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Weddings

About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: October 2024

About Us

Hire the Bar is a triple award winning mobile bar service that’s all about bringing a personal touch and exceptional quality to weddings in London and beyond. Founded by Tom and Hannah, we share a deep love for hospitality, our team brings years of experience from a variety of settings—from stylish bars to award-winning pubs.

Together, we have crafted a service that’s all about doing things right, with no shortcuts. They value transparency, so you’ll find our pricing fair and easy to understand, with no hidden fees. Sustainability is also at the heart of what we do—our entire service is zero-waste, with recyclable packaging and zero single-use plastics.

Services Offered

We tailor our bar services to make your wedding day unforgettable. Whether you’re after welcome drinks, table wine, champagne for the toast, or a bespoke cocktail bar, we’ve got the perfect setup for you. Our bar options include cash bar, open bar, or a mix of both, depending on your style.

We provide everything you need: a professional team, elegant bar hardware, glassware, and a curated selection of drinks. We’ll also take care of the licensing, so you won’t have to worry about a thing. With Tom, Hannah, and the team at Hire the Bar, your wedding is in expert hands, and we can’t wait to help you celebrate in style.

FAQs

1. Do you provide the alcohol, or can we supply our own?
We typically provide all the drinks so you don’t have to worry about a thing—after all, you wouldn’t take your own ingredients to a restaurant, would you? If you’re after a full-service experience with premium drinks, we’re the team for you. But if you’re just looking for agency staff in bowties to serve your big Saino's shop, we might not be the right fit!

2. Do you charge for bar hire?
We charge a £500 booking fee, and that covers everything—glassware, ice, the team, travel, licensing, and more. While other companies might hit you with extra charges, we keep it all included, so you get the full service without any surprise costs.

3. What areas do you cover?
East London is our heartland, and Essex is now Tom's homeland. Plus, we’re lucky enough to have a fantastic team based around Milton Keynes, so we've got you covered in all those areas and beyond!

4. Are you licensed to serve alcohol at my wedding venue?
Yes, I’m a personal licence holder, and I make sure all licensing objectives are fully met on the night. If your venue has its own premises licence, I can act as the DPS (Designated Premises Supervisor). If not, we’ll sort out a Temporary Event Notice (TENS) to cover everything. Rest assured, we're always legit!

5. What if my venue doesn't have a bar?
To be honest, we actually prefer that—ever tried cooking in someone else's kitchen? We bring our own bars, custom-built to our exact specs, so we can serve drinks quickly and efficiently. Our bars have transformed events at places like The Waldorf and the Tower of London, so wherever your venue is, we’ve got you covered.

6. How many staff will you provide?
You don’t win awards and get 5-star reviews by being understaffed! Our team is carefully selected to ensure your wedding bar runs smoothly and efficiently. Each member of our team is highly skilled and experienced in running bars at weddings, so they’re able to serve guests quickly and keep things flowing effortlessly. We also believe in paying our staff well because supporting employment is at the heart of what we do. Well-paid, happy staff lead to exceptional service, and that’s what we’re known for!

7. Why should we hire Hire the Bar?
Because that’s all we do. Our sole focus is on delivering exceptional drinks to your guests, be it on the lawn as a welcome fizz or the last drink over the bar. We’re not focused on your photos, the music, lighting, or food—just ensuring your guests are served efficiently and enjoy top-quality drinks throughout the day. When you hire Hire the Bar, you’re getting a team whose expertise is dedicated to one thing: making sure the drinks flow perfectly, so you can enjoy the rest of your celebration.

Frequently asked questions

Services:

Bar staff
Equipment hire
Signature cocktail

Type:

Cash and card bar
Dry hire bar
Open bar
Tabbed bar

Served in

East London, Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk

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Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Hire the Bar Ltd.

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to make your big decisions easier.
5.0 out of 5 rating
Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
5.0 out of 5 rating
32 reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of the service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value for money
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
Kingsley
Kingsley R. Sent on 30/10/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Excellent service

Really understood what we needed and delivered precisely the right bar / staff for our reception and properly added to the atmosphere. Tom's great to deal with too.
Richard
Richard W. Sent on 17/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

easy to work with, so friendly and professional

Tom and Hannah were really easy to work with, so friendly and professional. We couldn't believe it was a temporary bar, it looked absolutely incredible.

On top of everything else that we wanted to thank them for, we wanted specifically to thank them for moving the chairs between the ceremony and the reception without being asked. They were really attentive and helped keep our wedding stress free.

Tom was really helpful in the lead up to wedding asking all the questions we hadn't considered and even sourcing recyclable coffee cups for us at short notice

They went above and beyond what we expected them to do.

We'll definitely keep them in mind to recommend for any friends getting married in London in the future.
Adam
Adam M. Sent on 27/09/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Wedding in SE London August 2022

Tom was extremely friendly and responsive, tailoring his offering to our requirements and proving flexible and helpful with shifting arrangements. Tom and his team helped to organise welcome drinks and a cocktail table in addition to the standard bar service, all of which were greatly enjoyed by guests. We would recommend to any couples / event organisers requiring a bespoke bar service for their celebration.
Richenda
Richenda D. Sent on 19/05/2022
5 out of 5 rating

So great and so easy!

These guys did a great job for our ceremony and reception! One of our suppliers let us down at the last minute and Tom and the team stepped in and helped us out to do the ceremony as well as the reception (they were only originally going to do the reception!). Tom made the process so easy and was v accommodating with all our requests!
Joe
Joe W. Sent on 22/11/2021
5 out of 5 rating

First class from start to finish!

We "Hired the Bar" for our wedding and we couldn't have been happier with the service. We dealt with Tom who was a complete professional. He'd thought of everything, and nothing was too much trouble. Drink selection and price was spot-on, and Tom had amazing suggestions we hadn't even thought of that really made everything so much better! It took all the pressure off of us, and it was so nice not to have to worry about the bar and whether our guests had enough of what they wanted to drink. They definitely did! All-in-all, we couldn't rate Hire the Bar any higher - it made our special day so much more special knowing everything was having such a great time! Five stars.
K
Kate D. Sent on 29/08/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Timely and professional

I hired champagne flutes from Tom at Hire the Bar and the service was so smooth. Very good value, with fantastic communication it really helped take the pressure off the wedding day plans. Would 100% recommend.
B
Bee K. Sent on 03/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing!!!

Hired the bar for my 25th Tom and Hannah were incredible. Took care of everything I didn’t need to worry about a thing!
The cocktails were delicious and went down a treat.
A
Arjun R. Sent on 01/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic, flawless.

We had an absolutely flawless experience with Tom, Hannah, and the team, and could not recommend strongly enough. Hire the Bar was able to cater a 300 guest wedding reception at less than two weeks’ notice, and the service and product was top class. Tom was excellent on the phone and dealt with all our panic and stress with very reassuring responses, and on the day, they delivered. They will 100% be our first choice for any future event we have a hand in planning. To the team: we hope you enjoyed the madness, well done, and thank you!
A
Andrea T. Sent on 08/12/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Fab service

Hire the Bar helped make our event. Looked lovely, tailored things to our needs and fantastic service from the bar staff who were very friendly and efficient :-)
N
Namrita N. Sent on 28/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing Service!!

Hire the bar catered for our Black Friday day in the office and provided great service throughout! Tom was super flexible, even with all last minute changes/additions and communicated in a well manner. The event itself was a blast as everyone enjoyed the drinks menu and they made the office a really great, celebratory vibe- the set-up was super cute too! Will 100& recommend and would love to work together some time in the future :)
U
Ushir P. Sent on 20/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Joint 16th / 50th birthday party

Tom and his team were literal life savers, stepping in with one week’s notice to run the bar at mine and my daughter’s joint party.

He listened to our requirements including a bespoke menu of mocktails for my daughter’s guests and provided a perfect set of options for us.

On the day, u heard nothing but good things from all guests. Thank you so much, Tom!!
M
Marc S. Sent on 17/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Completely put us at ease ahead of our big day

Tom and Hannah were incredibly professional, lovely to deal with and really put us at ease ahead of our wedding party. They worked with us to incorporate our requests into their service, took a last-minute change of venue in their stride and made sure the evening ran smoothly with no-one left waiting for their drink or cocktail! We'd highly recommend them for wedding service.
T
Tim B. Sent on 30/10/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Such a dream to work with

Why can't all suppliers be like Hire The Bar?? From the first contact with Tom we knew our wedding drinks were going to be in safe hands, he's so knowledgeable and nice he made us feel like nothing was too much effort for them. On the day the team were so friendly all our guests loved them. Everything went perfectly.
C
C Raines Sent on 14/10/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Hire the Bar is like no other

First, let me start with I rarely review anything, and if I ever do I've never given 5 stars, until today. My wife and I like in America and chose to get married in England. Tom, 8 hours ahead, always set aside time we could video chat with him at a time that worked for both of us. We never felt we were asking too many questions or were a bother to him at all. Once were in England Tom was constantly available over text. On the day he opened all the windows at the venue before we arrived, set up just where we asked, and was kind to every guest. I world get married all over again as long as I knew Tom would be available.
L
Lauren D. Sent on 24/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Above and beyond

My husband and I hired Tom for our wedding 22nd of September. We chose him as a supplier around a year before the event. Our initial conversation with him was very indepth and he listened to all of out needs, was also extremely friendly. Throughout the planning process he was on point, even making sure we had our preferred asti and customising the package to suit our wants.

Fast forward to the day itself. Tom and Hannah were absolutely amazing. Everything was super organised and they were happy to help. Tom even ran to sainsburys for us. Our guests remarked on how amazing the bar staff were. Would highly recommend! Thank you so much for making our day as stress free as possible
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Badges

Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2023 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2022 Winner

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