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Finding just any caterer is not that difficult.

Just go online-there are several web sites that can provide you with the names of lots of catering companies in your area. While finding just any caterer may not be that difficult hiring the right one for your event is quite a different story.
Just recently I had a friend call and as a favor asked me to help him find a caterer for a small company awards lunch.
He was short on time and just wanted to get an idea of pricing for a
lunch buffet. For regular people like me who don’t hire a caterer
everyday I wasn’t sure exactly how to find the right caterer for his party.
I quickly learned after calling a few caterers that its best if you’re well prepared whenyou make that first call otherwise you’re wasting your
time and the caterer’s.
Unless you have your event details ready when you call it will be difficult for any caterer to give you an accurate quote.
And without an accurate quote you may end up spending more for catering services than you had originally budgeted for.
So before you make that first call to a caterer be prepared to give
detailed answers to the caterer questions but also be prepared to
ask the caterer specific questions about their services.
I’ve listed some things you should think about and have answers to before you make that first call and have also
included some questions you need to ask the caterer.
Hopefully by being prepared when talking with each caterer you’ll get a more accurate quote for their services and with this information
you’ll be better able to decide on just the right caterer for your event.

1. Total number of guests including children attending the event.
2. Day and time of the event-For the time of the event you need to estimate how many hours you think
your event may run. For a company lunch buffet it may be only two hours for a birthday party it might be four to five hours.
This gives the caterer an idea of how to schedule. When they need to set up and break down etc.
3. How will the food be served buffet, sit down meal, or appetizer service and a sit down meal?
4. What kind of food do you want served. Hot and cold food or just appetizers. Will you need a carving station.
If you’re thinking of a carving station how many meats do you want served and what kind of meats.
Be aware that there will likely be an additional charge for the carving station attendant. Will you want dessert available?
5. Duration of the service. For a buffet you may want the food available only at the beginning of the event or
you may want food available throughout the event. If you’re offering appetizers before a sit down meal how
long do you want the appetizers offered before the meal? Half an hour, an hour or two hours?
6. How much do you want to spend per person? The per person rate is determined in part by the type of food
you want served. So give this some thought before you call the caterer. The per person rate may or may not
include other items like linens, tables silverware. Check with each caterer and find out exactly what is included in their per person rate.
7. Do you want alcohol served at your event? Does the caterer provide alcohol service? If so how do they charge? 
If you want alcohol served do you want just beer and wine served or do you also want mixed drinks available for your guests?
Do you want blended drinks served? Is there an extra charge for blended drinks? Decide if the bar will be hosted or
will you be wanting the quests to pay for their own drinks. Will you want the drinks served in glassware or plastic?
8. The venue: where are you having the event. Some venues have their own catering service and do not allow outside vendors.
9. Ask about the ratio of servers to guests. You need more servers for sit down service as opposed to a buffet
where fewer servers are required.
10.  How about server rates, bartender rates, carver station attendant rates. Over time rates.
11. What is the required deposit and how soon in advance does the caterer require it.
12. Ask about their contract. See if the caterer is willing to forward you a copy.

So you’re planning your wedding reception or a company event and you know you’ll want to have a bartender/s available to
serve your quests those fancy blended drinks or to pour and serve a glass of champagne to help get your guests in
the party mood.

Having a professional bartender for your wedding reception or party is an important ingredient for the success of any event.
You want your guests to relax and have a good time and having a cocktail is a great way to get everyone to relax and socialize.

But what is a good bartender and how do you know one when you see one?

Not so long ago I was a bartender by trade. I worked for a few years as a bartender for hotels and restaurants as well as private catering companies. I worked hotel bars with a cocktail server calling out an order of maybe fifteen or more drinks and I could remember each drink and have them all ready for delivery in no time. I have worked events with a guest list of 500 people and
with the help of other bartenders kept everyone served and happy.

Because of my experience working as a bartender I have a pretty good idea of what a good bartender is and what to look for
when you need to hire one.

So what makes a great bartender and how do you find one you can trust to do the job?

A professional bartender is:

• Someone who shows up on time and is dressed for the occasion and even better yet can make a good blended drink.
• A professional should be able to serve your guests efficiently and with a smile!
• A professional bartender should also be able to monitor the guests so they don’t over consume.
• A true mixologist when asked should be able to tell you the ingredients for any number of drinks.
• An experienced bartender should be able to pour a good drink without over pouring.
• And an experienced bartender should be able to give you an idea of what kind of alcohol to serve for your type of event
and how much alcohol to order for a specific number of guests.
.
How to find a good bartender:

• You can get recommendations from family and friends
• If you’ve booked a venue ask to see their list of preferred vendors
• If you have an event or wedding planner they should be able to recommend freelance bartenders or a bartender
service that they’ve worked with
• If you’ve hired a caterer they may have a bartender service they use or can recommend but be cautious when accepting recommendations from vendors you have never done business with before. You should
still check out the recommended bartender or service for yourself.

To better help you make an informed decision:
• It’s a good idea to do some research on the going rate for bartender services. Go online and check out various
bartender services some post the cost of their service online. Or call around for quotes.
• When speaking with a freelance bartender or bartender service clarify what exactly is included in their service.
For example for a freelance bartender ask if they supply their own bartending kit? For a bartender service ask about
attire, licenses. Who supplies blender, glasses ice etc.

While granted this article doesn’t give you everything you need to know about hiring a bartender it will I think give you
a good idea of how to begin your search and it also provides you with some of the important questions that you’ll need to
ask and get answers to when hiring a bartender.

Hopefully with this information in hand you’ll be able to find the best professional bartender-a bartender that will
help make your event a success.

You’ve been invited to a wedding, a birthday party, bridal shower….and so the search begins to find the “perfect” gift.
So how do you go about finding “the” gift. The gift that says I just didn’t go out on my lunch hour and grab the first thing I saw but the gift that says I really thought about you. I spent some of my valuable time searching for just the right gift just for you.

One of the most important steps to ensuring that you find the “right” gift is allowing yourself enough time to give your purchase some thought.
Unless you’re an extremely lucky person and are able to just walk into a
store and like magic the right gift magically appears you’ll need to spend some time thinking about the person you’re getting the gift for.
What do you know about them.
What do they talk about.
What are their interests.
If you’re still stumped talk to their friends or co-workers. Get their suggestions.
Of course for a wedding gift you’ve got the gift registry to help clarify what the couple needs or wants.
But even so you should give some thought to what you know about the couple. What do they talk about when you’ve shared some time with them. Did they rave about the wine they had on their vacation in Italy? Or maybe that little unique store they found downtown that carries hand blown glass.
Think about searching online to help you find  just the right gift.
You can sit down at your computer in your comfy chair with a cup of coffee and take your time perusing all the gift shops online.
Looking for a gift online can certainly make searching for “the” gift a little less stressful. You don’t have to walk around for hours and you don’t have to wait in line!
Before you buy spend some time thinking about the person you’re buying a gift for. What do you know about them? What do they talk about?
That’s one of the best ways to ensure you’ll find “the” gift that really suits the person or couple you’re buying for … a gift that you’ll be happy to tell the recipient “Hey that one’s from me!”