Tips to Help You Stock the Bar At Your Wedding With Ease

Stocking your own bar can save you a lot of money, but it can add a lot of stress. Follow these tips to help you stock the bar for your wedding reception with ease.

Find out what your guests like

When you're stocking the bar at your own wedding, you might feel a little overwhelmed by all the choices you have. Even for wine alone, there are dozens of different types. Then you have hard liquor and beer, and now you're lost. Keep in mind that 43% of legal drinkers prefer beer over wine and spirits, according to a 2016 Gallup poll. So, find out what kind of beer your guests like and start from there.

Use stainless steel beer growlers instead of kegs

You might be thinking that getting a few kegs of beer is better than lugging around a ton of cans and bottles. While that's not wrong, a keg isn't your best option either. Fill up some insulated beer growlers instead. They act like mini keg growlers, and they can be resealed after you open them. So, if you don't finish the entire keg, you don't have to worry about wasting it (or chugging it).

Remember the basics

So you have some beer, some wine, and some popular spirits. You're not covered yet though. You need to remember mixers, sodas, tonic, limes, etc. Also, check to see if your venue will provide glassware or not. Think back to what your guests like and grab the ingredients for some basic and popular cocktails. This means you'll probably need Coke, cranberry juice, iced tea, and maybe some ginger ale. Don't forget about your underage guests and having alternative drinks for them.

Know how much you'll need

The last thing you need to figure out is how much your guests will be drinking. You don't want to run out of booze after the first dance. The best way to do it is to calculate the number of drinks based on your guest count, the number of hours you'll be serving alcohol, and how many drinks per hour people will consume. As a rule of thumb, assume that your guests will have two to three drinks per hour. Remember that your guests are there to have a good time, so no matter how you stock your bars, your guests will still be there to celebrate one of the best days of your life.