Professional Bartending Services for Your NC Wedding: What You Should Know.

The last thing you need to be worrying about on your wedding day is whether or not all of your bar issues are legal and in order. If you want liquor served on your wedding day, the best way to avoid issues is to hire an ABC-License NC bartending company. Professional bartending services will manage your bar, bartenders and alcohol. You’ll want to hire a company that is known for top notch service, beautiful presentation, and professionalism. After all, they’ll be working alongside your caterer, using the facilities of your venue, and part of the overall look of the day.

Do I need Bar Services for My NC Wedding?

If your venue does the catering and bartending in-house, then you don’t need to worry about hiring bartenders as a separate vendor. Make sure to ask about this during venue tours. In North Carolina, lots of event spaces do not have catering in-house. Some of those event spaces handle the bar, and in that case, you’ll plan a package with the venue sales rep based on your guest count. Other venues provide neither service, and you’re responsible for bringing in food and alcohol yourself – along with all of the liabilities involved.

Having a venue that allows you to bring your own food and alcohol has its advantages! You have the opportunity to pick whatever food style you like, and shop around for style and price preferences. Many caterers offer alcohol service, but not all of them do. And some can only offer wine and beer. If your caterer does not carry an ABC license for bartending services, you’ll need to hire professional bartenders for your wedding.

How Much Do Beer and Wine versus Open Bar Packages Cost in Raleigh, Durham and throughout NC?

Prices vary with bar services, but prices are roughly similar to drinking at a bar – plus, fees to cover staff, who attend your event to make and serve the drinks.

Packages are typically based on a per person basis, by the hour, as opposed to by consumption. The assumption is most people will drink about 2 drinks per hour.

Beer and wine packages will cost less than liquor packages – perhaps in the $12-$15 range per person.

Open Bar packages – meaning liquor is on the menu – are $20+ per hour.

In both of these scenarios, expect staff and travel fees on top of this, as well as tax & gratuity.

A great money-saving option is to have a cocktail hour in which there is one specialty liquor drink. After that, you can move to a wine and beer package.

Considerations when Hiring Bartending Services Company for your Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill NC Wedding

Before you reach out to bartending companies, book your wedding venue. Also, be ready to share an approximate guest count. Having the menu will help with drink selection. This goes back to why it is so important to book your wedding venue, caterer and bartending services all in tandem.

Now, you can get into the fun stuff! Consider a bar stocked with fine wines, local Raleigh Durham or Chapel Hill beers. Or, splurge for an open bar. Either way, let’s face it – the drink list is fun!

• Find a WEDDING Bar Service
  Many onsite and mobile bar companies in NC specialize in weddings. They’ll even help you come up with a specialty cocktail menu if you’d like (um, yes please!).
• The Bar is Part of the Wedding Look!
  Ask your Rental Company about specialty bars to bring onsite for the reception! There are so many great styles that can add a great deal of ambience. These bar services have options in hand, but there are also upgrades or different bar options from local rental companies. The sky is the limit!
• Plan a Fun Bar Menu
  Triangle & Eastern NC based bar service, Brewmasters Mobile, shared a lot of ideas of how to make the drinks and bar a major part of your wedding theme.