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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

eek I caused a 150 corkage fee last night wwyd

362 replies

alittlethyme · 18/01/2015 10:16

Was at a wedding last night. Each of the tables we're named after a spirit and they had a bottle of whatever on the table. I was a bit tipsy and didn't know many people, so cracked open some whisky without noticing that it had a label on the other side saying drinking this would be a 150 fee. I only had a few mm and screwed the lid back on tightly after I realise d the fee.

One aibu to think 150 a bottle is a stupid amount?

Two should I go back to the hotel today sober to try and get a reduction in the fee as was barely touched?

Three should I pay whatever the charge is?

OP posts:
crje · 18/01/2015 10:57

I would wait....

It might come to nothing.
Really stupid idea for a centre piece.

CuttedUpPear · 18/01/2015 10:59

Apart from all the above, which I totally agree with, what kind of people think that an unopenable bottle of bog standard spirits is any kind of decoration for a wedding table?

Are they alcoholics celebrating their addiction together?

What's wrong with flowers or a flipping balloon?

Don't pay OP.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 18/01/2015 10:59

Are you sure it isn't £1.50?

Altinkum · 18/01/2015 10:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

seaoflove · 18/01/2015 10:59

Maybe the bride and groom put the labels on hoping to recover some of the money they'd paid for the reception? Did it say who to pay?

No, it would be a fee charged by the venue FOR the venue. Venues charge corkage on booze brought in from outside precisely to deter people from bringing it in. They need to make a profit on their own booze, and if people purchased all their wedding drink from Asda, for example, the venues would go out of business. That's why corkage fees exist.

TenMinutesEarly · 18/01/2015 11:00

Do the b and g or anyone else know you opened it?

Fluffycloudland77 · 18/01/2015 11:01

Who on earth uses bottles of spirits as centre pieces? For heavens sakes.

Don't pay it.

Stupid idea.

lunar1 · 18/01/2015 11:02

What a bloody stupid idea. Drinks on the table are included in the meal, drinks behind the bar are to be paid for. I'd just leave the bride and groom to it!

MarjorieMelon · 18/01/2015 11:08

Surely decorating your table with spirits looks tacky. I've never seen anything like that before.

We brought our own wine into the reception and paid corkage. We allocated 1 bottle per person for the meal plus a glass of champagne on arrival and for the toast. We agreed with the venue that in the unlikely event of us running out of wine we would allow the guests to order more from the venue and we would foot the bill. There was going to be a pay bar in the evening.

We ended up paying an extra £300 on wine, just for the meal. We had no idea our guests were such big drinkers Hmm

JulesJules · 18/01/2015 11:12

Blimey. What an absolutely stupid idea from B & G.

Can you find out if they have had to pay? The hotel may not have noticed that one of the bottles had been opened. But frankly if they have had to pay it is their own stupid fault, and surely they must have realised that someone would open one of the bottles?

Blu · 18/01/2015 11:14

Naming tables after alcohol, and with a bottle of spirits as a centrepiece is such a crass vulgar idea.

But I suppose that is not the point.

Hopefully the hotel have done the decent thing and NOT charged £150 for a tiny amount drunk from the bottle, and if they do, the B&G can argue it themselves.

It was an accident, and an accident waiting to happen.

Jelliebabe2 · 18/01/2015 11:15

Net you aren't. The only one op!! Prey stupid of the bride and groom!

Floggingmolly · 18/01/2015 11:17

I understand the concept of the corkage fee.

I am utterly at sea as to what was in the B & G's minds when they decided to decorate their tables with spirit bottles in the first place (!); whilst expecting them either not to be drunk or paid for at the rate of 150 quid.
Did any of the other guests understand what the deal was? I'd let them pay for it themselves actually; it's an expense lesson in not putting your guests in a ridiculously awkward position.

seaoflove · 18/01/2015 11:17

Btw, I would neither pay it nor own up to it. Chances are, when they were clearing up at the end of the night, no one would have noticed. And if they did, it's the responsibility of the B&G to pay corkage, not pass the penalty onto their guests!

SauvignonBlanche · 18/01/2015 11:19

What a ridiculous idea! The B&G must have been pissed when they thought it up.

ToffeeCaramel · 18/01/2015 11:20

I would just forget it and if they do come back to you say you weren't facing the label and you assumed alcohol on a table at the wedding is free for guests to drink.

shaska · 18/01/2015 11:24

Can't believe it took til page 3 for people to say what I was going to say, which is what kind of lame-ass table decoration is a bottle of supermarket spirits?

THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN DRINK.

LoisWilkerson15 · 18/01/2015 11:24

You drank a table decoration! Grin Your my hero op! Why the hell didnt they use empty bottles and fill them with tea?

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 18/01/2015 11:26

I think if the B&G have been charged then you probably ought to offer to pay it. I agree that it was a crap idea for centre pieces but that's probably irrelevant. If I broke a vase, I'd offer to pay for it (but would hope the hotel would let it go). Don't just hand over £150 though as the hotel may well not have noticed.

LindyHemming · 18/01/2015 11:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RonaldMcDonald · 18/01/2015 11:30

I think £150 for a bottle of spirits is normalish for hotels and clubs
Think of it sold by shot at hotel prices

The reason why they charge for the whole bottle as they don't know what has been added to the bottle once opened away from the bar - in theory they shouldn't use it in circumstances that it has been on a table, out of bar supervision and opened. It could be filled with water or worse.

If the Bride and Groom are being charged for it I'd pay tbh
If I caused a bar bill of £150 at a wedding I'd pay it. I know you are saying that you didn't realise and only drank a little but the facts are the facts imo.
Personally I'd speak with the B&G.
They may say that they'll pay or perhaps the bar didn't notice.

Why did you only drink a few mm?

jusdepamplemousse · 18/01/2015 11:31

It's their responsibility OP - bloody silly idea and they should have asked the hotel to provide the bottles anyway, as for such standard spirits it would probably cost around £80 - £100 per bottle from the bar (less if they cut a deal). If anyone needs to pay for their naïveté / stupidity it's them! I feel for you though, I'd feel a bit embarrassed / anxious too, but honestly, if it's on the table the assumption has to be that it's for drinking!

VivaLeBeaver · 18/01/2015 11:33

I agree, say nothing. It's a stupid idea and the consequences should lie with the bride and groom if there are any. Saying that I bet the hotel don't notice.

The bride and groom could have announced at the start not to open the bottles rather than a label on the back which you didn't notice till afterwards. They could even have superglued the lid shut??

Floggingmolly · 18/01/2015 11:34

Centrepieces.... Who the hell would assume that a bottle of whiskey on a wedding table was intended as a "centrepiece" anyway? It must have been a really classy do...

RonaldMcDonald · 18/01/2015 11:36

They were removed from the tables just before dinner was served.....

They were used simply to mark out which table was which

I've seen worse table decorations in my time

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