Should I have a mini bar inside my venue?

Will the venue allow a mini bar? There are some problems with a mini bar that we ran into. Our venue didn't have a built in bar and so they didn't have running water to wash anything, so no shakers for cocktails. Any drink had to be stirred. There was also no fridge available (which actually wasn't a problem for us) just ice so it meant a few beers were served at room temperature since they hadn't sat on the ice long enough to cool down.

I would check if a mini bar would be allowed and if there would be an extra cost. I can see them agreeing to it and then charging you for a bar tender or two to run it.

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Since you're not having a super big wedding, I think the servers can manage your guests drink orders. Do you know how many servers you will be having for your wedding? With 60 guests you can be fine with at little as 2 servers taking care of drinks.

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Hi Cliodhna,

We are having around 60 guests! It's not a super big wedding.

The reception ballroom is rather small... that is the only reason why we are struggling between having a mini bar or having the guests to order with the servers. We personally love the mini bar option as well, just not sure if we should make the room tighter and make the guests seat closer to each other in order to fit in the min bar.

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Hi Bianca,

Thanks for the reply! We are having an open bar. The only thing with the mini bar is that our venue does not have enough space to put the bar in the room not sure if we'd want to make the room tighter by adding the mini bar or just let the guests order with the servers.

Hi Jenny!

I personally also like the idea of the mini bar. I've never been to a wedding where I had to order drinks from a server so I don't have any experience to share about that.

As Bianca mentioned, if you're having an open bar, a minibar may be the best way to go.

How many guests are you having?

I like the minibar idea. I think it makes it more enjoyable for your guests to be able to get a drink instead of having to wait around for the server. Also, are you having an open bar? If so, definitely go with the minibar!

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Hi Erin,

The restaurant will allocate one server for every 7-8 guests to take down meal and drink orders. They also have extra bartenders on site (at the restaurant's bar) to make drinks for our guests.

I guess the thing that I'm worried about is having our guest to track down the servers to order drinks VS the guests can help themselves to order drinks. The last wedding that I've been to was when I was 5 years old, so I totally forgot about how wedding works in terms of drink ordering.

Any idea would be appreciated

I think if it's allowed, a mini bar would be better for your guests since they're not tracking down a sever. Also if the restaurant is busy would they have extra staff to be available for your wedding for drink service. Is the restaurant part preparing your meal, wouldn't they provide servers for you that could take drink orders? If you do go the mini bar way, you'll probably have to look into bar tenders.