BYOB Bartending FAQs

Bartenders and the supplies package are required for every BYOB event. Bartenders are $50 an hour, one per 75 guests; the supplies package is $275. Everything else — mixers, ice, glassware, garnishes — is optional but usually worth taking.

The requirement is practical rather than commercial. A bar with no pour spouts, ice bucket, water dispenser or tip jar and nobody staffing it produces a queue, a mess and a liability, and it is the version of BYOB that couples regret.

Shaker publishes a BYOB shopping list sized by guest count, so the quantities come from the company that will actually be pouring. It is the most useful document in a BYOB build and the reason most BYOB mistakes are avoidable.

The most common BYOB error is not overspending on alcohol. It is buying three kinds of vodka and no mixers, no ice and no garnishes — then discovering on the day that a bar needs cranberry juice, limes and 200 lb of ice as much as it needs tequila.

• → The BYOB shopping list

Coolers, plastic cups, an ice serving bucket, tongs, cocktail napkins, straws, pitchers, a serving tray, a tip jar, a water dispenser, garnish bowls and plates, bar towels and pour spouts. $275, and required for BYOB events.

$7 per guest for Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, sweet and sour, cranberry, orange, pineapple and grapefruit juice, plus ice, cooler rental and disposables. Most BYOB couples take it, because sourcing and chilling that list yourself is a day of work.

On a 150-guest wedding it is $1,050. Buying the equivalent at retail is cheaper on paper; the cost you are actually paying to avoid is transport, chilling and having the right nine mixers on hand rather than eight.

Yes. If you are buying your own alcohol, Shaker can supply just the base for a signature cocktail and you bring the spirit. Every signature and base includes the dispenser, ice, cups, straws and garnishes.

• → Signature cocktails

Often, but not always. BYOB moves alcohol to retail cost, which wins when guests drink modestly and you can buy well. It stops winning when you over-buy, need a broad spirits selection, or your store will not accept returns on unopened bottles.

Run both in the estimator before deciding. And check the venue first — many DFW venues require BYOB or require a licensed bar service, which settles the question for you.

• → Compare in the estimator

It is yours — you bought it. Bartenders stock the bar to reduce waste and avoid opening what will not be finished, which is what keeps leftovers returnable rather than opened and worthless.

Ask your store about its returns policy on unopened bottles before you buy. Some Texas retailers will accept them; that policy is often worth more than a small discount elsewhere.

Yes, and more than people expect. Ice is $25 per 50 lb through Shaker, or included if you take the liquor mixers package. Ice serves two jobs at a bar — chilling stock and going in drinks — so a single bag covers neither.

Yes. Glassware is a separate rental at $1 per glass for house and $1.25 for elevated, for four hours, and requires a busser at $50 an hour. It works the same whether the alcohol is yours or Shaker’s.

• → Glassware rental

That is your venue’s decision, and it varies widely across DFW. Many venues require BYOB; others require a licensed bar service or have an exclusive vendor. Ask before you buy anything, because the answer determines your whole bar plan.