5 Things Your Bartender Wants You to Know
Planning the bar for your wedding can be more complicated than you think. There are so many factors that most people wouldn’t be aware of. If you don’t have guidance from experienced professionals, a lot can go wrong.
From understanding the general flow of a wedding and predicting when guests will be running to the bar, your bartenders have so much valuable insight to share.
Keep it simple!
Don't over-complicate your bar. Most people (even the professional drinkers) will get overwhelmed with too many options. A great option is to have two or three special cocktails, alongside a few types of beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks. This makes it easy to plan ahead and prepare a few different drinks to keep the line short once everyone heads to the bar.
We want everyone to have fun! We also want you all to get home safely
It's a given that many guests want to let loose and have a good time at your wedding, and we are here to achieve that goal! We are also here to make sure everyone is safe. In the state of Washington, the liquor laws are incredibly strict and are designed to place legal liability on the bartender. For example, if someone is over-served and takes a fall, your bartender can face some VERY serious legal consequences. If we have to cut someone off please know that it’s the last thing we want to do. We are just looking out for you and your future self tomorrow morning.
For those reasons, make sure to PROVIDE PLENTY OF WATER!!
Make sure you have at least 2 cups or bottles of water for every drink provided. Regardless if your guests are drinking alcohol or not, many will want to dance and this is the time we see the most water being consumed.
This is especially important for weddings taking place in hot weather - you don't want to have anyone fainting on your special day!
Know your guests and order accordingly
Chances are you and your soon-to-be spouse know your guests and their drinking preferences pretty well. Use that to your advantage! For my own wedding, I knew that the majority of our crowd were beer drinkers, so we stocked up on beer! For the few that weren’t beer people, we had one type of red wine, one type of white wine, some non-alcoholic drinks and water. Simple choices, everyone had something they wanted and our bartender was happy too.
Check for alcohol-specific rules that are set by your venue and/or company providing bar service
Many venues and/or the companies that provide bar services will have rules set in place to avoid liability. It is very common for couples and their guests to want to do shots at some point during their wedding. In Washington state, as mentioned above, the liquor laws look very intimidating to those responsible for serving alcohol. For that reason, many vendors do not allow shots in any form. It is always such a sad moment when your bartender has to be the No-Nonsense-Nancy and tell everyone no.