Getting a temp bar license for the day

nialln

Hi,

Just got engaged over the Christmas period and we're looking to start planning right away. The place we're looking to rent for the occasion doesn't have a license to sell alcohol though so we're looking into getting a temporary bar license for the day or hire a company to come in for the occasion.

Does anyone know if the temp license is possible or have any recommendations for a company that might provide this service? Cheers for any help

clint_silver

Www.eventbars.ie

nialln wrote: »

Hi,

Just got engaged over the Christmas period and we're looking to start planning right away. The place we're looking to rent for the occasion doesn't have a license to sell alcohol though so we're looking into getting a temporary bar license for the day or hire a company to come in for the occasion.

Does anyone know if the temp license is possible or have any recommendations for a company that might provide this service? Cheers for any help

tatli_lokma

OP, do you want to provide alcohol to your guests or sell it to them? If its the first, then the link above would suit, or you can just buy the alcohol. As long as you don't want to sell it then you don't need a licence.

If you don't want to give it away, I think how most people get around it is to sell poker chips or tokens and then the guests use the tokens to pay for the drink. That way, technically, you are not asking them to pay for the alcohol and don't need a licence.

BTW a licence is thousands of pounds. I think your best bet is one of the companies such as the one clint_silver suggests.

niallam

Buy all your own beer, give it to people at the wedding but have a "donations" bucket.
If people aren't buying the beer then its not being sold so you don't need a licence, they're just making a donation to the night

tatli_lokma

If I see a 'donations' bucket I want my donation to go to charity. Calling it a donation would send the wrong message IMO - also you might find that people only donate €1 for a pint and then you would be out of pocket. I think the poker chips would be a better option TBH - at least that way you know you will get enough money to cover your costs.

sweetie

dont bother with getting beer on tap. Bottles of beer are just as good and cans of guinness are very decent too. You will need to hire some stuff so if you ad a euro to the cost of each drink, ie 2e for a bottle of heinieken, 2.50 for a can of guinness you should cover your costs and labour. We had a similar thing for our wedding. If its a private venue id imagine the chance of Gardai coming in to inspect the legality of the bar are minute. We took that chance anyway.

clint_silver

sweetie wrote: »

dont bother with getting beer on tap. Bottles of beer are just as good and cans of guinness are very decent too. You will need to hire some stuff so if you ad a euro to the cost of each drink, ie 2e for a bottle of heinieken, 2.50 for a can of guinness you should cover your costs and labour. We had a similar thing for our wedding. If its a private venue id imagine the chance of Gardai coming in to inspect the legality of the bar are minute. We took that chance anyway.

Id be really interested in finding out how you did this, can you mail me your name and address to temporarybarfraud@garda.ie so we can discuss?

sweetie

clint_silver wrote: »

Id be really interested in finding out how you did this, can you mail me your name and address to temporarybarfraud@garda.ie so we can discuss?

'tis outside the statute of limitations now!

At a wedding recently the best man announced that whilst drinks were free that people could use an honesty system to tip the bar staff for service and cover the cost of ice, glass hire etc so I would say thats another way of doing it. We also hired a proper barman and had a ocktail menu with mojitos and cosmos for the ladies (and gents who drink cocktails like myself!) It was a nice touch.

niallam

Little Ted wrote: »

If I see a 'donations' bucket I want my donation to go to charity. Calling it a donation would send the wrong message IMO - also you might find that people only donate €1 for a pint and then you would be out of pocket. I think the poker chips would be a better option TBH - at least that way you know you will get enough money to cover your costs.

People at the wedding will know, it's not like the bucket has charity written on it
With the poker chips your giving something that has cost money on the same premesis in return for alcohol, might as well sell beer vouchers. You can't give anything with any monetary value in return for alcohol because its the same as buying it.

julyjane

The people coming to your wedding are your guests, if you're having it somewhere without a bar then would it be so bad to buy a few boxes and slabs of beer and bottles of wine and spirits. It would run into the hundreds depending on numbers but you're hosting a wedding and inviting people and even at €2 a bottle everyone will know you bought 20 for €20 in Tesco and are making money on it, when many of them will have already put a 3 figure sum in a card

clint_silver

julyjane wrote: »

The people coming to your wedding are your guests, if you're having it somewhere without a bar then would it be so bad to buy a few boxes and slabs of beer and bottles of wine and spirits. It would run into the hundreds depending on numbers but you're hosting a wedding and inviting people and even at €2 a bottle everyone will know you bought 20 for €20 in Tesco and are making money on it, when many of them will have already put a 3 figure sum in a card

or maybe different if they hired a barman how was serving pints and properly made cocktails where labour and equipment costs came into play not withstanding the drink itself.

youre discussing budget here as well which is not something that can be argued against, ie, they either have it, or they dont.

ResearchWill

nialln wrote: »

Hi,

Just got engaged over the Christmas period and we're looking to start planning right away. The place we're looking to rent for the occasion doesn't have a license to sell alcohol though so we're looking into getting a temporary bar license for the day or hire a company to come in for the occasion.

Does anyone know if the temp license is possible or have any recommendations for a company that might provide this service? Cheers for any help

OP to answer your question yes a temp licence can be arranged it will entail a court application and the consent of a licence holder.

Despite what people here have said about honest bucket or poker chops (if the law was that easy to get around we would all be running bars), your options are to allow a professional company to run the bar and charge the guests, advantage no costs or low costs to you. The second option is not to get a licence and have drink available no charge. I was at a wedding recently (in Poland) wine on tables then towards end of food vodka and juices appeared they also had keg on tap through out the day worked a charm. You would be supprised at how cheap it would be.

Just at a guess buying enough Champers, red and white wine two kegs including taps range of bottle beer and say vodka and juices/minerals for 100 people budget 2000 to 2500.

That would be 25 bottle of good champers €20 total €500
50 bottle white and red wine 30 white 20 red at €10 total €500, 2 kegs and hire about €600, cans or bottle beer €500 and bottles of vodka and minerals again €500. There will actually be drink left over.

niallam

ResearchWill wrote: »

OP to answer your question yes a temp licence can be arranged it will entail a court application and the consent of a licence holder.

Despite what people here have said about honest bucket or poker chops (if the law was that easy to get around we would all be running bars), your options are to allow a professional company to run the bar and charge the guests, advantage no costs or low costs to you. The second option is not to get a licence and have drink available no charge. I was at a wedding recently (in Poland) wine on tables then towards end of food vodka and juices appeared they also had keg on tap through out the day worked a charm. You would be supprised at how cheap it would be.

Just at a guess buying enough Champers, red and white wine two kegs including taps range of bottle beer and say vodka and juices/minerals for 100 people budget 2000 to 2500.

That would be 25 bottle of good champers €20 total €500
50 bottle white and red wine 30 white 20 red at €10 total €500, 2 kegs and hire about €600, cans or bottle beer €500 and bottles of vodka and minerals again €500. There will actually be drink left over.

The OP probably isn't going to go to the bother of getting a temp licence and not likely to have a free bar as all you'll find all night are glasses left full all over the place, a free bar in Ireland just ends up messy.
Don't forget you'll also need glasses, washing facilities, ice machine etc and 2 to run the bar and probably someone to collect empties all night.

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

The OP probably isn't going to go to the bother of getting a temp licence and not likely to have a free bar as all you'll find all night are glasses left full all over the place, a free bar in Ireland just ends up messy.
Don't forget you'll also need glasses, washing facilities, ice machine etc and 2 to run the bar and probably someone to collect empties all night.

The OP only has two legal options if they don't want a free bar then a licence is required if no licence then they can not charge in anyway, they will be allowed to supply drink but not in any way sell it.

I arranged a party recently for 80 no licence so champagne reception bought Tattinger in Tesco for €18.50 venue laid on glasses, then wine on tables bought in Tesco for €7.5 a bottle again in sale was €19.99 reduced to 10 and then 25% off bought port for chese course. Again venue arranged serving and glasses.

niallam

ResearchWill wrote: »

The OP only has two legal options if they don't want a free bar then a licence is required if no licence then they can not charge in anyway, they will be allowed to supply drink but not in any way sell it.

I arranged a party recently for 80 no licence so champagne reception bought Tattinger in Tesco for €18.50 venue laid on glasses, then wine on tables bought in Tesco for €7.5 a bottle again in sale was €19.99 reduced to 10 and then 25% off bought port for chese course. Again venue arranged serving and glasses.

This is just the start of a basic thought by the OP so far and hasn't really done any research into it.
Buy all the drink yourself, tell everyone it's €2 a drink all night but if the Garda come then hide the money as they're gonna have to be let onto the premesis, they ain't just gonna burst through the windows and surprise everyone. We're not in prohibition America in the unlikely event they do come tell them it's s free bar...
Use the money you make from your 75c bottles marked up to €2 and your your €2 shorts with free soft drinks etc to pay 2 bar staff for the night. Get 1/2 bottle wine approximately each for dinner for free, €5-€6 in aldi per bottle.

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

This is just the start of a basic thought by the OP so far and hasn't really done any research into it.
Buy all the drink yourself, tell everyone it's €2 a drink all night but if the Garda come then hide the money as they're gonna have to be let onto the premesis, they ain't just gonna burst through the windows and surprise everyone. We're not in prohibition America in the unlikely event they do come tell them it's s free bar...
Use the money you make from your 75c bottles marked up to €2 and your your €2 shorts with free soft drinks etc to pay 2 bar staff for the night. Get 1/2 bottle wine approximately each for dinner for free, €5-€6 in aldi per bottle.

The OP asked about licence, I have informed the OP about licence. While the chances of Garda raid are very remote, the venue may have an issue with a paid bar that has no licence. I for one would prefer either paid professional bar or free bar, I would think its a bit skank that a bride and groom are buying drink and themselves selling it to me, at their wedding, personal view only.

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

Buy all your own beer, give it to people at the wedding but have a "donations" bucket.
If people aren't buying the beer then its not being sold so you don't need a licence, they're just making a donation to the night

The law on alcohol was changed years ago to cover that situation it's sale or supply. The token thing is not legal, the venue may also have an issue as it could cause issues for them and future licence.

niallam

ResearchWill wrote: »

The OP asked about licence, I have informed the OP about licence. While the chances of Garda raid are very remote, the venue may have an issue with a paid bar that has no licence. I for one would prefer either paid professional bar or free bar, I would think its a bit skank that a bride and groom are buying drink and themselves selling it to me, at their wedding, personal view only.

Over 100 people don't expect a free bar all night at any wedding and I'm sure they'd rather €2 a drink all night than €5+
Guests are friends and will understand that the money made is paying the bar staff. Do you think it a bit skank a bar charges more than they buy the drink for to pay the staff?

Anyway your info about licensing is spot on but I'm giving a bit of alternative advice

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

Over 100 people don't expect a free bar all night at any wedding and I'm sure they'd rather €2 a drink all night than €5+
Guests are friends and will understand that the money made is paying the bar staff. Do you think it a bit skank a bar charges more than they buy the drink for to pay the staff?

Anyway your info about licensing is spot on but I'm giving a bit of alternative advice

No I have no problem if a bar makes a profit but I don't have to turn up at a bar unlike a wedding.

Most venues will serve your own drink for free or small corkage as I pointed out I provided enough drink for 80 which the venue served as part of the price for the food plus a corkage charge. They did charge corkage which I agreed at a figure and we could open as much as we wanted all the drink for 80 inc corkage was under 2 k I think for a wedding it is a very cheap way to go.

niallam

ResearchWill wrote: »

No I have no problem if a bar makes a profit but I don't have to turn up at a bar unlike a wedding.

It's not a wedding summons, you don't have to go

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

It's not a wedding summons, you don't have to go

For close family and friends I consider it a summons lol.

sweetie

Some venues don't have the glassware etc either so that needs to be paid for too. I'd be very surprised if any of our guests found it skanky that we charged for drinks after providing an unending supply of prosecco and wine for the duration of the day. I've been to many weddings where a glass or two has been the limit.

nialln

Thanks for the replies so far guys!

I actually do know someone with a liquor license that is coming to the wedding so might be able to investigate whether that can be used on the day.

To answer some of the questions. We're looking at about 150 people coming to the wedding, so the idea of giving 150 Irish people an open bar for an entire day and night isn't appealing at all to be honest. I was at a wedding during the summer, only wedding this has ever happened at too, where they gave an open bar for the entire wedding and the groomsman was genuinely shocked at the total price he received for the booze bill. They had about 100 people there, half English who were more reserved with their alcohol intake than the Irish and he still was gobsmacked at the amount that was put away. So his advice is no way in hell to give a full open bar for the entire wedding and I'd agree with him. Doing the figures of what I think my friends would drink on average at these things I'd put it at 100 a head, with it probably being more, so that's 15k for that alone, which we don't have to spend.

eventbars looks interesting though so it will be that with the court application with the consent of the license holder if at all possible

ResearchWill

nialln wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far guys!

I actually do know someone with a liquor license that is coming to the wedding so might be able to investigate whether that can be used on the day.

To answer some of the questions. We're looking at about 150 people coming to the wedding, so the idea of giving 150 Irish people an open bar for an entire day and night isn't appealing at all to be honest. I was at a wedding during the summer, only wedding this has ever happened at too, where they gave an open bar for the entire wedding and the groomsman was genuinely shocked at the total price he received for the booze bill. They had about 100 people there, half English who were more reserved with their alcohol intake than the Irish and he still was gobsmacked at the amount that was put away. So his advice is no way in hell to give a full open bar for the entire wedding and I'd agree with him. Doing the figures of what I think my friends would drink on average at these things I'd put it at 100 a head, with it probably being more, so that's 15k for that alone, which we don't have to spend.

eventbars looks interesting though so it will be that with the court application with the consent of the license holder if at all possible

While I agree that 150 with a free bar could well go to €15,000 doing the idea I set out would provide the same amount of drink and cost for 150 no more than 4k. To be honest it will cost to get your friends licence for the day as I believe a court application has to be made depending on the DJ that will be ok but there will be legal costs to pay.

4000 will cover 50 bottles of champers, 100 bottles of wine 50 liters of sprits, buckets of minerals and juices and bottled water and at least 4 kegs which is 320 pints if 150 people get through that then your friends and family should be in AA lol.

Just to be clear that 1 bottle of wine plus 1/3 of a bottle of sprits and 2 pints per person. I for one would be dead if I drank that much. Also good off licence will do returns.

niallam

ResearchWill wrote: »

Just to be clear that 1 bottle of wine plus 1/3 of a bottle of sprits and 2 pints per person. I for one would be dead if I drank that much. Also good off licence will do returns.

Think your underestimating the beer count. I for one would put away 10 pints no bother at a wedding and all the lads I know would do the same, and that'd be 50+ lads like that at any wedding. That's only just over 1 per hour which is taking it easy too

ResearchWill

niallam wrote: »

Think your underestimating the beer count. I for one would put away 10 pints no bother at a wedding and all the lads I know would do the same, and that'd be 50+ lads like that at any wedding. That's only just over 1 per hour which is taking it easy too

As I said it would be a bottle of wine, a third of a liter of sprits and 2 beers per person on average. No one person would drink that concoction. So say 50 people for beer up kegs to 6 extra 400 euro that's 10 pints each the 50 people on beer, wine and champers would have 3 bottles each and the 50 people on sprits would have a litre each. The minerals are to help the children and old people wash down their drinks. Can you really say that would not be enough drink, double it so on average each person would drink 2 bottles of wine a ordinary bottle of sprits and 4/5 pints, for the pricey sum of 8k.