Graduation party at a restaurant, ideas to keep the cost manageable?!
Graduation party at a restaurant, ideas to keep the cost manageable?
We will be hosting a graduation party at a restaurantant and are wondering how to politely keep the cost manageable without ending the evening with a huge bill. It's mainly the bar bill that we are concerned about.(We picked a restaurant that we could basically afford a full meal for all guests.)
Answers:
just serve soft drinks and have a champagne toast - after that make sure the guests and restauran know that it is a cash bar
at a friend of mine's graduation party, she and the bar agreed on a set price for any drink (well, call, top shelf or premium) for the first two drinks each guest ordered. each guest received two tickets (like you'd receive for a raffle or "admit one") and gave them to the bartender. after that, you were responsible for your own drinks and tipping. at the end of the night, the bartender just counted the tickets and knew how much to add to the bill.
buy a few bottles of wine to put on the table on the tab and then exclude any other drinks from the tab, just pay for food. Explain to the guests that the wine is provided (allow for say half a bottle for each person) but if they want any other drinks they have to pay themselves, and make sure the restaurant knows this.
It's not being tight - once they have had a couple of glasses of wine they can buy their own drinks, that's fair
Congrats on your graduation!
You can also arrange to have an abbreviated menu, where only 6 entrees of medium price are offered. The waiter will also issue tokens for two or three drinks at the bar. After that, if they want another drink, it comes from their pocketbook. It won't be necessary to explain this to the guests. The waiters will take care of that, but most people already understand the protocol.
You could ask the bar to serve only beer and wine, and have a cash bar for anyone wanting liquor, which should cut the cost.
Or, if you prefer cocktails, you could ask them to prep one type of cocktail for your guests (make it a signature drink and give it your own name with a grad theme -- post-grad punch, graduation gimlet -- cheesy I know, but you get the idea). Then you can control what goes in the drink and predict what your costs will be rather than everyone ordering random cocktails and shots using all types of expensive liquor. Front the bill for this cocktail only and the rest would be cash bar.
We did the raffle thing that someone else had said where everyone got 2 tickets for 1 drink and then they had to pay for the rest it worked out very well
Have an open bar for 2 hours, then change over to a cash bar. Restrict open bar drinks to soda, selected beer, wine and well drinks. Make sure to tip your bartender!
Can you offer each guest tickets towards the drinks and after each guest uses up their tickets, they have to pay for the remainder.
Just remember that as the host/hostess, you can be held liable for the actions of the guests, including driving after drinking.
Work with the restaurant for a preselected meal (2 or 3 choices of appetizer, entree, dessert) for a set price per plate (easily done). Pre-select table wine (red and white). If people want hard liquor, let them buy it themselves. One BIG thing I learned is NO bottled water! it cost me a bloody fortune because everyone was ordering still and sparkling water.
You have to request a limited open bar, meaning once the pre purchased alchohol, or tab limit runs out, it becomes a closed bar so where the guests would have to purchase their own drinks. Give your guests drink tickets. This is reasonable and the bar is usually willing to work out a decent budget to accomodate a large number of guests. If you keep it open you will pay dearly, at my friends wedding reception one table accumilated $2000 by themselves, give people free booze and they go crazy.
agree with answer by island 3g .
There are a few options:
1) see if the restaurant will give you a few drinks on special and let your guests know which drinks they can order - negotiate to get a really great deal on non-alcohol drinks as you will be spending so much money (usually they will give you soda for free)
2) Provide wine for the table at dinner and then make everything else a cash bar - usually enough for 2 drinks
3) or offer your guests drink tickets - this is very common at weddings usually you will get 2-3 drinks and then the rest is a cash bar
White out all expensive items from the menu. Invitations should read B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Bottle) and P.Y.O.C.F. (Pay Your Own Corkage Fee) and B.Y.O.E. (Bring Your Own Entree).
If the host/hostess is gracious enough to flip the bill for a nice meal, I am wondering why one would be expected to purchase drinks also. I would be thankful for the free meal and would have no problem buying my own alcohol. Plus, it solves all potential alcohol conflicts.
do like a wedding, make a deal with the restaurant 2 meals, like beef or chicken to pick from... ect
and CASHBAR, the bar tabs can add up faster than the food.
Best of Luck and tell your grad,
CONGRATES!!
ask for a buffet and let the guests pay their drinks, hope i could help.
If it's an option, consider hosting a festive brunch or lunch instead of dinner. With brunch, you could serve belinnis or mimosas. Folks tend to drink less earlier in the day, and menu prices for lunch are typically less expensive - - and you could still have a nice celebration.
Or, if you can have the party on a week night, when they're less busy, the restaurant may offer you some sort of price break - that could offset the price of the bar.
Congratulations!
I am assuming this is a college graduation cuz hs students are not old enough to drink. I think the 2 free drink thing is a good idea