Restaurant wedding reception - not paying for drinks?

[CurriedCarbs]

We've decided to go to a local restaurant after our wedding ceremony and essential have our "reception" there - i.e. a nice meal with the guests. Would we BU to only pay for their food and not their drinks? We haven't got a lot of money and we're not really sure we can afford food and drink for everyone. We don't want to say everyone has to completely pay for themselves or limit the guest list even more as we're only inviting close family. Would only paying for food be a reasonable compromise?

YANBU, paying for food is fair enough as if people don't have loads of spare cash but want to celebrate with you then they can still attend; but drinks are almost an extra, and people can plan and drink what they fancy. Are you booking ahead and asking people for meal choices? Otherwise as others have said it might get messy with sorting bills etc.

Bear in mind too that you can tell people about the day in advance without actually specifying that you're on a tight budget. For example, you could describe your special day as an "alternative wedding" rather than a budget one. You could detail the day's schedule on the invitation and when it comes to the restaurant bit, you could write something like, "X.00pm - Please join us at the XXX for a meal on us. There will be a well-stocked bar for you to purchase your own drinks."