Go through the trouble of understanding proper bar setup ahead of time.

If you have narrowed down your reception venue and selected an off-site location where you are responsible for bringing in your own food and drink, consider yourself lucky! The retail price of liquor for you, the consumer, is often 25% to 33% less expensive than what would be charged by a restaurant, hotel or club. That means having more direct control over your cost, which is a great thing to have when working within the confines of a budget.

The Bar Setup

Before determining how much alcohol to purchase for your wedding, see if your caterer can provide you with bartenders and the bar setup (which can vary based on the what type of alcohol you are planning to offer). Does your caterer include  ice, bar equipment and bar fruits (lemons, limes, cherries, olives) or just mixers and fruits for their bar setup? Find this out and make sure you are clear about what additional items, besides just the alcohol, you will need to purchase.

Regardless of whatever type of bar setup is offered with your chosen caterer,  I highly recommend that you take advantage of it, as it will be a large burden off of your shoulders! The charge for setup can go anywhere from an additional $100 to $350 per bar.

For those of you that have hired caterers that do not offer this type of service, don’t despair! Below is a list of non-alcoholic items, mixers, garnishes and equipment you can plan on purchasing to setup your bar (to simplify, I have provided quantities for 100 guests assuming a 4 hour reception).

Non-alcoholic drinks and mixers

• Sparkling water: 15, 25-oz bottles
• Bottled water: 15, 1.5-liter bottles
• Tonic water: 6 liters
• Club soda: 6 liters
• Ginger ale: 6 liters
• Cola: 8 liters
• Diet cola: 8 liters
• Lemon-lime soda: 8 liters
• Cranberry juice: 8 quarts
• Orange juice: 4 quarts
• Grapefruit juice: 2 quarts
• Margherita mix: 2 liters
• Magherita salt: 1 container
• Lime juice: 1, 25-ounce bottle
• Grenadine: 1, 25-ounce bottle
• Bitters: 1 jar
• Olives: 1 jar
• Maraschino cherries: 1 jar
• Lemons: 4
• Limes: 8
• Ice: 250 lbs

Supplies

• Corkscrews and bottle openers
• Garnish bowls
• Ice buckets
• Ice tongs
• Ice tubs
• Knife and cutting board
• Citrus squeezers
• Long-handled spoons for mixing
• Shot glasses for measuring
• Measuring cups
• Cocktail shakers
• Strainers
• Cocktail napkins
• Sponges and dish towels
• Garbage can and trash bags

Keep in mind that this list will vary depending on the type of drinks you would like to offer your guests. Open bar? Beer and wine only? Beer, wine and a signature cocktail? Remember, a happy balance that will keep you within budget while accommodating to your guest preferences is ideal and always available! Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 in my alcohol series. For a quick and more immediate reference, please download the following liquor guide.

Tags: Catering, Wedding Planning

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 4:44 am and is filed under Catering, Wedding Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.