Hiring Bartending Service for Wedding Receptions
When most people start booking vendors for their wedding reception or another large events, they often don’t know what they don’t know. They will run “bartender service for wedding near me” through a search engine, cross their fingers, and often go with the first service that they click on.
Making matters worse, people are often on information overl0ad – they get conflicting information on who to hire, how much the wedding bartending service should cost, the differences between different mobile bartending services, and so on. And all of this tends to occur while couples are juggling a dozen other factors and vendors.
Top Shelf Bartending has worked to earn the trust of clients by being open and forthcoming with both pricing and expectations. We want all of clients to know what to look for when booking vendors – particularly mobile bartending services like ours – so that their event or wedding receptions goes off flawlessly.
And while we think that we provide top-notch service, we also recognize that we are not necessarily the best fit for every event or special occasion. Other times, it’s simply not practical for us to provide service based on the location of an event or reception.
Below are 6 Things to Consider before hiring bartending service for wedding receptions and special events:
1. Speak with the Venue About Bartender Service for a Wedding, Specifically
Many venues are multi-purpose facilities that run concerts and private parties, in addition to wedding receptions. These may have different insurance requirements based on the event type – more on this below – and a given venue may or may not have a list of preferred partners or preferred vendors.
A lot of Top Shelf Bartending’s business comes directly from venue referrals. We work to provide outstanding service to venues, and to protect their interests with responsible alcohol control.
In turn, the venues that we regularly partner with are glad to refer us, ensuring professional service and ultimately making their clients happier.
As suggested above, many venues require mobile bartending services to be fully insured – in this case, to possess an annual policy called Retail Liquor Liability Insurance.
Newer or inexperienced venues may not have this requirement – venues in Pennsylvania may require that bartenders possess a RAMP Certification, for example – but most venues with some seasoning will not want to expose themselves to alcohol-related liability.
Lastly, some venues will only let clients pick from an approved vendor list. This might limit the number of choices a client has for bartending service at their wedding.
2. Confirm Your Guest Count
Guest counts at wedding reception can fluctuate wildly. When couples first get engaged, they will sometimes have guest lists numbering 250 or more, as their enthusiasm is understandably at a peak.
As the event starts drawing closer and hosts are forced to take a closer look at their guest lists, they may determine that the final count needs to be significantly smaller. For instance, a couple’s chosen venue may only be able to host 150 guests or less. This could require hosts to pare down their guest lists quite a bit.
Practical realities – guests being unable to attend due to travel arrangements or conflicts, and so on – could also knock down an initial guest count. It’s difficult for mobile bartending services such as Top Shelf Bartending to provide accurate quotes until the guest count is close to finalized.
So while it’s good to reach out and open a line of dialogue with a potential bartending service for a wedding reception or event, it will be difficult to get into the nuts and bolts of the service – specifically, the cost – until most of the RSVPs are back in.
That said, Top Shelf Bartending encourages clients to contact us when their guest count is in a certain range – maybe 150-175 guests, for instance.
3. Ask About Insurance for Bartending Service at a Wedding
A mistake that many people getting married for the first time make is that they hire vendors who are not properly insured. This is doubly important as it concerns alcohol service.
Top Shelf Bartending has written a number of articles specifically about the differences between our insurance policy and Host Liability policies.
Again, bluntly: single-use Host Liability Policies typically do not provide sufficient coverage in the event of an alcohol-related incident.
Our strongest piece of advice for any client or couple searching “bartending services near me” is to first ask the mobile bartending service about their insurance. If you get an indirect or suspicious answer, the chances are that the wedding bartending service does not have sufficient insurance.
4. Have a Thorough Conversation with the Business Owner or Manager
When you hire a professional for bar service, you’ll want to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Top Shelf Bartending has a process where we “interview” clients and potential clients – we call it our spiel – where we walk through the timeline of a given event or private party:
- Estimated Guest Count
- Arrival Time
- Ceremony or Start Time
- Cocktail Hour or Pre-Dinner Serving Time
- Are there Signature Drinks or Custom Cocktails?
- Will there be a Champagne Toast?
- Will we be serving through dinner?
- Bridal or Dollar Dance?
- End Time
It’s important, in our view, to talk through the basics of an event or wedding receptions before we move forward with contracts, wedding bartender packages, or anything else.
Here are some questions to ask your potential wedding bartender or mobile bartending service, ideally before you sign on the dotted line:
- What are the bartender rates per hour?
- What wedding bartender packages do you offer?
- What are the specific costs for a full service bar?
- Can you break down costs for mixed drinks versus just beer and wine?
- How many cups or glasses does he or she recommend?
- Can you provide glassware?
- Does the mobile bartending service provide ice, or do the hosts?
- How many drinks per person per hour?
- Any suggestions on budget friendly drinks?
- Are Tip Jars or Host Gratuity (or both) appropriate?
There are a lot of questions to cover – generally too many for an email chain or back-and-forth texting. A 20-minute conversation with the business owner or manager is often the best way to answer all of a client’s questions about bartending service for wedding receptions or bar service for wedding costs.
5. Get an Alcohol Estimate
Top Shelf Bartending provides all clients with buying guides based on their respective guest counts.
Part of our process is to scale guides by every 25 guests – 125 guests, 150 guests, etc. We find that this is the most accurate way to gauge the liquor, beer, wine, ice, and mixers that each reception will need.
Bar service for wedding costs will vary based on a number of factors: the quantities and types of liquor, wine, and beer, the final guest count, and so on.
Just to put some very rough numbers out, we have found that the liquor and wine with guest counts of ~125 can cost $400-$800, depending on the client’s choices. Beer, delivered, for a similar guest count can cost anywhere from $200-$500.
Top Shelf Bartending can do free quotes for any potential client. If you are booking bartending service for wedding receptions in the near future and need some help with alcohol costs, feel free to reach out.
6. Get a Rough Cost Estimate for Bartending Service for Your Wedding Reception
So, how much does bar service for wedding receptions generally cost?
Here’s one estimate that Top Shelf Bartending did for a wedding reception in 2022. The final guest count was scheduled to fall between 200 and 250 guests:
Two Bartenders, Service/Insurance: $450Mixer Package (Wedding Bartender Package) for ~200 Guests: $550Mixer Package for ~225 Guests: $600Mixer Package for ~250 Guests: $650Ice (20-22 lb bag) x 22: ~$110Rough Beer + Ice Cost, Delivered: ~$500-$550Rough liquor/wine cost breakdown:Tito’s Vodka 1.75 L x 7: ~$200Jack Daniel’s 1.75L x 7: ~$365Captain Morgan 1.75L x 7: ~$180Black Box Wine x 10: $230Rough Liquor Total: ~$975Rough Totals~200 Guests – Two Bartenders, Service/Insurance, Mixer Package– $1000~225 Guests – Two Bartenders, Service/Insurance, Mixer Package – $1050~250 Guests – Two Bartenders, Service/Insurance, Mixer Package– $1100Beer/Ice Delivered + Liquor/Wine for ~200 Guests – $1300-$1500, depending on choices
