How to survive the clean up after your event
We’ve all been there: 16, had a house party where too many people have turned up, and had a boogie and enjoyed the night, only to wake up the next morning with a banging head and a crazy amount of cans, rubbish and mud trodden in the carpet. Well it’s still the same when you’re 26, 36, and on and on. When you host your own event, you want the cleanup to be as smooth as possible, so here are the key steps to keep it as simple as possible.
Step 1 - Preparation
This is key, if you are organising your own wedding, birthday party or a work event, you will need to think about the cleanup long before the dos date. Write a list of everything that will need throwing away, tidying up or sending back because you will need to sort out how/ who/ where/ when it’s going.
Step 2 - Hire a team to do it for you
Ask your friends, family, colleagues (if you trust them enough!) and nearest and dearest whether they will lend a hand in the run up and run down of your event. You’d be surprised the amount of people close to you who are willing to help.
Step 3 - Organise wheelie bins
They may not be the best looking feature of your event, but there is no doubt they are an essential. Do this in advance to find the best possible price. Don’t forget you will need bin bags, delivery and pickup, bin cleaning and enough bins! They do come in handy when it comes to tidying up- trust us! Did you know Pop Up Bar Hire can sort out your bins for you? Yep, just let us know when booking one of our fab bars and we can get that included! One less thing for you to worry about!
Step 4 - Think of other rubbish
It’s all and good having general waste bins dotted around, but what about cigarette butts?! Have some buckets around your site- you could personlise them in keeping to your events theme!
Step 5 - Recycle all you can
Recycling will reduce the amount of wheelie bins you need and will make you look like an enviromental star. You could even recycle the glasses and ensure everyone uses the same one all day- we don’t think this is unreasonable at all!
5 staff secrets to queue jumping at a bar
Is there anything worse than standing in a queue when you’re parched? Well, yes, but at that moment in time, no. Lots of things go through our heads, including elbowing every person in your way to the bar. We’ve spoken to the experts (that’s our bar staff!) who have revealed the best ways to get served first. So grab yourself a drink and take in these queueing revelations.
1. Choose your spot wisely
There are a few do’s and dont’s of picking your location when it comes to bar queueing. Don’t stand directly behind a pole/ break in the bar or on the corner of the bar, you will get stuck and have to push your way into the queue, making everyone around you think you’re jumping the queue, not cool.
Pick a spot that’s close to bar taps, ice buckets or a till, as the staff are constantly returning and they should notice you, acknowledge you and remember you.
2. Maneuver your body
Now that you’re in the perfect spot in the queue, you’ll still need to get to the bar. When you’re one or two people away and you see someone starting to pull away from the bar, shove your arm in subtly and swing your body to the side to let them out, then take their position. Sounds like we’re directing a car, but trust us- it works!
When you’re there, keep facing forward and stand tall and straight. You don’t want to be rude, but you have rightfully queued for that drink, so you’re getting it.
3. Attention
You’re so close, the tips have worked so far and now it’s time to get the staff’s attention. We don’t mean clicking fingers, shouting, waving money in their faces or getting up on the bar (although that will catch their attention and get you thrown out!).
Be patient, make eye contact, smile, and be respectful.
4. Pick a personality
There are two ways you can go about getting a drink when you’re at the front. You’ve got to be quick, as soon as a member of staff is free, blurt out your drink order. If you get a look from the person next to you who has been waiting for ages, then they need to toughen up.
Or, you could pass the staff onto that poor soul and hopefully it’ll come round to you. We know which one we’d rather do...
5. Buddy up
All these steps are much more effective when there’s more than one of you. So grab your mates who are saving the table and get them involved.
Want our immensely talented bar staff at your event? Get in touch now.
Chin chin chaps!
What to do if it rains on your big day
What do you do if it rains on your big day? It’s the thought we all have when it comes to planning any event, especially if it’s outside. Especially if it’s a wedding.
Unfortunately, for couples in the UK, it’s hard to tell what the weather is going to do, not matter what time of year it is. Damn our unpredictable British weather, ey? While we can’t control the weather, we can definitely share some advice and do a little sun dance on the morning of your event…
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Shelter those guests
Hire a red carpet (or whatever colour matches your theme) and a marquee walkway to shelter you and your guests from the cars into the venue. They look snazzy and will keep everyone dry and happy.
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Provide a basket of umbrellas
Buy a white tin bin and fill it with pretty umbrellas for your guests to use. You could write on a chalkboard, “For rain or shine”. They also add to gorgeous wedding photos, if it’s raining or sunny.
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Have stands and buckets
If it is raining, your guests will have wet coats and drippy umbrellas. Make sure they’re not draping them over your beautifully decorated chairs and pop some coat stands near the entrance and buckets for umbrellas.
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Bring in the blankets
Buy a few blankets, roll them up, tie some string around them and pile them up in a wicker basket. They look beautiful and will keep your guests warm and cosy if it’s cold and raining outside.
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Light me up
Hire a large open fireplace for an out of season wedding and keep everyone warm. We could even bring in some warm, mulled cider to keep everyone’s insides warm. Yummy!
If you need some help sourcing and hiring for your wedding, even if it's just a bucket of pretty umbrellas, contact us today.
The Welsh Street Food Awards
We have teamed up with Street Food Warehouse and British Street Food to collectively bring The Welsh Street Food Awards to Milford Haven this weekend (18th-19th August). Look out for the marquees along the Milford Waterfront.
So what's all the fuss about?
The best traders from up and down Wales will be fighting it out to win the vote of the judges - and the general public - at the first ever Welsh leg of the awards. At stake? A place in the British Street Food Awards finals and the chance to represent Britain in the European Street Food Awards finals in Berlin. We are excited to see what all these Welsh street food vendors have to offer. It is going to be a hard task making that all important decision, particularly when all the vendors look and sound so scrumptious.
What can you expect?
Landing at the Milford Waterfront will be more than a dozen tasty traders. From full-to-the-brim calzone, Welsh beef brisket and Venezuelan arepas to fresh pasta and hot fried doughnuts, the line-up is looking seriously tasty. To accompany all this wonderfully delicious food, we have got our full bar ready and stocked with everything from Birra Moretti to Pimms to mojitos to soft drinks - we will have something for everyone, both big and small. Not only this, we have once again teamed up with Tenby Harbwr Brewery to bring you their great selection of craft ales. Having previously partnered up with them at Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival in Tenby earlier in the summer, we had to bring them on board for this final exciting event of the summer.
This event is set to be a big one for everyone involved, do not miss out! Head down to Milford Waterfront either the 18th or 19th August between midday and 10pm each day.
For more information head to Street Food Warehouse, and why not register for your free tickets whilst you are at it, this will ensure that you're guaranteed entry at peak times.
Whilst we at Pop Up Bar Hire are pretty busy this weekend, if you are planning an event, wedding or party, we can help organise, stock and staff your bar, so get in touch today.
Author: Georgie Dransfield