[SwtCrrie32]

More retirement dinner questions?

When I met with the bartending service today, he asked what kind of drinkers were being invited. Well, most of the individuals who are on the guest list are of the political or corporate variety. Michigan law requires me to pay for the beer/wine prior to the event, so I only want to order what will be consumed by guests (we're doing a cash bar to recoup some costs, so it is even more important that this number be accurate).

Assuming normal business function consumption (not too much, probably light), how much should I order per guest? The books are saying 2-3 drinks per person, but that left me with a lot of leftovers the last time I had an event with alcohol.

Thanks for the advice.

[Robin Holtson]

Does the venue allow you to keep/take-away any unopened bottles? Most event planners do advise 2-3 drinks per person, and I suppose I'd rather have too much than not enough.

[dewoun]

When we host a catered event it is usually open bar for a certain amount of time (i.e. two hours). Then anything after that is cash bar. We have found that open bar is less expensive and we would have 250-300 guests attending.

I would definitely err on the side of having too much than not enough.

[Patricia]

We had an open bar for our last event, although I think it allows people to drink too much since it is too available. I would ask the venue what they would typically use for the amount of people you are inviting. To be responsible, I would also check with an organization such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to see what they would recommend. Another thing to consider is could your company be held responsible if they host an event and offer the drinks and then someone drinks too much and causes an accident? Something to look into.