byob and liability issues

Damn Olivia I wish I was at your parent's party. I worry that is what mine will devolve into because we unfortunately could only arrange for one bartender when we probably need two, knowing our guests. But I do think a bartender is the ideal gatekeeper, at least for liquor. We are just setting beer out, but wine and liquor are poured.

Forgot to add that you could consider having someone there to just generally keep an eye on things? Whether its your DOC, if you have one, or someone else. My dad has been concerned about alcohol issues and his brother and sister volunteered to essentially be the party patrol later in the evening and make sure all is well with consumption/everyone getting on the busses to the hotel. I was worried it was asking a lot of them, but they seem to be unduly excited about this concept...

What is the best way you all found to find bartenders in your area? Like I said, where I was looking before I had a very difficult time finding people in the area. The venue did not have much for suggestions.

Just hire a bartender so that someone is keeping track of the alcohol and isn't serving to someone whose close to their limit! It helps A LOT!!

Also make sure your venue has a liquor license to serve.

It isn't illegal, but it is a liability. Just do what you can to protect your guests.

Doing a self-serve open bar here - beers, wines, and some liquors. All in a giant canoe filled with ice. No bar-tenders. Our venue does these kind of weddings every weekend and require that we purchase event insurance that includes host liquor liability (they have the required licenses like people are mentioning - make sure yours does too).

We're getting married in Maine and it's certainly not illegal. Just know your crowd - if you have people who cannot control themselves around self serve bar, I'd considering hiring a professional bartender where his/her job would be limiting your guests when they've had too much.

If you don't think that will be a problem, definitely purchase insurance with host liquor liability. Our insurance, that included that, was $175 - well worth it.

FutureMrswmh- check with your caterer (unless the venue is your caterer). My caterer contracts one out who he has worked with on many events. The caterer even provides all of the soda/mixers/bar items.

Otherwise, go to a local reputable bar (do those exist?) that you like and see if the bartender is licensed and if they ever do events. It's probably better to have one that does it on the regular though...

My caterer does not include bar services at all, that is why weve had such a hard time finding one. I will get in touch with future sister in law and ask about bars/bartenders in the area. Small towns means she probably knows someone.

Kelsey--that was kind of the plan, as the venue states that they do events this way frequently. They do not require that we purchase insurance for the event but we planned to anyways. I am not too worried about anyone acting a fool or overdrinking and driving. The two people I could picture drinking a little much are two people that are married to people that are DDs and dont drink.

We have found a few bartenders on Gigsalad that arent horribly priced and we are discussing our options of whether to hire someone from there, or just do to self serve and have liability insurance. Obviously, we still have a good chunk of time til we have to make a final decision. I appreciate everyone's insight! Thank you!

When when I posted something similar it was a laughing matter well I be Damn.

My venue is byob with a requirement to hire an officer while alcohol is served and a Licensed bartender

I was told that in my state, california, that if we were to serve liquor we have to have a professional bartender but if we serve wine & beer that we wouldnt have to have one. So we are serving just beer & Wine.

We can bring in our own stuff, but we have hired a bartender. To cut costs, we are doing a few signature drinks along with beer and wine.

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Do you know what the definition of "licensed bartender" is? I'm having the same issue but this seems to be somewhat of a misnomer. In NYC, it seems you are generally required to have a bartender (any human) plus a liquor license (a piece of paper) and that counts as legal, and the license does not need to have that person's name on it - it is specific to the location and event. I haven't found anywhere you can simply hire a person that is is "licensed" which actually covers the legal requirement. Does anyone know if this is the case?

As a bartender myself, we are doing a byob wedding to save on costs. The only liability is if someone drinks too much and drives. To prevent this you can limit the amount of alcohol you buy to just be lets say 2 beers per adult then filter out the ones you know don't drink. Also have whoever drinks put their keys in a bin if they drink and call ubers whenever they are ready to leave then redistribute keys in the morning. As for us we are having a dia de los muertos themed wedding, so we're doing a margarita machine and diy sangria bar. I'm gonna make the sangria mix in beverage dispensers and its self serve. We are also having beer wine sodas and water.

Our venue is BYOB and past the legal and hiring a bartender... How do you say it on the invitation that it is BYOB but it has to be served by the bartender? We will have a signature drink, tea, soda and lemonade also. But how do I put on the invitation so my guest know?