5 Key Questions to Ask Before Booking a Bar Service for Your Seattle Wedding

Booking a bartending company for your wedding is a major decision—especially if your venue allows you to bring in your own bar service. The right team will elevate your celebration, giving you the opportunity to focus on celebrating your major milestone. Whether you’re planning a rustic outdoor celebration in Snohomish or a chic rooftop event in downtown Seattle, here are five key questions you should always ask before booking your wedding bar service.

1. Are you licensed and insured to serve alcohol in our state?

This is the first—and most important—question to ask. A legitimate bar service should be:

- MAST-certified. Your bar team must be certified to pour alcohol in Washington state.

- Fully insured with capabilities to cover your venue for your event date

- Willing to guide or support banquet permitting. It is required for you, the client to acquire a banquet permit and you know you’re in great hands when a bar vendor offers to guide you through this process.

These insurance, certification and permitting requirements protect you, your guests, and your venue. At Bene Rosa’s, we handle all permitting and compliance for you, so your day is both safe and seamless.

2. Are you a Dry Hire Bar Service?

Unless your bar is hosted by a venue or caterer, your are likely working with a dry hire bar service. Dry Hire means that you provide your own alcohol for an open bar guest experience and your bar vendor provides everything else. While this may seem overwhelming, a great dry hire bar vendor should provide an alcohol shopping list (at minimum) to support making this step smooth and simple. Make sure your bartending team offers tools or support to:

- Estimate quantities - the bar team should be able to determine how much alcohol, beer, wine, alcohol-free options like soft drinks and even water, you will need for your event.

- Recommend brands or bottle sizes - Whether you’re looking for premium spirits and a curated wine selection, or a more casual bar experience, your bar team should have the expertise to guide you toward brands and bottle sizes that suit your vision.

- Coordinate with local retailers for delivery - while most dry hire bar vendors don’t offer to work directly with local retailers, they may be willing to do so if asked.

We work to set our service standards apart by providing the option of a curated shopping list or shopping a digital cart with our retail partners, making the process smooth and stress-free so that all you are left to do is coordinate payment and pick up of the alcohol.

3. Do you provide bar equipment, disposables and ice if the venue doesn’t have an ice machine?

Don’t assume your bartenders come with everything. Ask:

- Do you bring your own bar tools?

- Will you provide garnishes, perishables, soft drinks?

- Can you supply specialty ice or disposables, glassware rentals or additional service staff for floor flips, food management and additional clean up support?

At Bene Rosa’s, we bring everything from bar tools and bar equipment to perishables, unique garnishes, custom ice (upon request) and servers, barbacks and bussers to create a full service experience.

4. What is included in your bar setup?

Some companies require the client to provide the bar structure itself. Others, like us, offer:

- Portable bar rentals like 2 folding tables with fitted linens, a stand alone portable bar, or vintage trailers (Ours is a stunning refurbished horse trailer, perfect for an idyllic outdoor wedding)

- Setup and breakdown service - we always include 2 hours for set up and 1 hour for breakdown and love to set up the day before if it’s an option!

- Branded signage or printed custom menus - from stenciled garnishes to your tailored bar menu, our in-house graphic designer allows us to provide unique graphics to align with any event aesthetic. Make sure to align expectations on logistics, presentation, and what’s included with the service.

5. Can you create a custom cocktail menu based on our wedding theme?

Signature cocktails help tell your story. Ask if the bartending company:

- Offers menu design and custom drink names
- Tailors ingredients to match your season, catered or cake flavors or setting
- Provides mocktail alternatives for non-drinkers

Our team helps you create drinks with purpose—whether that’s highlighting lavender from your florist or naming cocktails after your pets.

Final Shake: Your Bar Should Reflect You.

Asking these five questions upfront will help you narrow down the best bar team for your celebration. Remember, the bar is more than just drinks—it’s an experience. Choose a partner who understands your vision, takes stress off your plate, and delivers exceptional service from start to finish.

Now Booking for 2026

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Now Booking for 2026 -

Let’s talk about your wedding vision and see how our Western Washington team can support your celebration with custom cocktails, seamless bar logistics, and an unforgettable guest experience.