Wedding bar - what am I missing?

[Crolisd]

Our wedding will be in a barn and we are doing our own bar. So I need to stock it well to make sure everyone is catered for. Here is my list of the basics:

White wine
Red wine
Champagne
Lager
A craft ale
Gin (Gordon’s)
Rum (Havana club)
Vodka (Smirnoff)
Malibu
Cider
Fruit cider

Coke
Diet coke
Tonic
Lemonade
Sparkling water
Orange juice
Cranberry juice

Lots of ice and chopped lime/lemons

Would there be something on this list for you? What brand preference would you have for the lager/beer/cider? What other soft drinks would you have?

@Crolisd

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions!! So I’ll change the gin to something like beefeater or tanquery, add a whisky, add a non alcoholic lager (I like the brewdog one), add some cordials and disaranno. The Malibu is a tradition among our group of friends which goes back to our uni days so it won’t go to waste!

We shall have a tea and coffee station too - our caterers are providing that. The bar will be manned by bar staff.

Pimms is a good idea but it’s in the early autumn so I’ll get it if it’s unusually sunny.

Good idea with the Tanquery. You can often get it on offer for not much more than Gordon's and it's much nicer plus with a more upmarket image. Gordon's is just too old fashioned/everyday/bargain basement.

If you're putting in a big order, wine merchants or even supermarkets will often do sale or return, so you can order plenty and return any you don't use without worrying about having loads left over.

Some AF alternatives that aren’t “soft” drinks. BrewDog AF is a good choice they do 3 different ones and even my OH says they taste just like beer (he’s still drinks I don’t). Most places usually only have Heineken 0 or Becks blue which are very very average! Stella 0% is good as is the Morretti. The 0% Gordon’s gin is nice enough too and cheaper than the fancier alternatives like seedlip.

I was going to say a different gun as well. Gordon's is like paint stripper.

Definitely alcohol free beer and brandy

*gin

Do not leave guns in the bar, that's just asking for trouble 🤦‍♀️

*fruitbrewhaha
. No one really drinks larger, its all IPA these days, maybe Neck oil?.*

Really???? What a very strange thing to say.

Not sure if a total faff for a barn wedding but at my 40th I made a couple of cocktails made up and ready to go for everyone - it was 70s themed party so tequila sunrise and something else (minds gone blank) - which included spirits but then it was just loads of Prosecco beer and wine- the beer was the one thing that ran out though so get loads of that- had loads of fizz left I think after a glass or two most people want something different to Prosecco
Tea and coffee is a good shout

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep

Doginatent - DP has just referred to you as a very sensible human being. I believe your thinking aligns quite closely with his over whisky and the philosophy of free booze from friends.

We spent a lot of time thinking through the free bar we offered for our wedding reception. I'm trying to find the online calculator we used - you put in the season, time of day, type of event, numbers by age, gender, and what you thought their preferences were (beer vs. wine, spirit drinker or not, etc.) and it told you how many bottles/litres of each you should have. We had a reasonable leftover (didn't run out of anything) and finished it ourselves over a period of time.

If there's dancing (particularly something energetic like a ceilidh) don't underestimate how much water and soft drinks you'll get through.

Another sensible tip, keep the beer/lager you get somewhere around 4-5%. Avoid high strength beers/lagers. It makes for a friendlier atmosphere.

Oh good point about the strength! Hadn’t thought of that - thank you

What's all the hatred for Gordon's about? It's my favourite drink with Schweppes tonic, ice and a wedge of lime. I hate Bombay Sapphire and Hendricks, I'd drink lager instead of either of those.

Honestly,
I'd put on the information that you send with the invitation:

"We'll be providing plenty of red and white wine, lager and craft ale and a range of soft drinks. You are very, very welcome to bring any other drink you fancy consuming across the day / evening" and leave it at that.
People will be more than happy to bring a bottle of their own particular tipple (FAR cheaper from a supermarket than having to pay per shot at a normal bar). It means each and every person can drink whatever they prefer. Pour whatever size measures they prefer. You can get gallons of wine on sale or return, loads of pop and juice very cheaply. Everyone's happy.

As has been demonstrated by this thread, you'll never cover everyone's favourite tipple.

Oh, and has been said several times, access to tap water and tea and coffee for those who would like some.

Thanks for the suggestions. I really don’t like the idea of a BYOB. I would much rather people had a bar to go to with professional bartenders pouring drinks with ice and fruit into clean glasses than people having to hold onto a dirty glass and stash their booze somewhere and have to go back there to fill up on their warm drink. It’s a pretty big wedding and evening guests won’t have their own seat to return to.

It's not completely BYOB though.

We did a mix at ours and it worked well. Most people drank stuff we provided but people who really liked a particular drink could bring it, put it behind the bar, and drink it.

Well since you asked... Cointreau. I was at a wedding a couple of years ago and was delighted that they had Cointreau Nas it is my favourite. But I would never expect it. Whisky too would be good but I only drink single malts so would never expect that at a free wedding bar at all.

@LubaLuca

No one really drinks larger, its all IPA these days

Lager is a hugely popular drink. Where do you live that nobody drinks it?

South East, I own a pub in London.

It isn't BYOB though.
At most wedding, the hosts provide a drink on arrival, and white or red wine with the meal and a glass of some sort of fizz for the toasts.

You are providing that.
Generously, you are also - it seems - offering to continue to provide wine and beer and soft drinks throughout the evening.

What you are saying is, if that isn't to someone's tastes, then they are also welcome to bring something more to their taste. However, if they are happy to accept what is offered, then all drink is provided.

As you've seen across 140 message - if you ask what everyone, individually would choose as their tipple of choice, then you are going to get dozens upon dozens of different replies. That is going to make for a complicated and expensive bar. With the alternative suggestion, everyone is happy.

If you are providing all the drinks I think it’s more than ample. I however wouldn’t swap Gordon’s for beefeater (it’s very weatherspoons) you will get tanquary, Edinburgh or caorunn on offer.

@Crolisd

Thanks for the suggestions. I really don’t like the idea of a BYOB. I would much rather people had a bar to go to with professional bartenders pouring drinks with ice and fruit into clean glasses than people having to hold onto a dirty glass and stash their booze somewhere and have to go back there to fill up on their warm drink. It’s a pretty big wedding and evening guests won’t have their own seat to return to.

If you haven't already thought of it, remember to hire a fridge to keep the drinks cold if the venue doesn't have enough fridge space. The caterers may be able to arrange this if they're not already doing so for their own purposes. A hired trailer fridge parked by the back door closest to the bar, big enough to take all the beer, white wine, etc. and make sure you get it stocked well enough in advance to get everything chilled down.

A free bar seems to be unusual in the UK, but we did one for ours as it's only fair when you're asking everyone to travel. I think people forget that the wedding ceremony is about you as a couple, and the reception/party is about your friends and family who have supported you so far and will continue to support you in your marriage. There are far too many Dream/Event weddings that treat friends and family as cheap decorative accessories, or worse - an afterthought when it comes to budgeting the event.

If it's being manned all you need is Smirnoff..bells...Bombay..and a pink gin ....pinot for the white..merlot for the red and prosecco ...
Get the staff to pour the wine ..make sure lots of ice .. slimline tonic ..coke and lemonade ...bottle of orange and blackcurrant squash ...lager go for moretti or peroni ..and a cider ...thatchers/ Thatchers haze ...straws and not the cheap horrible plastic glasses ...most pubs inc mine have lots of hard plastic given to us by brewerys recently so go ask them ...Ice ice ice is the key x