Wedding Thoughts

I'll update this with estimates for the cost of my wedding. Some of it will just be a "what if we did this", until we actually nail down how much we'll be able to budget for. Hopefully it will help me keep track of the big picture.

===OPEN BAR===
We plan to buy the alcohol for this ourselves, unless it's just not possible at the location we choose for the reception.

Our costs:
Alcohol & Mixing Ingredients
Bartender
Glasses/Cups
Ice
Bar Set-Up

According to a formula I took off another site, we should be allowing 2 drinks per person, per hour of the event. Although we don't know the exact length of the reception, I would estimate about 5 hours. Our guest list is at about 140 now, with quite a few children, so I would say no more than 125 could actually take part in the drinking. I believe this is probably a liberal estimate, since we also have many elderly members of our family that won't take part.

Therefore:
125 People X 2 Drinks X 5 Hours = 1,250 Drinks

Since we plan to buy the supplies ourselves, we can obviously control the price & quality of what we are serving. For the most part, we won't have very picky guests, so we're planning on middle of the road liquor, cheaper wine, and middle of the road beer. We are also from an area where the cost of living isn't very high at all, so the average cost of liquors is a little cheaper too.

We estimate:
{Beer} 25 Cases X $17 Per Case = $425
{Wine} 12 Bottles X $18 Per Bottle = $216
{Vodka} 4 Bottles X $18 Per Bottle = $72
{Bourbon} 4 Bottles X $33 Per Bottle = $132
{Whiskey} 4 Bottles X $27 Per Bottle = $108
{Tequila} 4 Bottles X $25 Per Bottle = $100
{Rum} 2 Bottles X $20 Per Bottle = $40

{Mixing Ingredients} = $150
{Ice} = $200
{Bar Tools} = $75
{Plastic Cups/Glasses} = $75

{Bartender} 6 Hours X $30 Per Hour = $180
{Gratuity} = $100

Estimating 24 drinks per case of beer; 4 drinks per bottle of wine; 40 shots/drinks per bottle of liquor:

25 Cases X 24 Drinks Per Case = 600
12 Bottles (Wine) X 4 Drinks Per Bottle = 48
18 Bottles (Liquor) X 40 Shots Per Bottle = 720
TOTAL DRINKS = 1368 (some wiggle room)

TOTAL OPEN BAR COSTS = $1,873

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===CEREMONY/RECEPTION SITES===