- “Whether the bartenders are simply pouring wine and beer, or whether they’re going to be making signature cocktails.” A starting point is $35/hour, she says, but you might pay someone with.
- Much like regular bartenders, wedding bartenders often check identification, clean equipment, manage supplies, and help direct any assistants. Unlike regular bartending, you may be paid a flat fee plus the cost of supplies, so you may bill one client for the entire amount instead of.
- Optional Add-On Items: These Items can be added on for an additional cost, based on how many guests you are expecting. Mixers - Coca Cola, Sprite, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, Club Soda, Tonic, Sour Mix, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice & Cranberry Juice (Others Available); Garnishes - Limes (Others Available); Cups - High quality clear plastic for wine and liquor drinks.
It’s not the most high-quality photobooth, but it did the trick since we didn’t want to pay $800-$1,000 for one. Nick the bartender was even helping people figure out how to use it at first.
Almost everyone who plans a wedding has to decide how much of their budget to allocate toward the bar and how many beverages to stock their wedding bar with.
A wedding planner should be equipped to help with this information.
Before you read this article, watch this video for the formula to calculate cost for a 100 person wedding. You can use the same formula for any number of guests.
Now that you’ve watched the video, read details below.
To start, a good rule of thumb is to assume the average guest will consume two drinks during the first hour and then one drink for each hour thereafter.
Alcohol Budget
The cost of an average open bar at a wedding can account for 10 – 20% of the wedding budget. And don’t forget that tipping the bar tenders at the end of the night can run as much as 20% of the final bar tab.
By using the above rule of thumb of two drinks during the first hour and one drink thereafter per guest, you can assume that the average drink costs you $5. Multiply the cost by the number of guests by the number of hours for your open bar to get the total cost.
Let’s look at an example to help – lets say you have 150 people at your wedding. It is always better to overestimate than to come up short so lets say the average person consumes 6 drinks. That means 900 drinks will be consumed at an average cost of $5 each.
Your open bar budget should be $4500 in this example.
How Many Alcoholic Beverages are Needed
Use this as a rule of thumb – these are averages for the number of bottles needed per hour per guest:
- For every 25 guests, you will need 17 bottles of beer, 4 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of liquor (per hour).
- For every 50 guests, you will need 34 bottles of beer, 7 bottles of wine and 2 bottle of liquor (per hour).
- For every 100 guests, you will need 67 bottles of beer, 14 bottles of wine and 4 bottle of liquor (per hour).
Keep in mind the above averages are PER HOUR, so multiply those by each hour your open bar will be available.
The average wedding keeps the bar open for up to 5 hours.
Most Popular Wedding Reception Drinks
We polled hundreds of wedding planners and here are the most popular mixed drinks at weddings:
- Martinis
- Margaritas
- Pina Coladas
- Daiquiris
- Mojitos
Average Glasses Per Bottle
Bartender Prices For Parties
- The typical bottle of liquor for mixed drinks can make 18 cocktails.
- The typical bottle of champagne makes 8 glasses.
- The typical bottle of wine makes 5 glasses.
A safe estimate to make is that each guest will consume 5 drinks on average during the wedding.
For advice on bartender staffing we have this article.
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Average wedding costs in California range from $20-$30K. A bartending service will not only save you money, but will allow you to add a special touch to the reception by allowing us to create specialty cocktails match your wedding theme.
Average wedding costs in California range from $20-$30K. A bartending service will not only save you money, but will allow you to add a special touch to the reception by allowing us to create specialty cocktails match your wedding theme.
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*Final prices are subject to change based on additional requests, time, or rentals.
1 Hour Setup
1/2 Hour Breakdown
1 Portable Bar (optional)
1-2 Hour Setup
1/2 Hour Breakdown
1 Portable Bar (optional)
1-2 Hour Setup
1/2 Hour Breakdown
1 Portable Bar (optional)Drink-ware (plastic)
Fruit Infused Water Station (with compostable cups)
Ice
Alcohol,
Red Bull
1-2 Hour Setup
1/2 Hour Breakdown
1 Portable Bar (optional) Glassware (plastic glassware)
Water Station (with garnishes)
Ice
Alcohol / Beer / Wine
Water, Lemonade, Ice Tea, Coffee/Tea Station
Staff (Servers & Barbacks)
Rent A Bartender
Wedding Bartender Cost
Entertainment Service
Want to have high entertainment with DJs, Sound System and Photo-booth? Look no further. Contact us for more details
Insurance & Liability
Bartenders For Weddings
Certain venues require you to have insurance for your wedding. Look no further, we can provide Licensing and Insurance. You won’t hear excuses or delays when you request verifiable credentials from us. We offer General & Liquor Liability Insurance for every wedding.