This review is for Blue Ribbon Cooking (BRC), the cater vendor that partners with Emerald City Trapeze Arts.

It pains us to have to write a poor review, but it would do us, our guests, and future couples a disservice if we don't let everyone know what happened. This review is only about the myriad of problems the two bartenders they had on staff caused for our guests, and ultimately for us as the bride and groom who have to deal with the aftermath.

For weeks after our wedding, many of our guests brought up all the problems they faced at the bar. The initial complaints were: many people felt like one of the bartenders was high on drugs, they weren't pouring drinks, they took their time, they wasted time, they were very slow, they were extremely unprofessional, they didn't know how to make our signature drinks (Manhattan and Moscow Mule), the drinks were inconsistent, they didn't seem qualified to be bartenders, guests felt like they had to tip to get bigger pours (i.e. getting hustled), etc.

Other complaints we received:

One guest was told they couldn't be served anymore because they "have the Asian glow", even after being served only one drink. This was witnessed by several close family members. Our wedding comprised mostly of people from Asian descent. Many Asians turn red even after one sip of alcohol; it is no indication of how much we drank. This crossed the line of poor service and into racial discrimination.

Many guests waited in line for over 10 minutes just for the line to never move. People asked for double shots and multiple drinks because their previous experience of waiting in line forced them to want to be more efficient with their time.

[Bride] was at the bar and asked one of the bartenders to make 5 of the same drinks. The bartender took far too long to make those drinks with coke and just a splash of whiskey. Everyone was watching the bartender, thinking about why he was purposely taking his time. When [Bride] asked for more alcohol to be poured for each drink, the bartender said "I can't, it's against the rules to pour more and I don't want to get in trouble". That is ridiculous when we pre-purchased the alcohol and he barely poured any. 

No one was drunk or being unruly - but a couple of guests were told that they were "cut off", even though we paid up front to extend bartending services for an extra hour. That was the moment [Bride] spoke up about something being off with the bartenders but by then, the party was nearly over.

One of our groomsmen recounted a moment when one bartender stacked glasses on top of each other to make it look "fancy" before he poured alcohol. He witnessed a conversation between the two bartenders where the other bartender asked him what he was doing, then he put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

[Groom] also had to wait 5 minutes to get his drink for table greetings when there was only one person in front of him. There was no sense of urgency to serve. He was also asked to "tip" him when we were packing up the drinks at the end of the night by giving him a handle of whiskey.

After hearing about the racial discrimination complaint, we asked for our full bartending services payment back, but we were denied and our feelings essentially dismissed. It is entirely possible this could have happened to more than just this one guest. BRC is responsible for their staff and need to be held accountable for how disgusting their bartenders behaved.

Emerald City Trapeze Wedding Venue

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