Episode 33 How A Rusty Trailer Accidentally Became A Mobile Bar: Wild Horse Mobile Bar

A missed booking, a$400 horse trailer, and a stubborn streak turned into Wild Horse Mobile Bar—a five-season staple that transforms receptions with smart menus and warm service. We sit with Kristie to unpack how a DIY build became a business that thrives on simple choices and sharp execution.

We start with the origin story: dragging a beat-up trailer from the weeds, rebuilding it from scratch, and landing seven gigs off a single Facebook post. From there, Kristie walks through the leap from a cramped two-horse shell to a larger livestock trailer fitted with a three-tap kegerator and a dedicated mixer fridge. That upgrade made room for a two-person system that crushes cocktail-hour rushes: she batches mixed drinks while her husband handles taps and wine, keeping lines short and guests happy.

If you’re planning a wedding bar, the playbook here is gold. Ditch the 25-mixer sprawl. Choose two beers, add a seltzer if it suits your crowd, and anchor the night with his-and-hers signature cocktails. You’ll spend less, move faster, and avoid decision gridlock that stalls the timeline. We also get real about safety and service: pouring a touch heavier early to spark the dance floor, scaling back as the night goes on, and watching for signs it’s time to slow someone down. Plus, the logistics venues and planners care about—bar placement, power access, no-shots policies, and syncing with DJs and caterers—so setup is quiet, kegs aren’t foamy, and last call lands clean.

Kristie also shares how Facebook groups and referrals fueled growth beyond weddings into graduations, sweet sixteens, and the occasional Tuesday taco party. For couples, the smartest move is timing: book early, then finalize your exact menu eight weeks out when preferences and counts are clear. It protects your budget and the bar’s margins while keeping the experience personal.

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https://www.instagram.com/wild_horse_mobile_bar/

https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/wild-horse-mobile-bar-jersey-shore-pa-2053296

Transcript

Meet Christy And The Mobile Bar

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to The Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Let's meet today's wedding vendor. Hey Christy, how's it going?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Good, how are you?

Venue Shoutout And Setting

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Good. I'm so glad to have you on. Glad to be here. sounds so cool just saying the name. Um, but you guys have renovated a horse trailer into a mobile bar, and we're gonna dive into all things, bartending, and how you even got the trailer and decided to turn it into a bar, which I'm sure is a great story. But before we do, we're here still at Birchwood Venue. Birchwood Venue is where rustic charm meets modern convenience to create the perfect wedding weekend. Nestled in Milton, Pennsylvania, Birchwood gives couples three full days to decorate, celebrate, and soak in every moment without feeling rushed. From the Hydrangea Line ceremony space to the beautifully restored barn. Birchwood is designed to make your day as stress-free and memorable as possible. And you you told me before, you've done a ton of weddings here. And I know you know Holly. Yes, fantastic. Yes, amazing. And it's just so cool to see they are continuing to make improvements in the space, and it is really nestled into just like the perfect little cove of wedding venue space, and I love it. So fun. And appreciate Holly for letting us be here and film the preferred list, the podcast. So fun. So, Christy, thanks for being on.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Absolutely.

The Missed Booking That Sparked A Business

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Have you ever been on a podcast before? I have not. I love it. You were telling me before you stressed, and I it's totally fine. And um, I'm just excited to hear more about your business and how everything started. So you run Wild Hurse Mobile Bar and you have a horse trailer that you converted into a mobile bar. Yep. Uh just give me all the details. Tell me where all of this started, where it came to be, the idea and everything.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

So it all started. Um, my husband and I are fairly newly married. We got married in 2021. And um the year we decided to get married, there was another mobile bar in our area. Um, and I had reached out to her, and she had a fairly high deposit requirement for holding your spot. So I kind of thought it was right before Christmas. And I was like, I'm not doing that. So I figured I'll wait until after the holidays and I'll reach back out to her. And so I reached out after the holidays and she had already booked our date. So I was kind of bummed. I padded around the house for a while, and my now husband said, If I make you one, will you just stop?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Sure.

First Trailer Build And Early Gigs

SPEAKER_00 2:50

He used a few other words, but yeah, just gonna go with that one. We'll keep it, PG. So I uh said, Absolutely. So he uh jumped on Facebook a couple days later, he's like, Here's a horse trailer. We went out, it was$400 for the first horse trailer we had. Literally pulled it out of woods and weeds and you know, loaded it up.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

That's a$400 trailer.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yep. So got it home and he stripped the whole thing down. He did all the work on it for me. Um, once it was done, we had it ready obviously for our wedding in October and uh he's like, let's this was about April or May, and he said, Let's throw it on Facebook and see what happens, see if anybody would be willing to book. So I threw it on Facebook and we booked seven events that's awesome between May, June, July, and August. So then I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

So we earned back that could kind of work.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah. So we uh ended up once our wedding was done, we parked it, ended up deciding over the wintertime that we were gonna make it an LLC and make it a real business and actually do this. So we uh turned around and went and it's actually um Wild Horse Events LLC is what our business entity is. So I thought you were telling me that I said the name wrong. No, no, no, no. I'm so sorry. Everybody knows this is Wild Horse Mobile Bar, but yeah, um yeah, so we made it a thing and so fun. Yeah, so here we are, and we work together all the time. Like it's usually just him and I.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So yeah, yeah, kind of like a little family, small, small operation. It's our date night. Yeah. It's like accurate though.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

My wedding, my my wedding, my wife and I shot a wedding, and it was like, this is gonna be so fun. Like, you know, she doesn't always get to shoot with me because of the kids sometimes, and I do have a trusty second shooter, Pat. Love you, Pat. Um, but when she does, it's like it's just like such a fun little like day out kind of together, so it's fun. Uh did you have the idea like right from the jump that you wanted that like horse trailer kind of rustic vibe?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Or no, um, the one that I had actually seen on I found it on Facebook, and so I was like, oh, I really like that. And we were getting married at a barn. Um, it was actually an old tobacco barn in Jersey Shore. So I was like, well, let's go ahead and just try and book this lady because it was a horse barn, you know. I kind of figured it would all work together. So reached out, and that's why I was like, okay, let's do this.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

That's so fun. It it's just funny to me. I don't know, were you were you guys like business minded before? Like what was going on before this?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Nothing, nothing. We were literally doing nothing.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, no, he, I mean, we both work full-time. Okay. And uh it there was no, I didn't have any desire to do business. I was just like, oh, whatever. But we started to do it and it was so much fun, and it just it blossomed from there. So it was like, you know what, let's just do this. So and we decided, you know, the extra little bit of money, we're gonna start talking aside and kind of see what we can do. So it just kind of went from there. So this is actually our fifth season. That's so cool. Yeah.

Learning Bartending From Scratch

SPEAKER_01 5:58

That's so cool. Yeah. From uh would you stop complaining to now five years later? It's a thing. Number of events later. It's like, no, this is a full-fledged business. I know there's this like maybe there's this like weirdness of like, oh, it's just like a side thing, or maybe it's just a part-time job, but like you're still a business owner. Like, there's still a lot that goes into running and operating your business. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Um, when you were first starting out, what were those first couple events like? Oh, they were rough.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

They're really rough. Um, the very first one, we didn't even think to put a tip jar out. Like that's how rough it was. You're like missing the whole like payment opportunity. Guests literally throwing dollars across the bar at us. Your husband's like, should I dance? I don't know. Yeah, he's like, uh, maybe we should stick a cup out. So we did, and it just kind of went from there. And I was like, Well, shh, we make a lot of extra cash doing this. Yeah. It just was funny because I'm like, oh, okay, well, and judgment on how much alcohol, like that's you tune that in real quick. But you know, that kind of stuff, it just you learn as you go, and every year there's something new that you're learning and figuring out, just even in business, too.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Yeah, like it's so true, just in business. Um you didn't have any bartending background at all. No, no, and actually, my husband doesn't drink, so that's even funnier. Yeah, it's hilarious.

Why A Trailer Bar Changes The Vibe

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah, no, we've literally have had zero bartending experience ever, and I was like, well, let's do the ramp certification. And so we did that and just kind of went from there. And I'll be honest, there are times where somebody will ask me about doing a certain drink. I'm like, okay, well, I'll Google that before I get there. So that way I know what I'm doing. But most drinks are usual typical rum and cokes and babies and stuff like that. So it's really not too much, but yeah, no, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

What what do you enjoy most about bartending serving the drinks at weddings?

SPEAKER_00 8:06

The people, the people talking to the families and the friends and even the bride and groom. We don't see the bride and groom a whole lot at the trailer just because all of their friends are always coming up and bridal parties always serving them and stuff, but it's just building those relationships throughout the night with each guest.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah. I'm curious, like so. Maybe couples are like they love the idea of a trailer, mobile bar. Like how does it fit into their day or or even like deciding between that and maybe something like that the catering is offering, some sort of bartending service? Like, how are you directing couples in that?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

I think for us it's more of the the horse trailer itself is just a vibe. Okay. You know, it's it's that experience. It's not a lot of times if you have a cater who's got a bartender, they're serving from behind whatever bars set up in the the venue. Um I think for us, a lot of times it's more of like what kind of experience do you want for your guests? And so whenever they've got the horse trailer, they come out, and a lot of people love the horse trailer. Yeah, you know, they come out, this is so cool, and who did the work and and all that kind of stuff. So it's just and I think for me, I personally think that your bartenders, your caterers, and your DJ make your day. Yeah, you could get married in your backyard, and if you have those three on point, your day is gonna be perfect.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Exactly. And delicious.

unknown 9:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

I guess I don't know if catering is like fun, but the food makes it.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Yeah, absolutely.

Inside The Upgraded Livestock Trailer

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah, that's so fun. So you're really kind of positioning your bartending service as do you love the trailer? Do you love the vibes of the trailer? Does it fit the theme of what you have going on? Yeah. Um, what like for people that are listening or or are watching, like what's the trailer look like and what does it have like in it that kind of help helps your service kind of go off smoothly?

SPEAKER_00 10:11

So this current trailer, um, actually, this is our second one. The first one. Well, we sold the one. Um the one, the first one we had was just a two-horse trailer. Okay. Um, just a little thing. And my husband and I were bumping into each other, and I was like, this is a nightmare. Yeah, like I need some forces. It had, you know, we were using the buckets of ice for the kegs and that kind of stuff for the tap system. I'm like, this, we've got to do something different. So the new trailer is actually a livestock trailer, so it's significantly larger. Yeah. Um, and that we actually have a three-tap kegerator in it. Oh, cool. Yeah, we've got a wine fridge for mixers and stuff like that. Um, it's set up a lot bigger. There's a lot more space so we can accommodate. And I I do often tell people not to pick 25 mixers because it's really not the purpose of having an open, open bar. It's more of pick a couple mixed drinks and kind of go from there. Um, but there's a lot more space in it, so we can't accommodate more drinks, more mixers, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

So kind of staying with that idea you brought up is like I'd have to imagine there's a lot of couples maybe listening or or watching that are like, oh man, but what do we pick? Like, how do we narrow it down? How do we make sure that, you know, everyone from best friend, so and so, to maid of honor to grandma to aunt, like they all have something that they enjoy enough? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

So I often say you can't please everybody. You just can't. Everybody's, you know, they all have different pain.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

In this day and age. Yeah. I'll just like be a little bit more like agreeable.

Curating A Smart, Simple Drink Menu

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Um, I highly recommend like two beers, sometimes seltzers, depending on your your group, and you know your friends, you know your family, you know what they're gonna drink. Um, unless you're a big wine family, I don't recommend doing a whole lot of wine only because it's a waste of your money. Um, as far as the mixed drinks and stuff go, I tend to recommend doing like a his and a hers. And usually that ends up being his favorite drink and her favorite drink. The last wedding we did here, um his was a whiskey sour. Okay, and hers was a Moscow mule. So, you know, they've got those, and then they added like two or three extra mixers just so that way, you know, if you want something mixed with with the Coke with whiskey instead of the sour mix or whatever. So um, a lot of times people will just make do with whatever. Um, and honestly, if you're drinking on somebody else's dime, you're gonna find something to drink.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Yeah, that's that's accurate.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

You know, it's they're not gonna be picky.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Yeah, so you're kind of like you're getting a couple options, a couple variations from the options. Yeah. Uh I'm assuming the like kind of signature cocktails are are pretty common for a lot of the weddings that you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Do a lot of couples like come to you saying, like, hey, we want this to be our signature cocktail, or are they being like, hey, we like this stuff, like what do you recommend? Like, do you get a lot of creativity with that?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

We do, yeah, we do. Um, a lot of times they come to me and they're like, these are what we would like to do, which is great. Because then you know what you want, you're decisive. Good to go. Yeah. It's the couples who are like, I kind of like this, but I kind of like that, and I'm not sure about this. And then that's when you end up with a whole lot of extra mixers and you have a whole lot of extra choices. And then you end up with lines because people stand there and contemplate what they want. And it kind of like it takes a while, you know, when there's seven or eight options, then it takes a while to pick it.

Reducing Lines And Service Systems

SPEAKER_01 13:56

But are there other ways that you've found over the years to like kind of keep the lines flowing, keep things running smoothly? Maybe it's something bartenders can do, or maybe it's something that couples are like kind of overlooking.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Yeah, typically when we get a line, um, I I tend to do all the mixed drinks, and my husband tends to do the beer. Yeah. Um, just because then, you know, you're constantly if I'm making two or three mixed drinks, and I can take two or three people's orders and get those done and out the window before the next group. So um I tend to, you know, especially when you only have two or three drinks, it makes it easy. You know, you need three Moscow mules and you need two Jack and Cokes. And so it it kind of helps you get through the line that way. Yeah. And then, you know, if I'm doing mixed drinks, my husband will turn around and do the beers and pour wines or whatever, and we just keep it going as much as we can. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

So you kind of have like a system, yeah, as much as you can. Yeah, yeah. No, it it seems like there's always a line at the bar. Um, and I I just like I don't know if there's really much to do to get around that because it's just like everyone runs and flocks at the same time.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

After the ceremony, during cocktail hour, or um at some point in the evening, like when everyone migrates into the dinner time.

Rush Patterns And Service Windows

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Dinner time, like before dinner time, you probably have like a rush of people like, ah, let me grab a drink before is there calling tables to go eat? That's when we see a big rush. Yeah. You know, it's like, okay, we got five, 10, 15 minutes to order. All the formalities are done. Yeah. Yeah. All the formalities are done. People get up, come out, waiting for their table to get called to go get food. So um there's usually during cocktail hours, it's the busiest. Yeah, for sure. That's when you see the most. And then throughout the night, it kind of, you know, during the toasts and stuff like that, and the dances, and that slows down. And you still have your one or two who come out and get a drink during dances and stuff, but primarily the list or the the line is before dinner or during dinner and then during cocktail hour. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Uh when when you're getting there, getting set up, uh is your time at the venue generally the same wedding to wedding, or does it change much?

SPEAKER_00 16:20

We try to get to the venue about an hour and a half before your ceremony. Okay. Um, just because I don't want to be banging around trying to get things set up. And I don't want to have, if you're doing kegs of beer, I don't want your kegs foamy because they've been moved around and that kind of thing. Um, so we try to get there about an hour and a half early to get everything set up, and then um as soon as your ceremony is done, then we're there to serve. You're good to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Do you have like a a window of time that you're serving generally?

Scheduling, Hours, And Add-Ons

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Typically, our base rates have five hours of bartending. And that's we don't we don't charge for like our setup and our teardown and all that kind of stuff. Like you get a solid five hours of bartending. Um we try we don't shut down during dinner. Some people will ask us, like, can you shut down for an hour during dinner and go an hour later or whatever? But people still want to drink during dinner time. So we try not to that is accurate, just to like stop or whatever. But um, it's typically five hours. And then we do have guests or couples who add more time on. Um, we've had weddings where they've literally added time on 15 minutes before we were supposed to shut down. So it all just kind of depends. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Is there like a time frame that you have to stick to with like the liquor control board, or is it just they need need to have you there to serve it?

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, they basically just need us there to serve it. Yeah.

Wild Stories: Tuesday Nights And Drag Queens

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Yeah, I that all that stuff I have like just a very little snippet of information from because my wife Christina, uh her parents had uh a brewery in Reading, so she was like working for them a little bit and like serving and stuff there. Yeah. Um, but no, that's so fun. It have there been like some big standout memories over the course of the five years, like memorable moments or like things that really stick out to you as like maybe good or maybe funny or something?

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Our we had a wedding, it's I think it was our second year in business. And uh, we had a wedding, it was a Tuesday night. A Tuesday night on the New York line. We drove to New York, we're literally across the street was the New York border. Um, and they brought in the bride got her groom a drag queen for a show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

That's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

That will be forever burned in my head. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, it was one of those, it was this beautiful Victorian. I I honestly don't think the trailer matched real well, but that was they needed a bartender outside, so that's how that uh fit him to play. But um, yeah, it was this big Victorian house, and uh, two drag queens came in and had a dance, and it uh it was definitely entertaining. And it is a night that I will never forget. Oh, for sure. Tuesday night.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Yeah, the Tuesday thing. I'm still stuck on that.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

As crazy as the rest of the story is, the Tuesday night, it's like, oh, that's a random Tuesday night.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

We did have another Tuesday, but it was a uh Taco Tuesday. They had a taco truck come in, and yeah, that one was a lot of fun too.

Keeping It Safe While Keeping It Fun

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah, I would be stuck at the taco truck for sure. Yeah. Um, so there's a bit of like the bartending service that uh, you know, could get out of control. Not on your end of it. Obviously, you guys are, you know, behaving yourselves, but there's a lot of guests that maybe are not behaving themselves. Yeah. I'm just curious how you are able to kind of keep things upbeat, fun, but also like keep a lid on some of the stuff that can get out of hand.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Yeah, we tend to pay very close attention. So when you have a guest who's starting to stumble or their clothes are starting to come off, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Um you should have been at the wedding like this is the end of September. Uh we've seen some we've seen some clothes come off.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah. Yeah. So when they get to that point, we start to cut back. Yeah. You know, we're not gonna mix them strong just because then we know that they've got to get home somehow, or sometimes they stay at, you know, on site and stuff. But we definitely try to avoid issues. So as we see that things are starting to get a little out of control, then we kind of cut back drinks and um we definitely pour heavier for cocktail hour.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Because then, you know, they're having a good time and then they get dinner in them and then they're good to dance for a couple hours.

Partnering With Venues, Caterers, And DJs

SPEAKER_01 20:57

But but just like slide them into the party, yeah. Like, all right, let's do this. Yeah, exactly. Um, so there's bound to be different vendors that you guys are working with. Um, some honestly, not too closely, like photo, video, you're not probably having too much other than me coming up and be like, Can I get a coke? Yeah. But um, I'm curious, just like how does that work for you guys working alongside like planners, day of coordinators, maybe some of the catering company might be like working alongside you guys, even the venue. What's that kind of process look like for you guys?

What Venues Can Do To Help Bars

SPEAKER_00 21:33

We try to reach out. Um, I ask the bride every every event. I ask the bride for whoever her day of coordinator is, and I try to reach out to them. Um, a lot of the venues I've worked with, we get a lot of the repeats. So, you know, we've been here at Birchwood multiple times, and there's other venues that we've gone to. It honestly it's a referral thing, you know? Yeah. You've been to a venue once or twice and they like you, and they're gonna keep referring you. And so those venues, you know, I don't really reach out to them too much unless it's brand new. Um, I try to make sure that we know what their each venue's policies are for uh serving and are they allowed shots and that kind of stuff. Because if there's no shots allowed on site, then I'm gonna make sure that our bride and groom know that there's no shots and yeah and that kind of thing. So um I definitely reach out to them. Photographers we don't really deal a whole lot with, other than like you said, you know, getting a drink or whatever. Um, but the caterers will work alongside them if they need help, you know, refilling ice because they didn't have enough or you know, anything like that. A lot of times they'll ask us for waters because the caterers get thirsty and you know, they need stuff. So, you know, we definitely work with them and whatever they need. And I try to talk to our our DJs too, just to make sure like I know what the timeline is. If there's a dollar dance, when that's gonna be, and and uh last call and that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Yeah. I'd I'd have to imagine maybe the the venue owners or maybe some of the planners, they have coordinators type you might do the most like back and forth with. Is there something that uh venues could take from this sh episode that like, hey, if you did this one or two things, the bartending service for us would just be like so much easier, so much smoother?

What Couples Should Know Before Booking

SPEAKER_00 23:31

I think and it it goes along with the bride and the groom, knowing where to set up the bar. A lot of times, you know, if you we pull in, we pull it with the truck and we pull in and the serving windows on the passenger side of the car. So there's certain places we can't back into certain places, we can't pull into certain places. So um having a spot available for the bar to be able to pull in and serve, and even if it's even if it was another mobile bar that maybe they're serving windows on the other side, just being sure that it's an easy access. Cause there have been times where he have literally unhooked the trailer and moved it by hand.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Yeah. I was thinking like I've seen some of those like like hydraulic jack systems, like with the wheel on it. I feel like the like little controller. Yeah. But like, see you guys like setting up with this like little controller, it's another thing that you guys could probably buy. Yeah. Yeah. Spend money on. No, but that's so fun. So having like a dedicated space, even like thinking ahead of like, hey, if we did ever have a mobile bar come or some sort of trailer, whether it's ice cream or or whatever it might be, is like if they do come, this is a great spot for them to kind of set up shop.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Yep. And honestly, making sure that there's electric hookups, because there are a lot of times where like we run a kegerator off electric. We can bring a generator, but you know, it's sometimes easier to hook up into electric. It's a little quieter too. Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely much quieter. And, you know, if they have an ice cream truck or uh another vendor who's the taco truck, you know, that kind of thing, they're gonna need to plug in or run a generator. So, you know, a lot of times it's just nice to make sure that there's electrical and a decent place to set up that's not up a hill. Yeah, right.

Growth, Facebook Leads, And Non-Wedding Gigs

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Or somewhere you just can't take the truck. Yeah. Um, I'm curious if there's anything that you wish couples knew about like running the bar side of things at a wedding, like before even reaching out and trying to figure out who might be the best fit for them. It's like just something, something you wish they knew.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

I I think for couples when they are starting their planning process, really sit down and think about what you want. If you're not avid liquor drinkers, do you just want to do beer and wine? Um doing your homework with your bartenders is huge. Um, we're just a little couple, you know, we're not a big outfit or anything like that, but we put everything we've got into it and we try very, very hard to make sure that we're personalizing every event to every couple. So finding somebody who's not just gonna be like, oh, here's the typical Rumacoke and here's the typical two beers on tap kind of thing, you know, making sure that you're really talking through with your any vendor, honestly, like what your needs are. So that way you're really honing in and not spending money that you really don't need to spend.

Booking Early And The New Pricing Process

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Yeah, which honestly, if you're finding vendors that have that intention behind everything, you're gonna end up with a better service, a better team, yeah, and really like just a better day overall. If you're if you're able to kind of navigate some of that beforehand. Yeah. Um, I'm curious over the course of the five years that you guys have been running the business, um, what kind of like tools or systems or strategies have you guys used to kind of maybe help things run smoothly or even just help your business grow over that time?

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Facebook has been huge for us to get our business to grow. Um we get a lot of word of mouth. You know, five years ago, we started off with six or seven events and we just kind of blew up from there. We've had quite a few people who book because their friends got married and we bartended at their friends, and they just kind of keep going from there. And then we've got, we've actually had um sweet sixteens with mocktails. We've had graduation parties with some non-alcoholic and some alcohol drinks. We've done uh surprise 50th birthdays, so it's just growing that way and expanding to what just weddings.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Yeah, so not just weddings. Yeah. Yeah. There's so many avenues. I feel like even photo, video, I'm not sure about planning, maybe a little bit, but there's so many avenues that you could be kind of dipping your toes into. Yeah. Um, but what about Facebook worked so well for you guys? Was it like organic posts? Was it ads?

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Was it it was going into all the different wedding pages? Okay. And posting pictures. And, you know, here's our price sheet. Yeah, here's what we do.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

So that's still working as kind of a source of of leads. And okay.

Closing Thanks And Listener CTA

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Yeah, whenever I mean, I haven't, I I'll be honest, I haven't been posting a whole lot just because I wanted to get through the season before before starting. A lot of vendors to yeah. Again, this is September. So yeah, a lot of times, and honestly, we have a lot of people, I don't think they think about their bartenders, right? So they wait until two, three, four months ahead, and then they're like, oh, I need a bartender. So then they're booking and they're reaching out. And at that point, most bartenders are already booked. Yeah. So when you're booking your photographer and your caterer and your venue, reach out to your bartenders too.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Yeah, I'd have to imagine, like, because uh I feel like a lot of people find a photographer with maybe a date. They might not even have a venue. Like photo could be like first thing. But if you get a venue and a cater and you're trying to find a bartender, from what you're saying, like go for it right away.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah. Even if it's just to pay the deposit. And that's how we've the one thing that we used to do was they'd reach out, we would book them, they'd pay the deposit, we would figure out what they wanted to drink at that point. Gotcha. Well, when you're booking a year, year and a half in advance, things change.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

You know, you might go to another event and try something else, and you're like, oh, I really liked that drink. I think I want that to be my signature or whatever. So we've actually revamped it that now when you reach out and you book, we sign a contract to save your date and we take a deposit that's non-refundable. And then closer to your time, about eight weeks out, we talk. We go through what exactly it is that you want to do, what what are your drinks, what are your mixers, and then um your price is based on that. So that way you're not um changing your mind.

SPEAKER_01 30:31

Yeah, later on.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Later on. And then, yeah, because a lot of times what was what was happening, and we kind of had to sit down and reevaluate, like, this isn't working, you know, we would have somebody who would want, let's say, vodka cranberry. And then they would turn around six months beforehand and be like, oh, I want sour mix and I want this or I want that, and they wanted six or seven other drinks, and we were losing money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Because what do you do at that point?

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Right. That first year, like we really didn't do a whole lot just because we had so many people changing their minds. Yeah. And at that point, we were just doing two signature drinks, not based on mixer. So we definitely had to change that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

That role. Oh, for sure. For sure. So it seems like it's it's a great like in-between of like they can book you, get the date locked in, they know you're gonna be there. And then once they figure out what they want later, because even it's so true, I don't really drink a whole lot of beer anymore. It just doesn't really like sit well. Maybe it's because I'm 32, I don't know. But I just don't drink a whole lot of beer anymore. And if I was asked like two years ago, I might have said like this beer or that beer. Right. And it's just like it can change, and um, like you're saying, it's gonna save your couples money in the long run. And honestly, it's gonna help you guys too. Yeah, a little bit on the business side of it. Uh well, Christy, thank you so much for being on. Uh, it's been so cool to hear your experience and just like the like no experience of bartending service, business, and like nothing. And then now you here you are five years later with Wild Horse Mobile Bar. Being successful, doing a ton of events. It's so fun to hear all of that.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Yes, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Yeah, um, thank you everyone for tuning in to this episode. I hope you enjoyed hearing Christy's story, her journey as a business owner. Um, if you liked the episode, uh make sure you're sharing it with all of your friends. And if you're watching on YouTube, please subscribe so you get up-to-date information on all the new episodes that are coming out. And uh if you're listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever you're finding this, listening to this podcast, appreciate it if you just leave us a little review, let us know how you're liking the podcast. And that's all for this episode. We'll catch you next time on the preferred list.