The bar is where your wedding comes alive. It’s where the toasts start, the dancing gets fuelled and the best stories of the night begin. But for a lot of couples it’s also one of the most confusing parts of planning: who sorts the licence, what’s a minimum spend, do you need glassware, and what happens if your venue is a field?

We’ve put everything we’ve learned from years of running wedding bars across Scotland into our Wedding Bar Guide. Here’s a taste of what’s inside.

Step 1: Choose the right type of bar

Cash bar

Your guests buy their own drinks, and you get a fully staffed, fully licensed bar without footing the whole drinks bill. Our cash bar booking fee is £500, which includes:

• Two experienced bar staff
• Card and cash payment equipment
• The alcohol licence
• Disposable glassware

Cash bars are available for weddings of 50 guests or more and carry a £500 minimum spend, due 14 days before the wedding. The good news? If your guests hit that spend on the night, it’s refunded. Or you can put it to work instead as welcome drinks, cocktails or drink tokens for your guests. (We explain this in more detail in Minimum Spend Explained.)

Drinks packages

Want to treat your guests? We can build a package around your day: a drinks reception, wine with the meal, a toast, cocktails or a set amount behind the bar. You decide how generous to be, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Dry hire

If your venue allows you to bring your own drinks and staff, you can hire one of our bars on its own and make it the centrepiece of your day. Choose from the Rustic, Round, Lawn or Horsebox bar.

Step 2: Get the licensing right

In Scotland, most weddings outside licensed venues need an occasional licence to sell alcohol. When we run your bar, we apply for it, and our team includes a Personal Licence holder. That’s one less form on your to-do list.

It does take time to process, so the earlier you book, the smoother it goes.

Step 3: Think about your venue

Barns, gardens, farms, estates, village halls, marquees in the middle of a field: we’ve set up in them all. Before you book, it’s worth knowing:

• Is there power? If not, we can supply our own.
• What about waste? We can take care of waste disposal on site.
• How do we get in? Access for our vehicles and bar units helps us plan your set-up.
• Do you need a marquee? We offer marquees too, so we can cover the bar and the space around it.

Step 4: Glassware, timings and the little details

• Glassware: Disposable glassware is included as standard. Prefer real glass? We can arrange glassware hire for a small charge per glass, plus delivery and collection.
• Timings: Last orders are typically 11:30pm, with the bar closing at midnight.
• Responsible service: We operate Challenge 25, so let any younger-looking guests know to bring ID.

Step 5: Book early

Wedding season dates go quickly, especially summer Saturdays. Once you have your date and venue, get in touch and we’ll hold your bar and start on the licence.

Get the full Wedding Bar Guide

Our Wedding Bar Guide goes into all of this in more detail, with our bar styles, drinks options and answers to the questions couples ask us most.