wedding venue – Shaken Not Stirred in LA

Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized, Wedding Bartender

La Chureya Estate Wedding

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019 shakennotstirredinla

Last Saturday Shaken Not Stirred provided bartending service for the first time at the beautiful and historic La Chureya Estate close to downtown Palm Springs. Palm Springs is becoming one of the hottest places for destination weddings. For this particular wedding most of the guests traveled thousands of miles from Australia to be there.

I have worked at many fabulous venues throughout Southern California, and I must say La Chureya Estate is one of the most beautiful. The buildings are classic Spanish architecture and the grounds are immaculately groomed and landscaped. The bar area is next to the olympic sized pool, and that is where we pored drinks all night.

The wedding ceremony took place out on the lawn, which is was a perfect backdrop for great photography. We set up a champagne and water stand for the guests as they were arriving. We finished serving all of the arrivals and then moved back to the bar, when the ceremony ended quickly and we were hit with a big line. We served spicy jalapeno margaritas, Moscow Mules, and a variety of other drinks.

La Chureya Estate Venue

Beautiful historic buildings and landscaping
Private location
Close to downtown Palm Springs
Ample space for vendors
Views of the mountains from grounds

Most of the guests at this wedding traveled all of the way from Australia and it was fun serving them. They were all dressed to the nines and I’m sure the photographer (also from Australia got some great pictures. There were 75 guests in attendance, and they kept my other bartender and I pretty busy. We completely served out of tequila and most of the vodka.

I will return to Palm Springs tomorrow to do a 200 guest corporate event. The Coachella Music Festival is going on this weekend and next and we have a few events going connected to that. I also have a “Leaving California,” party to do Saturday night in Corona on Saturday night. You may no how I feel about that – “You can check out, but you can never leave…” Please follow us on Instagram.

Special Event Bartenders, Wedding Bartender

Reptacular Ranch Wedding and 50th Birthday Cocktail Party

June 19, 2018 shakennotstirredinla

reptac5 — Tequila shots at cocktail party

Shaken Not Stirred provided bar service for two big events last week – a 50th birthday cocktail party, and a wedding at the Reptacular Ranch. On Friday I went to the Carthay Circle neighborhood of Los Angeles, which is south of Hollywood and bartended for a two hour cocktail party to celebrate the host’s 50th birthday. Then, on Saturday, I drove up into the mountains above Sylmar to the Reptacular Ranch to bartend a wedding (my second time at the venue).

I always like doing intimate cocktail parties and the hosts and guests usually like having me. The hosts like having a bartender because they can enjoy themselves and not have to make the drinks. The guests like it because they can get a variety of professionally made drinks. For this party I set up my portable bar in the kitchen and served drinks to five couple before they departed for a nice dinner in West Hollywood.

I served Moscow Mules, Margaritas, and Lemon Drops made with fresh lemons from my backyard lemon tree. Unfortunately, I think I used the last of the good lemons from the tree, and most that are left are over ripe. I created a new Elderberry Lemon drop using a dash of St. Germain, agave nectar, and fresh lemon juice, with a sugar rim. The guests had a couple of cocktails and left for dinner. Everyone was happy.

Reptacular Ranch Weddings

Petting zoo with exotic animals
Rustic secluded location
Bar with refrigerators
“Honey Wagon” style restrooms
Beautiful area for ceremony
Reptacular Ranch Ceremony

Saturday was my second time working at the Reptacular Ranch. The first time was back in August and it was literally 110 degrees up there. All the ice melted within 2 hours, and I had to drive down to Sylmar and pick up more. They have since made improvements and have refrigerators and a ice cooler near their newly renovated bar area. They also have a very nice new area with seating for ceremonies. For this wedding, the groom works for an ice company, and the weather was unseasonably cool, so we did not have to worry about ice.

This coming week I have a cocktail party in Los Angeles on Friday night, a Summer Solstice party in Studio City on Saturday night, and then a birthday party in Beverly Hills, and a graduation party in Seal Beach on Sunday. That’s is the kind of week I like. Please follow us on Instagram.

Uncategorized, Wedding Bartender

Maxwell House Wedding

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018 shakennotstirredinla

maxwell2 — Historic Maxwell House in Pasadena

Last month I provided bartending service at a Maxwell House wedding in Pasadena. I am delayed in writing this blog post, but thought that I should because it is such a nice venue. The Maxwell House is a historic building in an old neighborhood in Pasadena, and you couldn’t find a more picturesque setting for a wedding. I hope to return to the Maxwell House many more times in the future.

The groom who hired me was the brother of another client we provided bartending services for. It is always nice to get repeat business. My son actually bartended the first wedding party, so this was my first time meeting the brothers and the family. I spoke to the groom many times by email and phone planning the bar menu and shopping list.

maxwell3 — Bride and Groom enter reception

I served a variety of drinks including a cucumber gin and tonic, the classic, Fleur di Paradis cocktail, and a rum hot toddy. Surprisingly, the Maxwell House does not have a fixed bar in place, so I set up my portable bar and table in the library of the historic home.

Maxwell House Wedding Pluses

Close to the 210 and 134 freeways
Picturesque and private setting
Large kitchen and dining room
Beautiful main room for ceremony
Nice courtyard
Bride and bridesmaids

I usually like to give props to the caterers, but I misplaced the caterers card and can’t recall their name, but they did a fantastic job. The Maxwell House has a great kitchen and two large dining room areas. They also have a great courtyard, which I’m sure gets utilized more in the summer.

I have been remiss in updating this blog, but I have done many events recently including weddings, birthday parties, and rehearsal dinners. It is the season for many events in the Palm Springs area, and I am doing several weddings out there in the coming weeks. Late this week I am doing a large corporate event in Culver City, a cocktail party in Huntington Beach, and a cocktail party in Palm Desert. Please follow us on Instagram.

Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized

Vista Wedding Reception and Baby Shower at Shady Canyon

August 21, 2017 shakennotstirredinla

Last weekend Shaken Not Stirred went on the road and provided bartending service at a Vista wedding reception and then at a Shady Canyon baby shower the next day. I also had one of my other bartenders do a wedding reception in Tujunga on Saturday night. It is getting to the point where I have much repeat business and am having to send multiple bartenders out each week.

The wedding reception in Vista was held at Thibodo Park , a beautiful little out of the way location operated by the City of Vista Recreation Department. Chef Shawna of Best Mobile Catering of Oceanside hired me and L&S Productions of San Diego did the wedding coordination. It was a pleasure working with both of them, and they obviously are very good at what they do. We were of service to over 100 guests and I think everybody went away happy.

vista2 — Toasts at Vista Wedding Reception

The groom was a decorated member of the Marine Corps and was in full uniform and so were some of the guests. I am always reminded when in San Diego that it is a military town. I once did a wedding reception on the beach at Camp Pendleton, where they have a resort for military members. I served wine and beer at the Vista reception and we used a punch card system, where the guests were limited to three drinks each. That worked well, and nobody got out of control.

The next day I drove up to Irvine to the Shady Canyon Golf Club Golf Club to bartend a baby shower. It was the second party I have done at that location. They have a very nice clubhouse for the residents (apart from golf club house). The host put a lot of work into decorating the event and it looked fabulous.

irvine1 — Fruit tray at Irvine Baby Shower

I set up my portable bar in the corner of courtyard. There were about 100 ladies in attendance and I served mimosas and beer. There were two servers that distributed drinks to ladies as I poured them. I kept pretty busy pouring for at least four hours and emptied over a case of champagne.

irvine2 — Elegant table setup at Shady Canyon

This coming weekend I have events in Hidden Hills, Hawthorne, and Mission Viejo, and I am happy to report that is all repeat business. I just got a call this morning from a past customer for two more events – a movie premier and a baby shower. I am not bidding on any jobs in December and believe I will keep busy with repeat business only. The whole December calendar is open at this point, but that is going to change quickly after September 1. Follow Shaken Not Stirred on Instagram.

Uncategorized, Wedding Bartender

Rancho Yeguado Trujillo Wedding

September 6, 2016 shakennotstirredinla

cuyama6b — Stone wedding arch at Rancho Yeguado Trujillo

On Saturday Shaken Not Stirred traveled to the outer limits of Southern California to provide bartending service at Rancho Yeguado Trullio wedding. To get there, you drive north on the 5 Freeway over the grapevine, then you take a left turn on Highway 166. You drive through a lot of farm land, through beautiful Maricopa, and then over some barren hills to the town of New Cuyama, population 161. In California, this is about as the close to the middle of nowhere you can get. Just when you think you are lost, you see this fantastic structure off the road next to many horse stables.

You turn onto a cobble stone road and drive past many horse stables and beautiful horses, a stone stadium and fantastic fountain. I was unprepared for this – and was thinking – what is this, Pablo Escobar’s California home? It is the Rancho Yeguado Trujillo. It has a quite a history, which you can read about here. The information about it online as a wedding venue is a little hard to come by, but it is a fantastic place. I have been to many spectacular wedding venues around California, but the Rancho Yeguado Trujillo wins the prize for grandeur. The stone platform where the bride and groom sit looks like it was built for a Roman emperor.

Rancho Yeguado Trujillo Wedding Venue

Secluded, scenic location
Beautiful stone structures
Adjacent chapel
Ample parking and room for vendors
Band shell

The wedding had 300 guests in attendance, mostly coming from Bakersfield, which is the closest population center. My son came with me and we set up my two portable bars side by side. The caterer, Victor’s Mexican Grill of Bakersfield set up adjacent to us on the stone walkways that surround the property. We didn’t get hit all at once like we usually do when wedding ceremonies end, but we did get and served hundreds if not thousands of drinks during the night. We kept running out of ice and somebody would go fetch more – I don’t know where they were going for it, because there aren’t exactly many stores around there.

It was a busy wedding and I think everyone had a good time. We went through a case of tequilla, and nearly a case of Buchanon’s. They had Mariachis and another Mexican band providing the entertainment. After the wedding, my son and I loaded up and stayed at a motel in nearby Maricopa. On Sunday, I had to get up and drive to Acton to bartend another party.