In the midst of wedding season, we love all the creative ideas that surface for wedding bars. Among them, we’ve noticed a growing trend: clever coffee bars are surfacing as well. Whether for a sunrise ceremony or a way to facilitate dancing late into the night, coffee is popular with guests across the board. Here are five favorite ways to dress up your coffee bar.
1. Cold coffee on tap. If you saw our article about coffee kegs, you know cold-brewed coffee is hot. Grab a keg for your big day from locals like Anchorhead or Stumptown, then add your own mixers—a variety of milks, flavored syrups, whipped cream, and even horchata! If you don’t think you’ll go through a keg, choose a variety of bottled options and fill a tub so guests can pick their favorites. Keep an ice bucket of coffee ice cubes nearby to avoid watered-down drinks.
2. Mix & match mugs. Keep costs low by collecting a wide variety of fun mugs from your favorite local thrift store. Guests get the fun of picking out their favorites at the coffee bar and won’t mix up their coffees after setting them down. You’ll pare down your worries over broken glassware during the event—afterwards, let guests take home any mugs they like before you donate the rest right back to the thrift store.
3. Combine with the booze. Having an open bar too? Overlap the two for coffee cocktails by including tasty liquors, coffee liqueurs, bitters, sugars and spices with your coffee bar’s add-in options. Some great local liquor options: Seattle Distilling Company’s Coffee Liqueur and Idle Hour Whiskey, Bendistillery’s Crater Lake Rye and Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso Vodka, Rain City Spirits’ Drip Coffee Liqueur, and Blue Spirits’ Rum and Espresso Vodka.
4. Make it sweet. For a treat alongside the wedding cake, offer a variety of ice cream flavors for espresso-melted affogatos or cold-brew floats. Apart from classic chocolate and vanilla, you can’t go wrong with cookies and cream, caramel ribbon or butter pecan.
5. Personalize it. Guests love to see personal touches from the bride and groom worked into the ceremony and reception. Make the coffee bar your own by brewing one coffee from each of your favorite local coffee shops. Better yet, take a big bag of each of your choices and mix the beans up to create your signature blend. Send guests home with a bag to enjoy while you’re away on your honeymoon.
