Alcohol & Bar
You must have a bartender serve all alcoholic beverages
It's easiest to hire bartenders through your full-service caterer. Bartenders will need to have TIPS or SERV-Safe certification as well as liquor liability insurance. If your caterer does not have bartenders on staff please visit our Vendors page here.
How many bartenders do we need?
It is required that you have at least one bartender for every 75 guests. If not, the lines for the bar become very long, especially at the beginning cocktail hour and right before the toasts.
How much alcohol do we need?
It depends on whether your guests are light drinkers, heavy drinkers or a mix of both--best practice is to ask your caterer or bartender. CLICK HERE for a great blog post about a practical calculator for your wedding. I like that it gets you thinking about what you "really" need (or really don't need).
Who will supply my alcohol? Who will supply the ice for beverages?
You are responsible for providing all of the alcoholic beverages and ice for the Event: purchasing it yourselves and/ or having your caterer or bartender provide it.
Can I drop off alcohol and ice that day before the Event?
Alcohol and ice need to be brought on the day of the event.
Can I put my beverages in the caterer's refrigerator to help ice it down?
Generally, the caterer's refrigerator is for food only. However, with the approval of the ACF Event Coordinator, if your beverages arrive in the morning and there is nothing in the caterer’s refrigerator, you may use it to begin cooling your beverages. Once the caterer arrives, they will have first priority over beverages.
Just a few reminders...
Shots and alcohol over the rocks is not permitted.
No cash bars are permitted (we do NOT have a license to sell alcohol).
Open bars where guests serve themselves is strictly prohibited (sorry, no beer canoes, drinking games or self-serve beer trucks).
Alcoholic beverages are to be served in clear plastic only; no glass is permitted at the bar--glass + dance floor + bare feet never mix well (glass is permitted at tables, such as water glasses or for champagne toasts).
Alcoholic beverages are to be served with food (there's a good reason local bars require this).
Kegerator/ keg refrigerator required for all kegs (if not, it's a foamy, slippery mess!)
Alcohol may be consumed on the premises, with the exception of the parking lot or in vehicles (for obvious reasons).
Alcohol service to minors is strictly prohibited (for obvious reasons).
Alcohol service must stop no later than five (5) hours after the alcohol service start time or thirty (30) minutes prior to the Event end time, whichever is earlier (it's a long time for free drinks and guests need at least 30 minutes to sober up before heading home).
No “last call” for alcohol (but you can place a small sign on the bar letting guests know what time it closes).
At any time, if Alum Creek Farm deems alcohol consumption to be excessive, the staff has the authority to close down all alcohol service and/or evict inebriated guests from the property (we've never had to do this and we're thankful we've been blessed with respectful couples and guests).
At any time, if Alum Creek Farm finds guests serving themselves alcohol, the alcohol will be confiscated and a $250 fee per incident will be taken out of the damage and security deposit.