Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

Coffee Service Dilemma

So our wedding venue is a beautiful farm in Southern California that doesn't provide any "services". We are opting for a taco station for food however it just dawned on me that we should serve coffee with the cake. This means either making coffee early on (at like 3:30 before the wedding) and leaving it out in hopes that by cake time there is still enough for everyone to have a cup and hoping that it is still hot when we cut cake at around 8 pm, or hiring a vendor JUST FOR COFFEE (which will undoubtedly be expensive). I have sent a request out to a coffee truck to see what they would charge me to set up at the venue. My question is in everyone's opinion would the coffee being out at the venue during the whole reception length be the better option (if you were the guest) or would you rather walk up to a coffee truck where you are either treated to one regular coffee from the bride and groom or have the option to purchase a fancier coffee, such as a mocha? We are not doing a cash bar, however to minimize costs we are allowing him to place a tip jar. I would hate for people to tip him heavily not knowing that they may need money for coffee later on. If I do go with the truck what would be the best way to address this with the guests?? Has anyone had this problem before?? HELP!!!!

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Re: Coffee Service Dilemma

  • I appreciate your input, however not everybody can afford to fit the bill for 100%. I have been to many weddings where I had no problem putting a tip in the tip jar for a bartender, and if people have a problem with putting a $5 bill in the tip jar so they can have FREE drinks all night, then they can stick to the water and soda provided. I am not having a dry wedding simply because some people don't want to tip a bartender. I highly doubt any of my guests would give it a second thought. My question here was not in regards to the bartender and your statements really avoided the question entirely. As I am not even getting married in the state I live in it would be kind of hard to hire "some college kid" that is local there, when I am not. 

  • Buying a Kuerig and enough packs for everyone would cost me more than having someone cater just the coffee, so that really makes no sense.

  • See and that is why I asked, because from my point of view as a guest I would rather pay for something I'm going to enjoy than drink something I'm not. I was trying to determine if it was worth it to pay someone to set up and give them an option, but apparently according to you If I'm not ok with dropping $500+ on coffee there is no point and basically screw what they like, they'll get regular 4 hour old coffee and deal with it.

    And anyone that knows us would not be offended by paying $4 for a coffee if it is what they wanted as they know we are on a very tight budget. Most of the people we are inviting are quite excited we are even spending the money to travel there for a wedding instead of asking people to travel to us.


  • The $500+ is what it would cost if I made the coffee bar a free for all as you were so against me buying them plain coffee only. I am not open to the idea of buying a Keurig and making people wait in line while the stupid thing brews people their coffee and making a freaking mess all over the place with those pods. Way too much hassle there. All together to purchase a Keurig and those pods you are correct it would be about $200, however if I'm going to be providing crappy coffee I can do it for about $50 the original way of making it in a 100 cup maker and letting it sit there for 5 hours, or for half that price I can have a caterer provide just plain coffee...so again your Keurig option is out of budget compared to the original 2 I was considering.

    I realize it may be hard for some people to grasp the concept of not being able to afford to spend extra money where it's not needed, but if you can't grasp the concept of needing to put together a budget wedding then your really less helpful than you would like to think you are.

  • edited February 2015
    Ummm yeah I'm not trying to make sure the coffee machine is working right after never using it before when I'm trying to enjoy my wedding day...hence the reason it would be made in advance. Again, this was an option I outlined in the beginning of the post, yet you all deferred from that and chose to berate me for not having funds to pay for things. It's really sad that you chose that tactic.And to me crappy coffee is anything not flavored....since not everybody is going to potentially like a flavored coffee it would be crappy coffee.

  • edited February 2015
    I'm not making people do anything I was giving them an option to have a fancier drink if they so choose. As to hiring a random person off craigslist that I do not know to work at my wedding? Sorry I'm not crazy, too many issues can go wrong with that. As to the bartendr, I am getting a smoking deal as I already stated on the bartender BECAUSE I AM ALLOWING THE TIP JAR. Without the tip jar the hourly rate would be higher and I would still have to tip out of pocket by myself for the whole night. So that $200 would not make a dent in your plan there.

    Lastly, the venue is in the country and for the SAFETY of my guests I would like to offer coffee toward the evening to make sure nobody is driving home too tired, some people may need a pick me up for the drive home, so going without would be more detrimental than simply offering SOMETHING.

    Thank you have a nice evening

  • I don't think you are understanding the coffee truck, I would pay for regular coffees. Nobody is forcing a guest to pay for anything. If they CHOOSE to get something else then that is their option. As I stated the venue is in the country and it is at least a 30 minute drive before you hit a place to purchase a coffee. I care about the people invited and want to ensure they have an ability to get coffee if they need it prior to driving, I wouldn't be forcing it on anybody. Given the venue location I am trying to make sure the people I care about make it home safe. Why would I not care about the peopIe I invite to our wedding?

  • Thank you, finally someone with some advice instead of criticism.

    It's hard enough as it is trying to plan a wedding on my budget, comments about it being tacky to have guests pay for things really don't help. All they do is put me into a funk, when I SHOULD be happy that I'm planning the day I marry my best friend.

  • is coffee with cake an expectation at weddings in your circle?  I'm honestly curious because I've never noticed it at weddings before, but then again I'm not an evening coffee drinker so I would turn it down or not notice it at all.

  • I've never had coffee at a wedding before so you might not need as much as you think. Just have your caterer provide it and it should be pretty cheap.


    As for tipping your bartender, I don't carry cash with me ever. So they wouldn't be getting a tip from people like myself, so you'll likely end up having to tip them yourself anyways. Just keep that in mind.

  • abl13 said:

    I've never had coffee at a wedding before so you might not need as much as you think. Just have your caterer provide it and it should be pretty cheap.


    As for tipping your bartender, I don't carry cash with me ever. So they wouldn't be getting a tip from people like myself, so you'll likely end up having to tip them yourself anyways. Just keep that in mind.

    Same here. I rarely have cash. Even if I did, I would side-eye the tip jar since I would assume the bartender wasn't supposed to put it out and did anyway, since the hosts should be paying the bartender's tip.
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