Casual Class Bar Services - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Mary Harbin

I used casual class for my wedding reception (~140 guests) at the Dinah Washington Culteral Arts center (DWCAC). This was the only option available with the DWCAC for having a bartender service on site. I have a mixed review on my experience – 2.5 stars.

Planning: The contract is detailed and fully explains all the fees and available add-ons. The owner was professional and responsive. They needed selections 2 weeks prior to the event and she was very gracious to let me make changes the week of the event.

Selection: Wine and Beer selections are decent. You can get many of the local brews. Our preferred IPA was out of stock, but Lauren was helpful in sourcing us another option. I was a little disappointed to find they only offered cans and not craft beer kegs. Also, they made us pay for select beers not drunk, but yet we didn’t get to go home with those beers – I was sorely disappointed by this. (The more common beers they can re-stock and use at future events, but the local beers they think they cannot resell, they charge for). We were warned of this and therefore chose 3 beers that were very common they could easily re-stock. Our 4th beer selection was a wild card. We were told we would have to pay for all of them, even those not consumed. I inquired with the owner over this, and we came to an agreement that they would only stock 3 cases (36 beers) of this beer and we wouldn’t have to pay for them if they weren’t consumed. When I was eventually able to get an itemized invoice, we were charged for all 36 of those beers. Maybe they were all drunk, but I highly doubt it based on how few I saw being consumed. I definitely understand why this clause is in place and would have been OK paying for them all if I had been able to at least take the remainder home.

Pricing: The price for beer/wine/signature drinks all are relatively fair. $4-$7 for various beers, $6 wines, $6-$10 for liquor drinks, $250-$400 for signature drinks which are paid for in 3-gallon batches. You do have to pay a lot of upfront costs just to have them on site for them to only open cans/wine bottles. (Note, I opted for the wine/beer option only, not a fully stocked bar). There’s a $200 set up fee, $100 stockage fee + options for a $200 bar rental fee, and a $100 linens fee. Plus, an 18% Gratuity and 10% tax charge on the alcohol purchased. But please note– all this is VERY clearly stated in the paperwork provided up front, and I expected it. They were my only option if I wanted alcohol at the DWCAC, so I accepted that and moved forward. There was no minimum purchase amount.

The event: Bartenders were professional and efficient. The set-up looked nice. After the event, the owner was not transparent in final charges, but was sure to send the final invoice quickly (not itemized). I had asked the bartenders when I was leaving the event what the bill was at. When I got my invoice, the total was 45% more than the number provided by the bartenders at the end of the night (both numbers were before taxes, fees, and gratuity were added in). Now I know as the bride, I leave first, then guests trickle out. There certainly could have been a few more drinks consumed in those 15 minutes while family was gathering personal items and packing up but not 45% more. My mistake was failing to get that ‘end of the night’ total in writing or printed. I had no way to prove that something was awry. The owner assured me that the inventory brought back in was counted twice and that there’s no way they overcharged. Either way, I was very disappointed with how I was treated on the back end of my event. It took 2 months for the owner to finally get me the itemized receipt and I was made to feel very small during these couple of exchanges when I asked to double check my final total.

Final Review – Pros:
-One-stop shop for your alcohol needs at events
-Easy up front planning
Cons:
-Up-front fees are high (but everything is very clearly spelled out in your contract)
-You pay for all craft beers, including those not-consumed
-Invoicing Transparency

Wil Bowman

Profesional and courteous with excellent service from start to finish.