The short answer
A wedding corkage fee is a charge from a venue or caterer for opening and serving alcohol you supply yourself, priced per bottle, per guest or as a flat amount. Before you buy, check whether outside alcohol is allowed at all, what the fee covers, whether it counts bottles opened or bottles delivered, and whether bartender fees, a service charge and tax still apply.
Can you bring your own alcohol to a wedding venue?
Start with whether it is allowed. A venue may prohibit outside alcohol, allow wine only, allow wine and beer but not spirits, or allow it only if its own licensed staff serve it. Search the contract and venue policies for outside alcohol, corkage, beverage, liquor and license.
Rules on who may supply and serve alcohol at an event vary by state and locality, and the venue or caterer can tell you who holds the license for your event. Ask for its answer in writing, along with any requirement for licensed bartenders, liquor liability insurance or a certificate of insurance from a hired bar service.
Is a corkage fee charged per bottle or per person?
A per-bottle fee can be charged on bottles opened or on bottles delivered. The difference matters: if you deliver 50 bottles and open 44, a hypothetical $20 fee is 44 x $20 = $880 on bottles opened, or 50 x $20 = $1,000 on bottles delivered. Check how the contract counts larger bottles too; a magnum may be charged as two.
A per-guest corkage fee multiplies a rate by your count, whatever is poured; for example, $8 x 120 guests = $960. Beer, kegs and spirits may carry different fees from wine, and a champagne toast may be priced on its own. Note each rate and its basis.
- Per bottle opened, per bottle delivered, or per guest
- Rates for wine, sparkling, beer, kegs and spirits
- How magnums and larger formats are counted
- Whether a champagne toast is priced separately
- Who records the bottle count on the night
What does a corkage fee cover?
Ask for the list. A corkage fee might cover opening, chilling, glassware and pouring, or only opening, with glassware, ice and bartenders billed separately. Wine service at tables may be a different charge from pouring at the bar.
Check the bar setup fee and bartender fees next to it. A venue may charge corkage and still require its own bartenders at an hourly rate, so the total cost of supplying your own alcohol includes both. The bartender and bar setup fees guide covers those lines.
Is a corkage fee worth it? A worked comparison
Compare full totals, with each addition included. For example, a hypothetical venue wine package is $28 per guest for 120 guests, or $3,360. With a 20% service charge and 7% tax on both, that becomes $3,360 x 1.20 x 1.07 = $4,314.24.
Supplying your own: 50 bottles at $14 cost $700. Corkage on 44 opened bottles is $880; a 20% service charge on it adds $176, and 7% tax on $1,056 adds $73.92, so corkage totals $1,129.92. Your total is $700 + $1,129.92 = $1,829.92, before delivery or any extra glassware. Change the rates, count method or bottle numbers and the gap moves, so run your own figures.
What else comes with supplying your own alcohol?
Outside alcohol has its own logistics. Ask when bottles may be delivered, where they are stored and chilled, who receives them, and who takes unopened bottles home at the end of the night. A venue may require all alcohol to leave by the end time or to be delivered by a licensed supplier.
Ask who counts bottles before and after service, and whether you or your point person can sign off on the count. A written count on the night is easier to compare with the invoice than an estimate after the fact.
What should the corkage clause say in writing?
Before you buy anything, ask the venue to put the terms in the contract or a signed addendum: what alcohol you may bring, the fee and how it is counted, what the fee includes, which other fees still apply, and the delivery and removal rules.
Keep the written answer with your contract and share the delivery rules with whoever is buying and transporting the alcohol. If the venue changes a term later, compare the request with what you signed.
Corkage cost comparison
Use one row for a decision or deliverable. Keep unanswered items visible. Download the blank worksheet to open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
On a small screen, swipe the worksheet sideways to see the remaining columns.
| Line | Venue supplies | We supply | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol cost | — | — | — |
| Corkage rate and how it is counted | — | — | — |
| Bartender and setup fees | — | — | — |
| Glassware and ice | — | — | — |
| Service charge | — | — | — |
| Tax | — | — | — |
| Delivery, storage and pickup | — | — | — |
| Leftover bottles | — | — | — |
| Total | — | — | — |
A message you can make your own
Change the wording to suit you, fill in anything in brackets and keep the questions that apply. You decide what to send and send it yourself.
We are considering supplying our own wine and would like to confirm the terms in writing. Is outside alcohol allowed, and which types? Is corkage charged per bottle opened, per bottle delivered or per guest, and at what rate for each type? What does the fee include, and do bartender, setup, service charge and tax still apply? When and where should bottles be delivered, who counts them, and what happens to unopened bottles? Are there license or insurance requirements we should know about?
Common questions
What does corkage mean at a wedding?
Corkage at a wedding is a fee the venue or caterer charges for opening and serving alcohol you supply yourself, rather than alcohol you buy from them. The contract sets whether the fee is counted per bottle, per guest or as a flat amount, and what it covers, such as glassware, chilling and pouring.
How much is a corkage fee for a wedding?
A wedding corkage fee has no single figure you can rely on, because each venue or caterer sets its own rate and basis. The total depends on whether it is per bottle opened, per bottle delivered or per guest, on your bottle count or guest count, and on any service charge and tax added. Ask for the rate for your date in writing and compare full totals.
Does a corkage fee apply to beer and liquor?
A corkage fee can apply to beer and liquor as well as wine, depending on the contract. A venue may set separate rates for wine, sparkling wine, beer, kegs and spirits, allow only some types, or prohibit outside liquor entirely. Ask the venue to list each type you may bring and the rate for each in writing.
Is a corkage fee charged on unopened bottles?
A corkage fee is charged on unopened bottles only if the contract counts bottles delivered rather than bottles opened. Read the wording, ask who records the count on the night, and ask whether you or your point person can sign the count, so the invoice can be checked against it.
Should you tip on a corkage fee?
Whether to tip on a corkage fee depends on what the contract already adds to it. Check whether a service charge or gratuity is applied to the corkage line, and whether any of it goes to the staff pouring. If nothing is added for staff, a tip for the bartenders is a separate decision you can plan for the day.
Is a corkage fee taxable?
Whether a corkage fee is taxed depends on state and local rules and on how the charge is written, so there is no single answer. Ask the venue or caterer to state on the quote whether tax applies to the corkage fee and its service charge. For a question about the rules themselves, a tax professional licensed in your state can help.
Does corkage count toward a food and beverage minimum?
Corkage may or may not count toward a food and beverage minimum; the contract decides. Ask the venue directly, because supplying your own alcohol can reduce the bar spend that would otherwise count toward the minimum, and a shortfall could be billed. Get the answer in the contract or a signed addendum.