Event day timeline for bar and catering

If wedding guests arrive at 5 pm, the bar's day starts with loading at around 11:30 and ends with breakdown at around 01:00. Below is an hour-by-hour example and a table of who does what, for a 100-guest wedding with a cocktail bar.

The example assumes:

• 100 guests, a countryside venue 40 minutes from the warehouse;
• sparkling welcome at 17:00, dinner at 18:00, bar open until midnight;
• bar team: a lead, 2 bartenders, 1 barback;
• catering: kitchen and waiting staff as a separate team, plus a coordinator on the client's side.

Example wedding timeline with a 5 pm start

Adjust the times to the venue: if the drive takes 1.5 hours, move loading an hour earlier.

Loading: where the day starts

The bar's day starts at the warehouse 5–6 hours before guests. Loading from the pick list takes 45–90 minutes: count glasses by rack, check tools against the inventory list, and load drinks and ice last.

• Ice goes in at the very last moment, in cool boxes.
• Citrus and fresh garnishes travel in a separate box on top, so nothing gets crushed.
• Take a photo of the loaded van before leaving.

For how to build the pick list and keep your glasses, see How to stop losing glasses and equipment at events.

Arrival and setup: 3.5 hours before guests

A cocktail bar team arrives 3–3.5 hours before guests; a simple bar, 2–2.5 hours. The first thing to do on site is meet the coordinator, not unload: check that the bar position, power and water match what was agreed.

Setup, in order:

1. Counter and back bar.
2. Power and lighting; switch fridges on straight away so they have time to cool.
3. Water and washing station.
4. Prep: cut citrus no earlier than 2–3 hours before service.
5. Glassware: working stock on the counter, backup underneath.
6. Ice into wells 30–40 minutes before guests.
7. Test serve and bar photo.

The bar should be fully ready 30–45 minutes before guests. The last half-hour is for the briefing, changing and pouring the welcome drink.

Welcome drinks: the first peak

The first hour is the busiest: 100 guests want a drink within the first 15–20 minutes. The answer is to pour sparkling in advance and serve it on trays.

• Start pouring 10–15 minutes before the first guests, not earlier, or it goes flat.
• Rule of thumb: one glass of sparkling per guest in the first 20 minutes, and another 0.5–0.7 by the end of the hour.
• The barback keeps swapping empty glasses for clean ones.
• If the menu has cocktails, bartenders start them at 17:15, once the first wave has sparkling.

Dinner: time to restock

During dinner the bar's workload drops by half to two-thirds, because waiting staff serve the wine. Use the time to prepare for the second peak:

• top up ice and prep;
• wash and lay out glasses;
• hand wine and water to the waiters on the agreed schedule;
• the lead confirms timings for speeches, the first dance and cake with the coordinator.

Peak hours: 20:00–23:00

The second peak starts after the first dance and lasts 2–3 hours. This is when 50–60% of the evening's cocktails are made.

• All bartenders on service; the barback brings ice and glasses every 15–20 minutes.
• Simplify the menu if the queue goes past 6–8 people: keep 3–4 fast cocktails for the peak.
• The lead makes sure heavily intoxicated guests get water, not another shot.

Last orders and closing

Call last orders 30 minutes before the bar closes, ideally through the host. After that, bartenders pour simple drinks only and the barback starts collecting glasses from tables.

• 23:30 — last orders.
• 23:45 — simple drinks only, the cocktail station is packed away.
• 00:00 — bar closed, actual time recorded.

Breakdown: the last hour

Breaking down a bar for 100 guests takes 45–60 minutes. The order matters: collect and count glasses first, dismantle the counter second.

1. Collect glasses from every table, terrace and bathroom.
2. Count glasses by type, record breakage.
3. Leftover stock: count unopened bottles.
4. Check small tools against the inventory list.
5. Dismantle the counter and load.
6. Photo after breakdown; the coordinator signs off the space.

The lead sends the report within an hour of finishing. What it should contain is in How to run a bar team at events. The full task list for every phase is in the off-site event checklist.

How this works in Garnify

In Garnify, the timeline, team, venue and pick list live in one event, and each bartender sees their call time and tasks in Telegram. Setup photos and the post-shift report appear on the event timeline.