I’ve worked with the team at Louisianna’s Mobile Bars on a few different occasions now and WOW are they good at what they do! Not only do they make some of the most delicious cocktails in Yorkshire, the team are also super friendly, chatty and fun. Everything you want from your mobile bar.
That’s why I’m pretty thrilled to share my latest Q&A with you all.
Read on for all the tips on how to create your showstopper of a wedding bar…
Can you tell us more about Louisianna’s Mobile Bar and where it all started?
Louisianna’s Mobile Bars was actually one of the first mobile bar companies in Yorkshire and has been operating since 2006. I took over from the previous owner in July 2016.
Where does the name Louisianna’s come from?
Not my favourite story this one!
The previous owner had a girlfriend called Louise and her best friend was call Anna…. How romantic!!!
What do you love most about your job?
The variance. The fact that one day we may be conducting a cocktail master class for a hen party of 12 and the next day providing a full bar for 200 wedding guests!
It’s certainly no 9-5 working for Louisianna’s.
What makes you different to other mobile bars?
Outstanding customer service.
Anybody can be taught to pull a perfect pint and anybody can be taught to make a Pornstar Martini, but it takes special people to care about the service they provide and do it with a friendly smile.
We are also not just bartenders and mixologists, but I’d like to think we’re experts in the wedding field and understand more about a couple’s day than just the bar.
You definitely do offer much more than just wedding bars, can you tell us more about your other services?
Yes we do. We offer cocktail master classes, gin tasting classes, festival bars, gin bars, mixologists, dry hire bars.
We also promote and market our own wedding venues and have close working relationships with a number of group accommodation venues in and around York that cater for hen and stag parties.
Can you tell us a bit more about the wide array of bar styles you offer?
Indeed. Our most popular style is rustic of which we have both straight and circular.
We also have a very elegant mirrored circular bar which is an eye-catching centerpiece to any event.
There are also LED bars, Tiki Bars and our horse box gin bar which stocks 45 of the world’s finest gins including 30 from Yorkshire.
Wow, that really is a lot of options for couples to choose from!
Can you explain the main differences between your full bar & dry hire services, for anyone who doesn’t know the difference?
Full bars come with everything required to run a bar on the day: bar, fridges, freezer, beer taps, glassware, equipment, bar staff, license, insurance and of course all of the stock.
A dry hire bar is simply the bar structure where you are left to stock and serve the drinks yourself.
What would you say is the benefit to hiring a full bar over opting to ‘do it yourself’?
Expertise and stocking levels.
There’s two things people always worry about when hiring a bar from us: will there be a long wait to be served and will we run out of beer.
The answer to those questions, if we provide a full bar is no. We bring along a huge excess of stock and our staff are highly trained and capable of multi-serving.
When couples opt to ‘do it themselves’ they leave themselves open to both over ordering and under ordering. Plus they often forget the essentials such as straws, ice, bin bags etc.
With this in mind, what should couples consider before opting for a DIY/dry hire mobile bars?
Who will run the bar on the day?
It’s all well and good having a guy that’s pulled a pint in his local pub but have they catered for over 100 thirsty wedding guests?!
So what do you think makes a good bar?
The people behind it. Friendly, knowledgeable and hard-working bar staff are the key.
A good selection of cocktails gins and cold beer helps!!
In your opinion what makes a good drinks reception? (other than canapés of course)
Sunshine, good music and a well made cocktail.
I always recommending something easy to make in large quantities such as an Aperol Spritz or a drink that is widely enjoyed such as a Pimms Cup.
I’ve still never met anybody that doesn’t like Pimms
Couples like to add personal touches to their big day. How do you work with your couples to achieve this?
We offer a tailored cocktail menu with every bar we do.
We will speak with the couple a few weeks before their wedding, find out their favourite drinks and a few details about them. We then name all of their cocktails after them, their family, their nicknames or even their favourite TV shows or sports teams.
They are always a huge hit at weddings, a great personal touch and a great little memento.
I personally feel a bar helps to sets the tone of a wedding, how can you help couples to provide something different or complement the theme/aesthetic of their wedding?
We have a bar for every style of wedding and a team of bar staff ready to fit every theme.
Whether you’d like us dressed in a certain colour or a cocktail menu to fit a certain theme we’re always willing to adapt.
It’s really important not to forget your guests who prefer something non-alcoholic. What are your favoruite non-alcoholic recommendations?
Mocktails are more and more popular, especially with the younger health conscious generation.
We love an Apple & Ginger Mojito (Lime, Mint, Sugar, Apple Juice and Ginger Beer) and have a great selection of non-alcoholic beers with Brew Dog Nanny State being my personal favourite when I’m driving the bar home.
Are you also able to source something ‘a bit different’ for couples e.g their favourite craft beer or a particular red wine?
Yes. We have a standard menu but are always happy to take requests. We wouldn’t want a couple to be without their favourite drink on their big day.
You’ve been pretty creative during lockdown, offering virtual cocktail masterclasses & socially distanced parties. Is this something you’ve enjoyed doing & why do you think it’s been so important to offer this?
Lockdown has been a very strange time and very tough for the people of our industry. A lot of companies have been off the radar but we have felt it is important to stay active.
Virtual Master classes were very popular and a lot of fun. The best bit was I didn’t even have to leave my living room to do them, sometimes I didn’t even put on trousers! We also had a lot of fun on Tik Tok!!
How far in advance would you recommend couples book their bar? As like many other suppliers you are limited to how many weddings you can accommodate per day.
Historically we take the majority of our bookings in the January for the summer ahead.
However, with postponements we’re already fully booked for most peak dates in 2021 and I’m sure they’ll be a knock on effect into 2022 so if I was a couple I’d look to get suppliers booked in asap as the best in the business will be fully booked in no time, and that includes us!!
We don’t take any deposit until the year of the wedding so there’s no reason not to get booked in now.
To find out more about the amazing team at Louisianna’s Mobile Bars just click on the link below.
http://www.louisiannas.com/about-us/
I don’t know about you, but i’m ready for one hell of a party! Let’s just hope that we can get back to celebrating with all our loved ones very very soon.
In the meantime, let’s make the most of the sunshine and keep perfecting that homemade sangria!
Image Credits – Caitlin and Jones / Louisianna’s Mobile Bars
Leave a Reply