TES12DAYSOFCHRISTMAS

Ever been at Wedding and all of a sudden, drinks finish? Remember the Wedding at Cana in the Bible...lol...We know God is still in the habit of performing miracles but it's better to be adequately prepared.

Today we have drinks expert and mixologist Omobola Akinwusi of Phlawlesscocktailsnmore dishing out awesome advice on adequate preparation for drinks at Weddings;

Drinks Service for Weddings

It's your big day, the day you have dreamt about all your life up until this moment...

You are aspiring to be the best wedding planner in your geographical location. You have been hired by a couple to plan their wedding...

You start making plans, hire a wedding planner or you have been hired as the wedding planner...

One of the major aspects of putting the reception refreshments together is getting the ideal drinks service providers. Note that drinks service covers the party drinks (minerals, water, beer, wine, juice...), the reception cocktails, the mobile bar service ( luxury drinks, liquor, shots, after party cocktail experience).

Here's a checklist of things to consider when choosing these drinks vendors...

1. Menu

Yes! Drinks menu, cocktails, bar service all have menus or rather are supposed to have menus. It can be physical or virtual. When you contact a drinks connoisseur or a mixologist the first set of questions asked are date, venue, number of guests, MENU. For a mixologist the person starts to suggest there & then or includes in the invoice types of mocktails or cocktails, classic or customised cocktails. For a drinks connoisseur types & brands of drinks are suggested. For mobile bar service different brand/ types of liquor & luxury drinks are taken into consideration. When drafting a menu, consider the season of the year, type of wedding, guest size, calibre of guest that would be present, duration of the wedding.

Tips: You don't want to buy drinks when prices are at the peak. You don't want to run out of drinks when 50% - 80% of your guests are still seated You don't want to get excess quantity of drinks than the number of guests.

2. Budget

This is very important when it comes to drinks. The budget determines the scope of service. There can't be a specific budget for all weddings but we can somewhat categorise budgets for drinks into Regular, affordable, premium & exclusive premium.

Budget Calculation for a typical nigerian wedding Water - 250% of guest size Minerals - 150% of guest size Juice - 60% - 70% of guest size Wine - 40% - 60% of guest size Cocktails - 50% - 70% of guest size Mobile bar service - 30% - 80% of guest size

Tip: Calculations may vary based on other factors like age range of guests, reception/ after party, geographical location

3. Factors to consider when choosing a drinks vendor. • Service delivery Or deliverables • Service process • Service Experience • Credibility • Accountability • Quality of service ( this most times depends on the budget) • Testimony from colleagues, family or friends who have employed the services of the drinks connoisseur, mixologist or mobile bar service company.

Tip: Don't depend solely on social media, ask around & find someone to testify about the vendor.

4. Duration of the wedding event

This is a factor to also consider as nowadays in Nigeria weddings run till 2am in the morning. You need to adequately spread the entire drinks refreshment to cover the duration of the wedding event from start to finish.

Consider if it's any of the following: ▪️Engagement➡️Reception ➡️ After party

▪️Reception ➡️ After party

▪️Reception only

Tip: The duration of the event influences the Quantity & Budget of drinks.