Bar Planning Tips

Part of your event planning process is to determine the goal and purpose of the event itself. Once that is figured out, one question off the list is whether or not there will be alcohol served. Be aware of any venue restrictions beforehand–is alcohol permitted, are full bars with liquor allowed, and any other details regarding bartending and serving.

If the decision is to have alcohol, you can choose from a few different options for your event.

Consumption

If your venue provides a consumption bar package, then this is typically the easiest route and best option to take for any corporate event. This takes the “guesswork” off your plate and into the hands of professionals that plan bars on a very regular basis. In a consumption package, the venue will take care of ordering, delivery, storage, chilling, setting up, and serving of the alcohol. It takes a lot off your event planning to do list and prevents any leftover alcohol that you may have had to deal with otherwise. For this option, you are charged post-event for what is consumed only. Just be sure that in the pre-event planning meetings you discuss with the venue manager the inventory process and calculations for the charges.

Ticket Bar

If providing alcohol lines up with the goal and purpose of the event, but you would still like the alcohol amount to be kept under control and limited, then a ticketed bar may be wise for your event. For this option you would administer a certain number of tickets to each guest–either at the door or beforehand–that are collected by the bartender for each drink ordered. Just like in a consumption bar, you only pay for the drinks consumed, but you have put a limit on how much could be served with a cap on how many tickets were administered.

Cash Bar

For the majority of events you would not want to offer a cash bar for your guests. If you do, though, you will want to ensure that the word is out beforehand, and guests are aware. In this case, the guests are paying for each drink they consume. This is the most budget-conscious option, although you may be stuck with an hourly bartender and convenience fee.

Flat-Rate Package

If you expect your guests to consume a very large amount of alcohol, then this package could be a best fit if your venue offers it. In this case, you pay a flat fee per hour and guest no matter how little or how much alcohol is actually consumed.

Now you know several different bar options–time to get planning!

WinMock at Kinderton offers bar service options that make planning your corporate event easy. Interested in learning more about WinMock at Kinderton’s unique setting and full-service corporate event planning? Please contact Angela Carleton at AngelaC@WinMock.com or 339.397.2010.

 

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