One of the most important decisions you can make concerning your wedding reception is the bar option you will offer to your guests. The Museum of Visual Materials offers many options as well as a large selection of beer and wine.
Here are some of the options as well as what each one entails:
Cash Bar: This means that you are not hosting any alcohol or soda for your guests. Your guests will be responsible for paying for their own drinks.
Open Bar: An open bar can take many different forms. One option is to offer an open bar just for a predetermined time, such as a cocktail hour and then change to a cash bar. Another option is to set a predetermined amount of money for the open bar. Once the tab reaches the limit, it switches over to a cash bar. The open bar allows your guests to choose from our wide selection of beverages.
Drink Tickets: Drink tickets can be digitally created, handcrafted or simply bought at a local retailer. Drink tickets are valued at the price of the redeemed beverage. One guest might use theirs for a glass of wine at $4.00 and another guest may buy a soda at $1.00. With drink tickets, they can be handed out by the host/hostess to each person as they enter the reception or placed at each place setting. Our bartender will total the redeemed tickets at the end of the night and charge you the price of the item selected. We will invoice you for this the week after your event, along with the remainder of your rental fee and any other rentals.
Kegs and Boxed Wine: Typically, a full keg will provide 140 glasses ($400 for Domestic and $450 minimum for Specialty), a box of wine will provide 24 glasses ($75/box), and a bottle of champagne will provide 8 glasses ($12/bottle). If you are unsure about how many kegs you may need, you can order a reserve keg. If it is not used, you will only be charged $25 for restocking. More than one keg may be offered at the same time.
Many weddings will use a combination of our options. Anytime a bar service is being used, the renter will be required to use a Museum staffed bartender and will be required to pay the $100 bar license fee to the Museum. Bartender service fees are $125 per event. The bartenders require proper identification to verify legal drinking age and hold the right to deny services if proper ID cannot be produced. The bartenders may also refuse service to persons seeming intoxicated. The Museum has a Malt Beverage and Wine license and is unable to provide hard alcohol beverages. Any hard alcohol on Museum grounds must be removed immediately. Noncompliance will result in the content being taken away from the guest. Renters may be fined $150 per incident for not abiding by this rule, due to the Museum’s threat to losing its licenses and permits to serve. Outside coolers or beverages are not permitted on Museum grounds and may be taken by Museum staff.
If renters are not having alcohol, they are not required to have a bartender, but are required to use the Museum for beverages such as soft drinks and bottled water.
Regardless of how you plan the bar for your event, it is sure to be a fantastic celebration at the Museum of Visual Materials. Our staff is here to provide you options and advice to create a memorable evening, so please don’t hesitate to ask.