Bring Your Own (BYO) Alcohol Guide & Tips

Alcohol is one of those often overlooked costs when determining your wedding budget. Because the cost of drinks is so high, it is important to make as accurate an estimate as possible. Here are a few simple steps, including online calculators, to help determine how much you need:

Step 1: Estimate the number of guests who will be attending your wedding as accurately as possible. Look at your guest list and estimate how many people will be drinking.

Step 2: Plan on roughly three drinks per person for a two-hour reception, which will give you a very generous base to start with. (This should not include champagne for toasts.) Know your crowd! If they’ve proven to be enthusiastic partygoers in the past, you may want to up the drink estimate accordingly.

Step 3: Make rough estimates of servings per bottle of alcohol. A standard wine bottle (750ml) will yield about four to six servings, depending on the class size. Beer is typically served by the pint (and kegs are the most cost-effective way to go). Click here for Evite's online drink calculator.

General Tips:

•  Hire one bartender for every 50 guests
•  Designate someone who can make emergency runs to restock liquor if you underestimate how much your guests will drink, or stock up ahead of time
• Ask and make sure the vendor will take back unopened bottles of alcohol
• Have the phone numbers of local taxicab companies ready in case any guest needs an alternative method of transportation
• Keep a variety of non-alcoholic drinks available, including water – drinkers and non-drinkers alike still need to rehydrate!

Frugal Tips:

• Create a "signature drink" that is uniquely you; this allows you to personalize your event and cuts back on the variety of items needed at the bar (such as types of alcohol, bar mixes, garnishes, etc.)
• Consider limiting the bar to beer and wine and allow your guests to toast with their drink of choice
• Limit the number of hours the bar is open (say, 2 hours instead of 4 for the typical reception)

Cheers! :)

Newlyweds and New to Our Menu!

November 26, 2011

Four Seasons Catering brought our chef to Glendale's First United Methodist Church for a wedding where the newlyweds weren't the only hot, new item on the menu! We introduced our new Japanese Udon dish, served hot as a thick wheat-flour noodle soup and sprinkled with tempura, seaweed, and other toppings, to 400 guests that night. What a delicious union! This dish is best served during the winter - because, baby, it's cold outside and there's nothing like indulging in a hot, savory soup to warm your hands and stomach!

Our charcoal linens create such a striking contrast against the silver chargers!

Night at the Museum

November 19, 2011

Four Seasons Catering dined alongside dinosaurs for a wedding reception held at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Exposition Park. You might recognize this museum, which has been featured in the television shows Bones and How I Met Your Mother, as well as the film A Lot Like Love. There was a grand cocktail reception held in the stunning grand foyer, and dinners were held in the African Mammal Hall and the North American Mammal Hall. We counted 350 wedding guests and dozens of wild animals; it was a full house with a lot of hungry mouths!

Mingling with some hors d'oeuvre and dinosaurs!

Keeping the buffet line moving fast is the key to
keeping our guests from going extinct with hunger!

Music to Our Ears and Mouths

November 12, 2011

Four Seasons Catering set the scene for a wedding at the Harlyne J. Norris Pavilion Performing Arts Center in Rolling Hills. This venue's dark cherrywood paneling, domed chandeliers, and high black ceiling served as a dramatic backdrop to our bright silver and ivory table settings. As Remy the rat in Disney's "Ratatouille" once said, "Good food is like music you can taste." With 200 guests and the lovely newlyweds as our audience, we gave a heartfelt performance!

Film Buffs and Finger Foods

November 2, 2011

Four Seasons Catering joined 200 other movie buffs for the screening of the film "The Front Line," directed by Jang Hun, at the CGV Cinema in Los Angeles' Korea Town. We provided hors d'oeuvre for the cocktail reception in the plaza. We were very impressed by Hun's film, which was selected as South Korea's selection for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, and we hope the guests enjoyed the food as much as the film!

Director Jang Hun