A bride is being slammed on Reddit for saying that she wants to have a cash bar at her wedding — and charge her guests enough for drinks to recoup some of her own wedding costs.
The bride, a 25-year-old American, said she and her budget-conscious groom-to-be, 24, are doing their best to keep costs down for their wedding next year, and have so far booked a free venue, accepted catering and music as gifts, and bought their clothes second-hand.
But since buying the booze will set them back at least $1,000, they’re considering charging guests ‘moderate prices’ for drinks — enough for them to make money to cover their other wedding expenses.
Yikes! A bride is being slammed for saying she wants to have a cash bar at her wedding — and charge her guests enough for drinks to recoup some of her own wedding costs (stock image)
The bride posted anonymously on Reddit, explaining that she and her fiancé ‘are pretty grossed out by the wedding industry and are trying to keep our wedding as cheap as possible.’
‘So for example,’ she said, ‘we are having the ceremony and reception at my uncle’s farm (free of charge) out in the country, my good friend from college who owns a catering business agreed to do our catering for free as a wedding gift, and my fiancé’s good friends with a band that will play at our wedding for free also as a wedding gift.
‘We got my dress and his suit from Goodwill and got them altered. Everything said and done we will be paying less than $2k for our wedding.’
The alcohol, though, is proving to be a cost they can’t keep low for 150 people.
‘The idea of paying for all of that booze is making us stressed out,’ she wrote. ‘It’d be at least $1k.
‘We thought about it and decided to do a cash bar. We figured we could buy the booze and pay one of my cousins to be bartender for the night,’ she went on.
What’s more, though, she figures they could make some money on the deal.
‘We realized we could probably recoup some of our costs on the other wedding expenses by charging moderate prices for drinks – win-win!’
The couple was ‘set’ on the idea until the bride mentioned it to a bridesmaid, who ‘flipped out and said that would be incredibly tacky’.
We realized we could probably recoup some of our costs on the other wedding expenses by charging moderate prices for drinks – win-win!
‘I was sort of taken aback by this,’ wrote the bride. ‘I’ve looked online and cash bars at weddings are pretty common. It seems ridiculous to pay to get everyone drunk.
‘My other friends and family seem pretty split and I’m starting to wonder if this is actually a faux pas. Am I the a**hole?’
Redditors agreed pretty unanimously that the couple was majorly in the wrong.
‘It would be a different thing if you were to just sell the drinks at the price you bought them for and break even(Which is still a little tacky),’ wrote one. ‘But instead, you are charging your friends and family more than the drink is worth in order to make a profit.’
‘So you’re saying you already have a free venue, food, and entertainment… And also want to make a profit from your guests??’ another chimed in.
‘They hate the wedding industry, they don’t hate the things they sell. They like the things the industry sells, they just don’t want to buy them,’ snarked another.
‘The irony of being “disgusted by the wedding industry” and yet you’re going to profit off of your guests…pot meet kettle,’ said a third.
Others chimed in to tell the bride that she totally misunderstands the way a cash bar works.
‘Cash bar isn’t unheard of at a wedding, but it is a deal where you hire someone with a off-site license and they bring and sell their own booze. You HIRE them,’ one said.
‘You likely don’t have the proper licensing to sell alcohol anyway, and would be in a world of hurt (as would your uncle) if anyone was injured because of liquor served at your wedding.’
‘[You’re the a***hole] for wanting to profit off your guests. They’re there to celebrate with you, not to pay for your wedding,’ another commenter chided.
‘Trying to pay for your wedding by profiting on the alcohol sold there is tacky as f***,’ added one more. ‘If you care so damn much about saving money, the better move would be to trim that 150 person guest list down.’