Once the formality of the Wedding Ceremony has been concluded, the confetti has been tossed, and the couple are off taking their couples wedding photos – guests now have plenty of downtime to get to know each other before the Wedding Breakfast takes place. Usually, Prosecco and sparkling elderflower cordial starts making the rounds, but if you feel like treating your guests to something a bit more inventive or unusual, consider adding a bar service supplier onto your big day.
In this journal article, we talk to The Shaker Bar, one of our recommended partner suppliers all about what they can do to give your guests an incredible drinks experience. This also isn’t limited to alcoholic drinks, with mocktails firmly on the menu too – so perfect for any underage guests or those who do not drink alcohol. So sit back, maybe grab something nice to sip yourself, and read on below.
Hi Erica, thank you for talking to us! First off, please do introduce yourself and The Shaker Bar for our readers
Thanks for inviting me to talk to you! I’m Erica, the owner and director of The Shaker Bar. We offer an exceptional drinks experience to complement the most treasured celebrations.
What was it that prompted you to create The Shaker Bar?
The Shaker Bar was founded in 2024, but the ambition had been brewing for quite some time before that. While the idea of stepping away from traditional 9-5 employment was part of it, what really drove me was a desire to create something truly special — to be a part of people’s once-in-a-lifetime moments. Combining my love of exceptional drinks with years of customer experience and Event Management felt like the perfect way to do that.
We often have couples who want something a bit more unique than the standard bar offer at their drinks reception, what can The Shaker Bar provide?
We believe that each couple’s love story is unique – their cocktails and drinks should be too. After getting to know our couples, we craft signature wedding cocktails and menus that represent them.
To lead on from the previous question, if you have a couple who would like to have cocktails at their drinks reception, but have no idea what to pick, where do you start?
We would discuss any particular likes (or dislikes) the couple may have, and suggestions would be inspired by their history. Perhaps where they met, a favourite holiday, a shared passion or where they grew up. We want the drinks they share on their special day to tell their story. That said, we are also happy to recommend some classic crowd-pleasers.
Can you please break down for our couples the client journey from enquiry to the day-of the event?
We work fairly flexibly depending on the couple and their requirements, everything we do is on a bespoke basis. However, typically, following an initial enquiry we would have a discovery call. It’s a great opportunity for me to understand how the couple’s special day is looking and what they want to offer their guests, and gives the couple an opportunity to ask any questions they may have. A bespoke proposal (or sometimes a couple of different options) would then be sent which outlines the details of the potential booking. When the couple are happy with the outline of the proposal a deposit would be paid to secure the booking. That’s when we can get into the fun of deciding the finer details and all-important drinks themselves, which we would do in the months leading up to the booking date. On the day of the booking we provide absolutely everything required to provide outstanding drinks and service, so the couple can relax, enjoy themselves and make memories with their loved ones.
At the Bodleian we run weddings all year round, what cocktails would you recommend for each season?
There are just so many options! Suggestions could include – in summer a classic such as an English Garden or a Margarita, in Autumn a Bramble using seasonal blackberries, in Winter a Negroni or a Sour using premium Rum or Whisky, and in Spring a Rhubarb French 75 using new season Rhubarb.
Do you have any personal cocktail recipes you’ve created yourself?
I have a version of a Wildflower Sour that always goes down very well. A combination of London Dry Gin, Lemon Juice, Cane Sugar Syrup, Aquafaba (or egg white) and a touch of Wildflower Gin. It’s a wonderful pink colour, which I just love.
In your opinion, what are several essential alcohol/juice/flavour combinations which are crowd-pleasers without fail?
In mixology there are golden rules to understand, but essentially it’s all about balancing spirit with sweet and tart, and understanding flavours that complement each other. With the classic fundamentals in place, you can experiment endlessly to create versions of crowd pleaser classics from the popular Sour, Martini and Highball families.
The Shaker Bar also provides cocktail classes, can you please explain more about these as this might be interesting to any Maids-of-Honour reading this article!
We offer workshops which are so much fun and can be perfect for hen celebrations where different sets of friends and family may be brought together for the first time. Making and enjoying cocktails together is such a great ice-breaker! We prepare 3 cocktails selected with the season in mind, and the group enjoy these with some fancy snacks along the way. The only requirement is a dining table or kitchen island with enough space for everybody to gather around.
To finish on a fun question, what is your favourite cocktail (as a wedding guest)?
That’s a tough question to answer, and would always depend on the time of year and time of day! I would say that during a daytime drinks reception a version of a spritz which has a lower abv, or something fresh like a Mojito or a Classic Tom Collins would be my choice. And my post-dinner preference would be an Aged Rum Sour or my occasional secret guilty pleasure – Chocolate Espresso Martini.
Thank you so much for talking to us Erica, that certainly was thirsty work! If you’re still planning your wedding, do take a look at our interview with Fine Planning to see how they can help you on your big day. Or if you’re thinking of a Spring 2027 wedding do take a look at just some of our Easter & Spring wedding inspiration.
Otherwise, the Bodleian Weddings Team wish you a lovely day, and see you next time!
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