Wedding Blog

Here is a little glimpse into how some of the bees ensured their guests didn’t go thirsty! Be sure to check out all the posts in our Real Bee Budgets series!

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Mrs. Cherry Pie’s Alcohol/Drinks

Total: I can’t correctly give a total or cost per head because we took lots of unconsumed bottles of wine and Coke home with us and only drank a third of the keg(!!), the rest of which was bought by the saloon for re-use there.

90 person wedding

Cost breakdown:

• Mexican Coca-Cola: $108 (6 cases at $18 each)
• Beer: $120, 1 keg of local brew
• Wine: Provided by Mr. CP’s mom and step-dad (Approx $1,000)
• Corkage fee: $50
• Coffee and Arnold Palmer: $30
• Infusions and mixers: Provided by a friend as a wedding gift (Estimated cost: $100)

“Our caterer, the Polebridge Northern Lights Saloon, allowed us to bring in our own wine for a $50 corkage fee (yes, total). We received both our wine and cocktails as a gift from friends and family, which saved us lots of money. Wines were local Oregon and Washington vintages. Cocktails were made with homemade infusions: Lime gin, blackberry vodka, limoncello, and mixers. We learned that these were cheap and easy to make (just vodka + fruit), and they were a complete hit with the guests. The infusions also looked fabulous in the glass infusion jars we rented.

We purchased a keg at cost through the saloon, and for a low cost were provided coffee and Arnold Palmer (lemonade + iced tea).

For Americana ambiance, we purchased Mexican Coca-Cola in glass bottles by the flat from Costco and served the Cokes after the ceremony and during cocktail hour.

We had plenty of each beverage left over because we budgeted for a thirsty crowd– and it wasn’t as warm as we anticipated it would be.”

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Mrs. Bee’s Alcohol/Drinks

We had a lot of heavy drinkers at our wedding.  Mr. Bee’s friend owns Starr African Rum, so he donated a case that we used to create two signature cocktails.  Most of our guests drank those signature cocktails all night long, which enabled us to save a ton of money on alcohol!

Bar: K&D Liquor
Price: $2000, but refunded approx $1k for unopened bottles that were returned.

96 person wedding

• 4 bottles Vodka
• 2 bottles Gin
• 2 bottles Bourbon
• 2 bottles Scotch
• 2 bottles Sour Apple Schnapps
• 2 bottles Triple Sec
• 2 bottles Dry Vermouth
• 2 bottles Sweet Vermouth
• 1 bottle Baileys
• 1 bottle Amaretto
• 1 bottle Kahlua
• 1 bottle Chambord
• 1 case Champagne (for the toast)
• 2 cases Champagne (the good stuff for drinking)
• 3 cases Chardonnay
• 3 cases Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2 cases Corona
• 2 cases Heineken
• 2 cases Amstel Light
• 6 bottle Starr African Rum (donated by Mr. Bee’s friend)

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Miss Stiletto’s Alcohol

Bar: 2MayToz Catering
Price: $2520 or $21 per person

120 person wedding

5 1/2 hour full open bar with a champagne toast

• Wine Offerings: Cabernet and Pinot Griggio
• Beer Offerings: Fat Tire and Amstel Light
• Full range of liquor and mixers for cocktails

“When we originally booked our venue, they did not provide alcohol so we would have been stocking the bar ourselves. While this seemed like it may have been a cost saver, I was so excited when our reception venue signed with a new caterer who provided the alcohol. One less thing for us to worry about! And… we’re super excited to be serving Fat Tire at the reception, yum! ”

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Miss Joey’s Alcohol/Drinks

Price: $750 or $6.25 p/p
120 person wedding

45 minute breakfast bar at chapel
Juice selections and on-site brewed coffee (we’re buying the beans). My uncle is bringing the tea from Sri-Lanka.

4 hour reception
Budget: $730

• 4 bottles of Pimm’s - $74.25
• 24 bottles of Cava - $131.52
• 18 bottles of Red - $106.53
• 18 bottles of White - $150.91

Total left - $266.79

Left to buy (these are estimates):

• 4 bottle of Gin or Rum - $80 (buy at PX - no tax)
• 4 cases of beer - $22-26 each plus tax
• Assorted sodas and mixers (lemonade, Rose’s Lime) - $40

“We got great deals on the wine and Cava. We’re getting the beer from Costco and the liquor for the Coast Guard Station. Being able to bring in the beverages saved us A LOT of money. So did the fact that this was a lunchtime wedding, a lot of my relatives don’t drink, and 20 of our 120 guests are underage. “