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Wedding bar setup

Joolie567Joolie567 member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Wedding Reception Forum
We're doing a very casual backyard wedding and are looking for ideas on how to arrange a bar . . . we'd like to avoid bartender if possible, but we aren't really sure how we'd set this up without one.  We were thinking about getting some jugs and making premade cocktails that guests could then add ice too etc. and then having a unique cooler (suggestions needed!) for beer?  Has any one had any luck with this?
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Re: Wedding bar setup

  • MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
    Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    I would do those pitcher tap things that they sell at pottery barn or crate & barrel for some mixed drinks.  Then people could just fill up their glass.  For beer, I would do a tub with ice, beer, soda, etc.  Then people can just grab a bottle.  For ice, a cooler or tub with an ice scoop should work.  
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  • SP29SP29 member
    Sixth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    Good ideas!


    A cooler with ice would suffice for pop, water and beer. 

    I saw an awesome idea once- the couple use a canoe as the "cooler" to match their theme filled with ice and beer. Might be a bit pricey, and obviously the ice melted over time, but it looked neat...
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    Eighth Anniversary 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 25 Answers
    I would reconsider not having a bartender.  For one, who will be in charge of cleaning up and refilling the jugs when they run low or out of your premixed cocktails?  Same with whatever you are putting beer, soda and water into?

    Also having a bartender is a great safety net for any guests that may drink a bit too much or for any underage guests trying to sneak a drink.  It is part of a bartenders job to cut people off when they have had too much.  Without one, people will have free reign to drink as much as they want and if anything happens during the evening or on the way home you could be held responsible.

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  • MobKazMobKaz member
    Knottie Warrior 5000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    If it is in your budget, perhaps you could rent a margarita machine.  Stick to bottled or premade beverages such as sangria.  There are a lot of DIY ways to create self serve containers.  I like this idea a lot.  The smaller buckets could hold items such as can openers and drying towels. A personal pet peeve of mine is pulling a bottle out of a cooler of ice and being stuck with a dripping bottle!

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  • emmyg65emmyg65 member
    1000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers First Anniversary
    We didn't have a bartender at our wedding. It was a casual backyard BBQ, so it worked. We just had beer, wine, sangria (premixed in a punch bowl), and fixings for gin and tonic and dark 'n' stormies. Plus fruit-infused water in beverage dispensers and soda. 

    We had all our stuff set out in advance. We ended up using a kiddie pool full of ice for the beer, a large bucket for the soda, and nice galvanized steel tubs for the white wine and champagne. We also stored all our extra cases under the table with a sign for people to check under there if we were running low.

    I think it worked for us because our wedding was super casual. Essentially, it was just like any other summer party you might go to. And our friends and family are chill and self-sufficient. We also had a bunch of family helping out who did a great job of refilling stuff.
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  • grumbledoregrumbledore member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its First Anniversary First Answer
    Maggie0829 said:
    I would reconsider not having a bartender.  For one, who will be in charge of cleaning up and refilling the jugs when they run low or out of your premixed cocktails?  Same with whatever you are putting beer, soda and water into?

    Also having a bartender is a great safety net for any guests that may drink a bit too much or for any underage guests trying to sneak a drink.  It is part of a bartenders job to cut people off when they have had too much.  Without one, people will have free reign to drink as much as they want and if anything happens during the evening or on the way home you could be held responsible.
    This.  It's well worth the expense to have someone handling all of this, especially when it comes to over-serving.

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