, and by cash we don't mean cold hard cash, but our guests will buy their drinks.

Underrated. Weddings with an open bar is what all my family and friends have done. Personally I don’t think it is right to have guests pay for drinks, and I have never attended an open bar wedding where things got out of hand. Most people realize that it is a wedding not a club or frat party so they tend to stick within their limits.

Underrated! Lots of people (myself included) don't carry cash around and ATM fees are ridiculous. It's nice to not worry about paying for drinks and to our family: if it's not an open bar, it's not a wedding lol

Overrated, which is ironic cause I have one lol. I’ve never been a fan of a celebration that turns into a drunk fest which I find happens more so at open bars

Overrated. I’m not a big drinker so I think it’s fine if there’s a limited bar or cash bar.

Overrated, I think people have come to expect an open bar at weddings which isn't necessarily fair. We're going to have a toonie bar and give everyone drink tickets to start off with.

We thought about an open bar but we have a pretty strict rental package for the venue so we don't want people getting too sloppy

Ugh this question is the bane of my existence. I personally think they're wildly overrated (as does my family). But FH's family highly disagrees.

Underrated. I think to properly host your guests you shouldn't have them paying for their drinks.

Depends on your guests, I think. If you know your guests well enough to know that wine and beer will be fine for the majority then going that route is fine. But if you know quite a few would appreciate the open bar then you won't hear any complaints since who doesn't love having choices? lol so I'd say underrated since I'm one of the people that appreciates the open bar.

Underrated - I love a good open bar.

Overrated!!!

Underrated - Open bars are always a good thing! Also I don't want my guest to have to spend more money then they already have on drinks

Overrated!!! so much waste, and people tend to take advantage!

Underrated - when will an open bar ever be bad? In my family it's open bar or you don't have a wedding