Hiring a Bartender

I used to bartend, I worked for catering and different restaurants. I did a couple private parties and they usually gave me a set fee. I did a party for 5 hours and they paid me $300, so $13/hr does seem VERY cheap haha. I would pay her AT LEAST $100, and then tip on top of that, it only seems fair.

Just wanted to add that at the catering company they paid us $100 per event no matter how long it was, plus tip. It depended on the person how much they would tip, it is obviously up to you and you can decide AFTER you see how well she does :-)

Totally depends on where you are I think. I've seen such a variation even in the one area where I am looking.

However, you may want to check with your venue and make sure that it's ok, sometimes you need to have a liquor license and certain amount of insurance to have someone serve.

However, that does seem a little low... I think I've seen about $100 per bartender per 75 people for 3 hours as the average.

Hope that helps!

See I thought it seemed very cheap! lol I knew I wasn't losing my marbles on that! I was thinking $200...She has to do the cocktail hour then reception...It's not major drinks since we are not doing a full bar. We are supplying the alcohol for our signature drinks for cocktail hour, which I told her to continue to serve those until she runs out of ingredients for the drinks...There will also be beer, wine, selection of sodas, water, lemonade, and sweet tea. We planned on tipping her too. We also are including her in the meal service and covering her dinner, drinks, and told her she could attack the candy buffet with the rest of the guests lol

She is going to do a mocktail for us for the older kids...Like shirley temples, roger rabbit...But we asked for a rainbow cocktail for my drink so I asked her to make a mocktail that looked like that one.

Thank you for the info! Very much appreciated!

We paid ours $100 and she was there from about 2-8 so, 7 hours. Thats roughly $14.25/hour plus she got whatever tips she made (which was around $100) she also helped light candles and put out the cheese and crackers, but I thought that was completely fair. Im a bartender and I would have done it for that!

We also had most guests serve themselves to beer, soda and bottled water. She was only making mixed drinks and we only provided the basics, so there was nothing difficult!

Where I work... I get $4/hour plus tips for the same amount of time. Then I have to claim most of it... so $14/hour CASH id do it in a heartbeat!

No prob! If she never did private parties that is probably why she didn't know what to ask for. Obviously if it is more than she expected she will be happy not matter what. If she is doing any crazy drink mixing like long islands and Alabama slammers than it will definitely make it easier on her LOL

Have you checked your venue's licensing restrictions on alcohol service, if any? Our venue required us to use a bartender that carried all types of liability insurance and certifications with the City. (That's Chicago though, there are rules for everything.)

I believe the line item for each staff person was $600 for an 8 hour open bar. ETA: I imagine the actual bartenders did not get paid $600, the company probably took at least a third of that charge. Grrrrr City of Chicago.

When you tip, I would tip 15 or 20% of what you spent on booze.

Im with Amy C and Amy B. I worked in the business a long time. Id request the day off for a gig like this.

In Texas she has to have her TABC license which she has it...We are doing our wedding out at Huntsville State Park, everything is DIY...They have park rangers out there plus we will be contacting the city's police department to hire off duty officers for security and making sure everyone is safe. They told us that we had to provide everything. I think though I will call them back and double check! I don't want any of us getting into trouble.

Heather...She only has to do 2 mixed drinks...one of which is the long island iced tea but we switched something around in it (idk what it was off the top of my head) but it's called Texas Tea lol

Our bartender is being supplied by the catering company and costs $150 for 5 hours. We also had to provide an ABC license for the day.

We are paying our bartender $125 for 4 hours and an hour for set up/clean up. We are also providing the liquor

Pay her more and tell her not to put out a tip jar.

I am the owner of a bar catering service and I get this question a lot. In this case, you would expect to pay the bartender between $25-$35/hr, depending on where in the country you’re at.

To answer this question most effectively, you have to take into consideration what you’re getting for your money. To pay for the labor is one thing. Freelance bartenders are free contractors. They don’t have overhead, they have very little risk involved, and they go home at the end of the night in most cases.

People are often surprised that our packages start at $1500. But the difference between a freelance bartender and a bar catering service is the difference between a chef and a restaurant. When you go to a restaurant, you’re paying for an experience. Not just the labor.

Just like in a restaurant, you wouldn’t expect to pay for JUST the food. When you hire a bar caterer, you’re paying for the convenience of having professionals handle the beverage service for you.

If you’d like to understand more about how this kind of pricing works out, you can check out this post: http://www.island-bartenders.com/?p=94

Hi there! I own a bar catering service, as well. I concur with what Krysta recited above in reference to the hourly pay of a bartender. $25-$35 is a typical going rate.

How we bid out our bartenders depends on the type of package they are getting. We offer BIB ("Bartender in the Box") packages, whereas, the host supplies all the beverages and we send just a bartender & a box of all the necessary bar tools to perform the job included at $35 per hour.

However, we also offer inclusive alcohol packages for those who prefer to leave all the liquor ordering, stocking, setup, etc. to the pro's. In those instances, we offer a discount to the customer and of course the convenience of just showing up to have a great time for doing so. Our all inclusive liquor packages contract the bartender out at $25.00 per hour as opposed to the $35. We offer inclusive packages starting at $5.00 per person and work up a sliding scale according to the preferences of additions to package. (i.e.. premium alcohol vs. bare bones)

Unfortunately, tipping at special events is usually no where near what a professional bartender is used to making even at a standard bar, so we pay our bartenders pretty high to keep them happy and try to compensate for the difference.

I own a bar & grill in addition to the beverage catering company, and all of my staff gets very excited when asked to bartend for an off-premise special event. The pay they recieve makes up for the fact that they may have to drive 5 hours away (we cover all of MO & parts of KS) and not get tipped so well in addition to that.

I also agree with Krysta, that in essence you get what you pay for... if you just want a body there to pour a simple beer, you may be able to get by with paying $10-$15 per hour. However if you really want the event to go smoothly, guests not to wait in line, offer specialty cocktails, or impress/entertain your guests with a little bit of flair... a bar service is the way to go. You pay for the total bar experience.

For more information on how to pick the right bartender/s and the pricing structure please visit:

http://www.flaironthefly.com

It really depends on the bartender, pro bartenders works minimum $50 an hour, good quality drinks counts on experience and the health of your guests. if you just want some one to pour and serve, any body can do that, even for free. But if you are looking for a great guest experience, unforgettible show and professionally prepared delicious drinks than I recommend you to hire a experienced pro bartender. Try www.vivaeventsolutions.com

I am a professional bartender and weddings are my specialty. I charge $35 an hour. I don't generally put a tip jar out at weddings, but usually someone asks "where's your tip jar?" So, I do get tipped by guests, and usually the bride or whomever is paying me tips as well. Melanie~

Young girl? Or young woman? LOL

Sounds like she probably bartends at a bar/restaurant, where they get a base pay of $10-15 (depends on the city) + tips.

Maybe she is unfamiliar with the pay for a private event. It's awesome of you to try and find out. Private events definitely do pay more + tips.

With tips at a wedding I usually make $40 an hour minimum.... sometimes closer to $60. Bartending is good money and I certainly wouldn't give up my free time on my weekends for just over minimum wage. I am from the northeast though, so a high COL area.

We're paying $300 for 5 hours of service. And that's for everything minus the booze. Tables, linens, ice, coolers, 2 bartenders. Seemed very little to me, too!