Solvang – Shaken Not Stirred in LA

Diamond Bar Center Wedding III

July 20, 2016 shakennotstirredinla

dbar5 — A bride’s final moments as a single woman

On Sunday, Shaken Not Stirred returned to the Diamond Bar Center for the third time to provide bartending services for a wedding reception. I believe the bride found me through this blog when I wrote about a previous wedding I had done at the venue. They have a very efficient system setup there for the vendors, and I have the system down.

I had done a big wedding in Solvang the night before, so I was tired after the long drive and everything, but this is wedding season in Southern California. I always like doing Sunday weddings. I had planned the bar service with the bride for several months, and made a shopping list for her. Everything was there when I arrived.

dbar2b — Bride and groom at the Diamond Bar Center

They have two very nice portable bars at the Diamond Bar Center, and they are easy to setup, and move them if you have to. The plan for this wedding was to have a cocktail hour in the reception area just after the wedding ceremony, and then move the bar into the dining room while the guests were eating dinner. I was able to do that no problem and it took me less than fifteen minutes, thanks to the bar on wheels.

Diamond Bar Center Weddings

Nice hilltop location with scenic views
Large dining room can seat up to 300 guests
Reception area and back patio
Great yard for ceremonies
Portable bars
Shots!

Approximately 80 guests were in attendance and I served out of vodka fifteen minutes before the party ended. I made simple drinks and served wine and beer. Chris Christopher provided DJ services, and Belladonna Catering did the food. Another great Diamond Bar Center wedding completed.

This coming weekend I will be traveling across the San Fernando Valley to Woodland Hills to bartend a birthday party for a client I did a wedding for previously. It is always nice to get repeat business. Later this month I will be bartending an anniversary party in Beverly Hills for a couple that I have done many business cocktail parties.

Uncategorized, Wedding Bartender

Whispering Rose Ranch Wedding

July 18, 2016 shakennotstirredinla

solvang5 — Bar setup at Whispering Rose Ranch

Shaken Not Stirred traveled to Solvang in Santa Barbara County to bartend a wedding at the beautiful Whispering Rose Ranch. This is the kind of wedding venue that brides dream about – an idyllic setting on a working equestrian property. The location, north of Santa Barbara is at the end of my range, but it was worth it to drive up there, and I hope to return there again.

The Whispering Rose Ranch is a great venue and it also expects alot from its vendors. I had to purchase a $2,000,000 vendor insurance policy for the day from Vendorinsurenow.com, which the client reimbursed me for. This may solve my insurance problem, since Shaken Not Stirred does not have ongoing insurance. Many venues do require it, and this may be a way for me to take those jobs, by purchasing event insurance for a specified date and venue. Crowned Events of San Diego were the wedding coordinators and they were a pleasure to work with.

solvang4 — Deer grazing at Whispering Rose Ranch

I was paid extra to arrive early and bartend at the Groom’s Saloon. At the Whispering Rose Ranch, they have a special saloon, full of western memorabilia where the groom and groomsmen prepare for the wedding. I made a couple of drinks for the guys, but more importantly I helped them tie their neckties. The groom and all of the groomsmen did not know how to tie a necktie and were panicking as they tried to get ready. I was able to tie their neckties for them, and I also helped the father of the bride with his bow tie. I was glad I was able to be of service that way. It’s not all about making drinks.

solvang2b — Guests mingle during Cocktail hour

Whispering Rose Ranch Weddings

Beautiful rural setting
Groom saloon and bridal cottage
Ocean breezes
Fantastic photo backdrops
Rustic atmosphere
Hire a bartender

There were 100 guests in attendance, which is a lot for one bartender. I premade a bunch of drinks so I could quickly pass them out just after the ceremony. The dinner was delayed and cocktail hour went an hour longer than it was supposed to. I completely served out of vodka and whiskey. The wedding coordinators ran to Buellton, a few miles away and bought more to close the night out.

There were no places to stay in the area under $200, so I had to drive back to LA, and needless to say, I was dog tired. I must have made 1000 drinks during the day. I had to get up and do it again the next day, because I had a big wedding to do at the Diamond Bar Center.

Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized

Executive Retreat & 2 4th of July Parties

July 5, 2016July 5, 2016 shakennotstirredinla

Fourth of July weekend was busy for Shaken Not Stirred as I put over 500 miles on my car and bartended an executive retreat in Palm Desert and two July Fourth parties in Orange County. The Fourth of July fell on a Monday this year, so many people celebrated on Saturday instead, and I provided bartending services for a fantastic second of July party in Villa Park. Then on the actual Fourth of July, I returned to Lake Forest in Orange County to bartend a daytime party before the fireworks started.

The executive retreat in Palm Desert was arranged for members of a law firm from Vancouver, Canada. It was very hot in the desert that day and was 105 in the shade. I made a variety of blended drinks, as well as some mojitos. The heat was oppressive and when I got back to my hotel the swimming pool was as hot as bath water and it took my hotel room three hours to cool down. Usually the desert slows down during the summer, but their seemed to be a lot of people in Palm Springs.

vp2 — The Statue of Liberty visits Villa Park

The next day I drove directly to Villa Park in Orange County to bartend the Second of July party. This was my third time working for these clients, and they have a fantastic back yard, pool and bar. They throw great parties and this time they had the whole front and backyard decorated for the Fourth of July. They had a mock Independence Hall, a Statue of Liberty, and many other great party props provided by RWB Party Props of Anaheim. Spectacular Catering of Irvine provided the food and they did a spectacular job. I was busy the entire time making drinks for 100 people. We went through two kegs of beer, and lots of vodka and tequila.

vp1 — Fantastic back yard bar in Villa Park

Executive Retreat in the Desert

Hire a bartender
Create a theme
Great resort rentals
Team building
Magician, Georges Robert at Lake Forest party

On Monday I returned to Orange County to a home in Lake Forest to bartend the Fourth of July party. This was a unique party and I have never heard of anybody doing it before. The host invited the entire staff of his favorite restaurant, Javier’s to a pool party at his house. This was such a nice gesture, and he even brought in a taco cart provided by Tacos Zapata, and magician, Georges Robert. The magician was fantastic, a real entertainer and the guests were enthralled. No doubt the host will be a VIP at Javier’s for years to come.

Next weekend I will traveling to San Diego to bartend a company party. Later this month I will be doing a wedding in Solvang, a wedding at the Diamond Bar Center, and hopefully one in Thousand Oaks.