Alcohol and Bar
You MUST have a TN ABC bartender (with liquor liability insurance) serve ALL alcoholic beverages and they must come from our recommended vendor list
If you are considering hiring a bartender/s through your full-service caterer, please ask us before hiring as we prefer only bartenders from our vendor list. Bartenders need a TN ABC server permit as well as liquor liability insurance. Please see our “Recommended Vendors” list for an amazing list of bar service companies that do have the proper insurance required.
How many bartenders do we need?
It is required that you have at least one bartender for every 100 guests. If not, the lines for the bar become very long, especially at the beginning of cocktail hour and right before the toasts. We highly suggest two bartenders for an event with 75 guests or more.
How much alcohol do we need?
It depends on whether your guests are light drinkers, heavy drinkers or a mix of both. The best practice is to ask your caterer or bartender. Click here for a great blog post about a practical calculator for your wedding.
Who will supply my alcohol? Who will supply the ice for beverages?
You are responsible for providing all of the alcoholic beverages and ice for your event. You may either purchase it yourself and/or have your caterer or bartender provide it (they must have a liquor license to do so).
Can I drop off alcohol and ice the day before the event?
Alcohol and ice need to be brought on the day of your event. We are not able to store alcohol and ice overnight. Some liquor stores will deliver for free – worth asking for.
Can I put my beverages in the refrigerator?
We do have a mini fridge and wine fridge for your use. Coolers should be used to ice down beer and other wine. The big refrigerator has an empty freezer to store a couple of extra bags of ice. Check with us to see if you may need to bring an extra cooler depending on amount of beer.
Just a few reminders…
- Shots and alcohol over the rocks is not permitted.
- No cash bars are permitted (we do not have a license to sell alcohol)
- Open bars where wedding party/guests serve themselves is strictly prohibited (sorry, no beer canoes, drinking games, or self-serve beer trucks).
- Alcoholic beverages are recommended to be served in clear plastic. Glass + dance floor + bare feet never mix well. Glass is permitted at tables, such as water glasses or champagne toasts. We do make exceptions if using glass for the bar.
- Alcoholic beverages are to be served with food (there’s a good reason most local bars serve food).
- No kegs allowed – slippery mess not to mention so much waste with kegs
- Alcohol may be consumed on the premises only if served by an approved bartender.
- Alcohol service to minors is strictly prohibited.
- Alcohol service must stop no later than five hours after the bar start time or 30 minutes prior to end of rental (when music stops) and drinks with hard alcohol stops one hour before, whichever is earlier. It’s a long time for free drinks and their safety is our concern. Keep this in mind before choosing your ceremony time. 4 or 4:30 works perfect on Fridays and Saturdays!
- No last call for alcohol. You may want to place a small sign letting guests know what time the bar will close.
- At any time, if L&L Farm staff deems alcohol consumption to be excessive, we have the authority to evict inebriated guests from the property (we’ve never had to do this and we are thankful and blessed with respectful couples and their guests.
- If L&L Farm staff finds wedding party or guests serving themselves alcohol, the alcohol will be confiscated (placed behind the bar) and a $250 fee per incident will be taken out of the damage and security deposit.
- A security guard is required at events serving alcohol. L&L Farm will make arrangements for this at the expense of the couple and deducted from security deposit (typically under $250).