Alcohol Catering for a Wedding

spook290 on 27/03/2018 - 16:14
Last edited 27/03/2018 - 16:27 by 1 other user

Hi OzB community,

I'm looking to find the cheapest way to supply alcohol for an event, we're able to BYO to the venue and thought I would check in and see if anyone has tips for the best possible deal.

So far my options have been;

  • Comparing on a site like Boozle, finding a good deal then stocking up, this may take some time for different specials.
  • Asking for a deal at Dan Murphy, being able to return leftovers is a nice perk.

It seems like kegs are more for show and aren't that economical?

Any tips would be most welcome :)

EDIT: There will be around 70 guests and around 30 heavy drinkers

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • cypher67 on 27/03/2018 - 16:20

    How many people are you talking and are they heavy drinkers?

    • spook290 on 27/03/2018 - 16:23

      I should've added!
      Likely around 70 people, probably around 30 heavy drinkers

      • cypher67 on 27/03/2018 - 16:46

        I wouldn't over think it. 3 Cartons of Sparkling, 6 Cartons of good beer, 1 carton of Red, 1 carton of white. Some random bottles of Spirits and soft drinks, enough to mix and non drinkers. You want sparkling for toasts and yeah I wouldnt get too carried away. There is places that deliver alcohol until midnight and promise to deliver within the hour, make a call early if you think u need more.

        • mskeggs on 27/03/2018 - 18:45
          +1

          I reckon this is a good estimate. I would up the beer by a couple of cases unless you have absolutely no use for a carton or so left over.
          I think you would be likely to have a few bottles of the wines left over too, but you would be likely to get better pricing on straight cartons to make it worthwhile buying in twelves.
          For spirits, I wouldn't go further than a Scotch, a Vodka and maybe a bourbon unless you know somebody like the father of the bride etc. will favour spirits. Or, you are Polish and forget all this and just get 8 cases of Vodka…

          A budget of around $1500 would get a pretty classy range, certainly better than what is included in the drinks package at most venues.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/03/2018 - 16:20
    +1

    Brew your own and skip the alcohol excise.

    • spook290 on 27/03/2018 - 16:25

      That would be a fun experience, sadly I'm in a 2 bed unit and there is a distinct lack of space :(

      • [Deactivated] on 27/03/2018 - 16:36

        If you do two rounds in a 25l keg, you'll have over 100 bottles. A 25l keg is smaller than a bedside table.

  • Captainmeows on 27/03/2018 - 16:25
    +4

    I did this for my engagement party and wedding!
    Stocked up on heaps of wine and bubbles from Aldi and just bought the spirits and beer from Dan Murphy when they were on sale.
    The Aldi wines were a hit and they are super cheap.
    For the engagement party I just had everything set up in ice buckets and eskies but for the wedding I hired a few bar staff and had a little bar set up to serve out the drinks.

    Wedding had 150 guests and engagement had 80 :)

    • finnthecheapskate on 29/03/2018 - 13:22

      What aldi wines would you suggest?

      And has anyone had the aldi gin before, is it good?

  • marcusv on 27/03/2018 - 17:04
    +1

    I used a bottle shop the venue recommended for my wedding, the bottle shop charged wholesale prices and delivered to the venue. They were on call in case any top ups were needed during the night, collected left-overs the next morning and only charged me for what I used. When I got the bill I thought they had made a mistake because it was so cheap.

    Maybe call around some non supermarket chain owned bottleshops (ie specialty bottle shops) and see if they can do something similar.

    • Baghern on 27/03/2018 - 20:34
      +1

      maybe provide details if you can… a business like that deserve.. more business

  • franky82 on 27/03/2018 - 17:07
    +1

    Depending on where you're living, you could also consider going with a micro brewer for your beer- this is what we're doing for our wedding (for 100pax), and it has worked out at $30 a case for premium beer and cider when ordering a 50L/ 6 case brew. Kegs can also be really economical if you use this option. If you go down this route it's also a good idea to choose a place that will allow you to test their brews before ordering. Most places will hold your beer for a week or so after it's ready so you don't have to keep it refrigerated yourself- just make sure it gets to a fridge within 1 hour of being bottled to ensure it keeps it's flavour.

    We also went with places that were offering introductory deals or vouchers for wine (like Naked Wines), or vouchers (like Cellarmasters). Getting cheap wine and making huge vats of cocktails (like sangria) or buying cheap spirits and making diy mixers also worked out to more cost effective than buying $12 a bottle wine.

    I hope this helps :)

    • spook290 on 02/04/2018 - 22:27

      that's awesome, very helpful!
      I'll investigate further :)

  • afoveht on 27/03/2018 - 17:38

    around 30 heavy drinkers

    How heavy is heavy?

    • mskeggs on 27/03/2018 - 18:36
      +3

      If it is 22yro tradies, you will need 18 beers each. If it is 55yro suburban 'soccer Moms' go with 2 bottles of SSB each.
      Or if 'heavy' is the Health and Medical Research Council definition of more than 4 drinks in a day, you could do the whole party with a case of beer, a case of champagne and a case of wine.

      Unhealthy, but I reckon the first crew would deliver a more spectacular night!

  • GourmetFoodie on 27/03/2018 - 18:51

    Costco is sometimes cheaper than Dan Murphys. Kind of depends how fussy you are and how fancy you want things to be for guests. Personally I've never been to a wedding with good alcohol and I honestly don't think any guest expects anything special.

    In terms of how much quantity wise….kegs are gimmicky IMO and it depends if your crowd is more of a beer or wine type. I would always buy more than you think you need because the worst thing would be to run out. Buy more of what you would happily drink if you had leftovers.

  • Baghern on 27/03/2018 - 20:32

    Divisive but necessary question… what ethnicity is the makeup… based on stereotypes.. some people tend to drink a tad bit more

  • Findo on 28/03/2018 - 13:06

    At a wedding I attended recently of 90 people at the reception (only 14 were children + 1 non-drinker), the whole party went through 20 cases of beer, 15 bottles of red and about 20 bottles of sparkling. Most of the drinking was confined to four tables.

  • finnthecheapskate on 29/03/2018 - 13:22

    What aldi wines would you suggest?

    And has anyone had the aldi gin before, is it good?

  • spook290 on 02/04/2018 - 22:28

    Thanks everyone, this has been a massive help and given me a few more options to think about:)

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