We think you should clear your bartending line in 20 minutes or less. Agree?
OK, ready for some math? Let's calculate how quickly your bartender needs to serve a drink.
For the point of this, let's assume each bartender serves an average of 80 people. i.e. two bartenders for 160 people. If you want a bartender to serve 80 guests in 20 minutes, here's the math:
In 20 minutes, this means the bartender has 20 minutes * 60 seconds = 1200 serving seconds. So for 80 people, this means that each drink must be served in 15 seconds. This includes:
Ordering the drink
Serving the drink
And the time for the next person walk up to the bartender
That's right, 15 seconds per drink!
Most people don't realize there is a real art to the speed of the bar. (Even just asking the next guest quickly and politely for the order is critical.) Let's assume you hire a craft bartender who takes 60 seconds (which would be speedy) to make a drink. This means that it would take 80 minutes for all your friends to get one drink! And even with only 50 guests, it would still be almost an hour. (Another bartender serving a drink in 15 seconds would clear the line in <15 minutes.)
If you are considering a bartending service, ask (and verify) this simple question: "How long do you estimate it takes to receive a drink order, and serve to someone?" And then apply this simple equation (for 80 guests/bartender): seconds/drink * 1.3 = total minutes to clear bar line.
Bottom line: we have seen bartending services and "bartending friends" be unable to serve a single drink in an hour. We rarely see a quick bartending service other than 11th Hour. If you are planning a different bartending service, please choose wisely -- we don't want your friends to remember your wedding because they did not get a drink during cocktail hour.