Shaken Not Stirred in LA

This past weekend Shaken Not Stirred worked two events – a grand opening corporate event in Newport Beach, and a wedding in Hollywood.  The corporate event I booked under Shaken Not Stirred, and the wedding in Hollywood was booked by my affiliate, Mia Martini. She and I are doing several events together this month and will be working together again this Sunday at the Diamond Bar Center.

I have done several parties in Newport Beach and it is a very affluent area. There are many nice homes, on the coast, on the islands, and further inland. There are also many corporate structures, business parks, and large hotels in the area.  I’m sure a private bartender could do quite well just doing events and parties in Newport Beach alone, not to mention Orange County.

The particular party I did this time in Newport was a the grand opening of a doctor’s office and we set up the party in the courtyard of the office building. I served Blue Hawaiians, Pineapple margaritas, Bay Breezes, and variations of those drinks to approximately forty guests. It was a short three hour event and everything went very well.

On Saturday, I traveled to the Lombardi House to help my affiliate company, Mia Martini bartend a wedding there. The Lombardi House is just north of Hollywood Boulevard on Bronson, but is a historic building in the area.  I brought 200 pounds of ice to the party and we used every single bit of it by the end of the night.

This wedding had real glassware, which is nice to use, but presents its own set of problems. All of the glassware has to be picked up, emptied and put back into the proper containers. Invariably glassware gets lost and broken. For a party of 130 people, they probably used 700 glasses.

We also had kegs for the beer. I try to discourage people from getting kegs, and this was a perfect example why. The kegs required a jockey box, CO2 regulator and taps. The deposit for those alone was $450. If the CO2 regulator is a little off the beer will keep pouring foamy. It is almost impossible to pour a beer. Pouring a tap beer takes up to one full minute, while uncapping a bottle beer and handing it to a guest takes five seconds. This means a lot when there is a big line at the bar. At the end of the night, both kegs were over half full. Don’t get kegs for your parties, people! It is not worth the extra expense, deposits, and hassle.

On Thursday I am driving out to Palm Springs to do another corporate event, and then have a birthday party to bartend on Saturday. So far, I have no event on Friday, but will take one in the Palm Springs area if I can. On Sunday I have a big wedding at the Diamond Bar Center with 350 guests.