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So you're having a wedding, and you're interested in hiring a Professional Bartender to take care of you and your guests?
Great choice! But, why and how should you choose a Bartending Service? With quality bartending services, guests will be rewarded with memorable experiences.
Here is what you need to know:
A full-service bartending service will typically include a variety of bar packages for you to choose from at different price points, depending on the formality of your event and the requirements of your venue. The Bartending staff will likely be comprised of bartenders, bar backs, and service staff. The bartenders pretty much stay behind the bar all night, the bar backs do the less fancy work (refill bar ice, retrieve more wine bottles from the back, empty trash, etc), and the wait staff serves the guests at the tables, removes empty and discarded glasses, passes champagne, and cleans up after guests.
Staff usually arrives about 1 – 2 hours before bar services begin, to make sure that the beer, wine, and liquor are iced down and ready for service, that the bar is set up with all of the proper bar items, and that everything is set and ready to go to serve your guests when they arrive. They stay throughout the event and often provide final clean-up of all bar items and glassware.
Don't forget to ask your potential bar service these important questions!
1. Are they insured? This is really important, as not all bartenders are!
2. What do they provide? It’s important to have your bartending service list exactly what they are providing. Otherwise, there will be assumptions made by both parties as to who is providing what and it’s never fun to be mistaken on a wedding day. A professional will have no problem listing exactly what is included.
3. Are you considering a pre-cocktail hour before your ceremony? If so, you’ll need staff members for passed drinks and the bar open upon guest arrival, as all guests arriving at one time will overwhelm a bar.
4. Do they provide clean up throughout the event, like removing empty and discarded glassware? Not all companies provide this service, so you may be left with tables full of glasses at the end of the night, that someone will have to clean up before you can leave. Emptying tables full of glasses in your wedding dress is no way to end a night!
5. Do they provide trash removal at end of the night? A lot of venues will require that all trash be removed from the premises at the end of the night and not all bartenders are equipped or prepared to take 5 – 6 industrial-sized bags of glass bottles with them!
6. What non-alcoholic options will your bartender provide? Infused waters, lemonades, sodas, tea, coffee?
7. What glassware or plastic-ware is included? What does it look like?
8. Will they help you with suggestions on quantities and types of alcohol to order?
9. Does your bartending service company require an additional gratuity to their staff? If so, how much per staff member? Or will they allow or require a tip jar? If you do not allow a tip jar at the bar during your event, the expectation is that you will give a gratuity, large enough to cover what the bartenders would have made.
10. Who will deliver your alcohol order to the venue? A lot of our area liquor stores will deliver your order to the venue, for a very small delivery fee.
11. What happens with the leftover alcohol at the end of the night? This needs to be a responsible adult, over the age of 21. A parent, family member, or trusted friend with a vehicle on-site would be the best choice for this task.
12. Does your venue require you to purchase wedding insurance? If so, they will typically require a rider that covers the bar service.
If you're wondering, Exquisite Taste Mobile Bartending can assist and provide all the details for your special day. Contact us for the best Bartending and Wait Staff Services in the Greater Houston and Surrounding areas. Check out our Facebook reviews and testimonials on our website and see what people are saying...
Meka Lewis
Exquisite Taste Mobile Bartending
337-274-7326