Smuggling alcohol into a wedding reception?

[jessie777]

Would you? Have you?! Did you get caught?!

I've done it loads! It's easier if you have a room at the hotel.. if not, e gift bag with your booze in it under the table usually does the trick!
Or a water bottle filled with vodka in your handbag.. just buy mixers!

It's pretty selfish as it reflects badly on the couple getting married and causes problems for the venue.

The couple would be the selfish ones for not providing drinks In the first instance. Picking an expensive venue and putting the costs on the guests is wrong.

It's not something I would do but I'd see nothing wrong with others doing so.

Tbf I would never expect an open bar, either. In Ireland that just wouldn't end well. Entrance drink, drink with dinner and a toast is standard at weddings I've been to.

As the couple will have paid huge sums to the venue, I don't feel so bad about not wanting to pay €9 a pint. It's not like the couple is landing into the place for free - as you would in your average pub.

I haven't read the whole thread, but, in response to the OP, no, you can't take your alcohol to a wedding reception or restaurant or bar or anywhere like that unless it has a licence to BYOB and, in the case of a wedding, the hosts have asked you to do so, in which case you or they may well have to pay a corkage fee.

Don't drink, or buy as many drinks as you can afford, or stay at home.

My colleague called a hotel and I overheard him asking for a copy of the wine list so he could think about buying them some for the reception as a gift. They sent it over and he bought the same wine but kept it in his room and went and got a bottle every now and then. Genius!

My ex's family do this with no sense of shame
They buy a bottle of Coke and put vodka ( or whatever ) in
Stash in a handbag
And voila a cheap evening
( tightwads)

We're here...

£5 upwards a pint and £10.50 for a double g&t. Single is £7.50.

I may have some small bottles of Bacardi and Smirnoff in my bag

@MumsOnCrack I love that!!

Everyone is shocked and a bit put out. There is talk of the men driving off to the Sainsbos local....

From the other side of the debate there's a few things to point out - you can have the smuggled in drink removed due to licencing laws and breaches - most places are only licensed for consumption bought on and consumed on or off the premises.
I do agree that some places charge extortionate prices, I've worked in some and to be fair if someone is very discrete about it I'll usually turn a blind eye, but I have noticed and if you are just being silly about it I will confiscate or you'll be leaving. Have some respect, the people who set the prices aren't the poor sods whose job it is to stop ppl drinking their own - if you're going to do it then at least be very discrete about it.

Don't drink, or buy as many drinks as you can afford, or stay at home

Or you bite us, and we'll do what we like.

How is taking your own drink into licensed premises not theft?

Because it isn't. I don't think you understand the meaning of the word theft.

It's not theft but if they catch you with it you're going to be pretty embarrassed when you get booted out.

It's a really poor show is what it is.

It's not illegal, but I think it's a very poor show.

I found this online from a few years' back
www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11508102.People_taking_own_drinks_to_weddings_costing_East_Lancs_businesses____thousands_of_pounds___/

Or you bite us, and we'll do what we like.

Not an unusual response these days...

Not unusual to the posts saying "you have to do this" "you can't do that".

Not for you to say what everyone else should or should not do.

“It is not an offence to take your own alcohol in licensed premises and it is not covered by any legislation

say the Police.

My husband's lovely nan has done this at two family weddings with cash bars. Cans in her handbag which she doles out to anyone who fancies one. Tip: choose no one would ever suspect to carry the booze.

I've been on both sides of this.

As bar staff, at an overpriced venue we often used to find people smuggling drink in. Now personally on principle I didn't too much Of a, fuck as long as they were discrete. BUT pretty much every time we had trouble, fights or unruly behaviour it was always when someone brought booze in. Plus if the management suspected us of turning a blind eye then we'd cop a bollocking.

I have also smuggled booze into overpriced venues. But not often TBH. I'd rather be Des and have a beer at home.

Oh just do it. No one's going to find out -- and it's silly to waste loads of £ for the sake of it not being 'on'. If you're worried about licencing drink off the premises. The bar staff will still get paid at the end of the day, it's no skin off their nose if you sneak in a few cans.

Not only have I done it, I suggested to our wedding guests that they did it! I knew the majority of them would want to drink big and that they would cringe at the prices of the hotel bar. Most of them were staying at the hotel and kept it in their rooms but a few bought bottles of champagne and wine as 'wedding presents' (they knew we didn't drink champagne or wine) that were kept on a table at the back of the function room during the day. The next day we had to take 30-odd empty 'wedding presents' (still in bags) to the bottle bank! Enough people still bought drinks so the hotel didn't miss out.

The drinks prices at my wedding were extortionate,on top of the price we paid for the day. We provided wine/drinks for the wedding breakfast and bubbles for the speeches but evening was a cash bar (normal as far as I'm aware). We encouraged guests to bring their own drinks, filled our bath with ice to keep it cold too!!

Actually it is skin off the bar staff nose.

You're not drinking measures and they're not judging how drunk you are and whether they should serve you more.

If an incident of any sort occurs and someone is very drunk, as they are responsible for the sake of alcohol on the premises, they could lose their license and their job.

But hey rock on with the cheap vodka in the handbag.

And don't even bother all rushing in to tell me how responsible you are as drinkers. You're blatantly not if you can't manage on the fewer drinks you could afford or with not drinking at all.

Tacky, tacky, tacky.

I would drunk less rather than cause difficulty or embarrassment to my hosts.

Cheap vodka? How very dare you, Tanqueray for me, usually a Xmas/birthday pressie, never buy it myself, a bottle lasts me about 6 months so I'd say I was quite responsible actually