Latest / The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast / Episode 54 When A Cocktail Becomes Part Of The Love Story: Shaken and Strained

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Episode 54 When A Cocktail Becomes Part Of The Love Story: Shaken and Strained · The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm James, a wedding filmmaker.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: 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.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's meet today's wedding vendor.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Brian, how's it going?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, how are you?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me on.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being on.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to talk all things of bartending.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Brian runs Shaken and Strained.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: He's got an awesome team.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's doing cool things.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna dive into all of the bartending journey that you've been on.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But before we do, I'm gonna tell you a little bit more about the venue that we're at.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Drew Moore Estate is a luxury wedding venue located in the rolling farmlands of southern Lancaster County.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: The 16,000 square foot brick Georgian mansion located on the second highest elevation in the county was built in 1938 as a party house for newspaper magnate John Steinman.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: It provides robust views of forestry, hillsides, and even the city of Lancaster skyline.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: The estate's long-standing legacy of elegance and hospitality continues to flourish, becoming a place where magical memories are made and couples' most important days come to life.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: It also provides the unparalleled Drewmore Estate experience for weddings and events of all sizes.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: From the mansion and formal gardens to the grand tent and carriage house, every event at Drewmore Estate becomes more than a celebration.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes a part of history.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's so fun to have these venues all be so different.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: So beautiful.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Right, and so beautiful.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And they're beautiful in their own way, which is super fun.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: But Brian, thanks for being on.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so happy to be here.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me a little bit more about how you got started with Shaken and Strain.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Where did it all come from?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: So Shaken and Strained, um, I I kind of launched it around 2019, 2020.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I've always done events, I've always done weddings for a little over 10 years.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, been in the hospitality business for over 15 years.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was beverage director for a couple different locations, um, worked at Rock Litdids for about four and a half years as well.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, was always doing events, you know, in between.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, the whole COVID situation happened and I kind of got pushed out of that position a little bit.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I ramped up, you know, things that I was doing on the side with, you know, events and whatnot and went full force with it.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And thought it would be cool to bring my own element to these events um because I found that there was, you know, a huge necessity for it.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it's been really successful ever since.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so fun.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's so fun to hear how we didn't really have this like business owner mindset.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: You just saw something and just like jumped into it.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm curious, like, were did you have any roadblocks?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like when you were first getting started and first jumping into it, was there anything that like you were kind of uneasy about?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I think you know, the scarcity of starting any business is always gonna be a little challenging, right?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but when you're in the position that I was in with, you know, managing, you know, a bunch of different establishments, being in the hospitality world for as long as I was, and kind of conditioning yourself and and preparing yourself for the opportunity to create something for your, you know, for yourself, um, you know, the business per se, and doing the events that I was always doing for over 15 years, I kind of already had that training and like that conditioning.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the only roadblock that I could think of was actually taking the leap and starting the business and just kind of hitting the ground and running with it.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: And what is my approach gonna be?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: How am I, you know, where to where to where to start?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like the logistics.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: The logistics behind everything.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: But as far as like the footwork and the experience and everything that was needed to start the business, I mean, I kind of already had that, you know, that that that that training.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: I was ran through the process.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I think just taking the leap and starting the business was probably the most challenging.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it was very fluid, it was very easy.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, once word got out that I was, you know, doing this, you know, my reputation kind of proceeded or or followed me a little bit.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, it was it was easy, it was easy to, you know, hit the ground running.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so fun.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Were were you always doing weddings in these other kind of realms, or were you more so just like hospitality in general?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think for over for over 15 years, I've been in the I've for over 15 years I've been in the hospitality business.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um almost every position, you know, in restaurants and whatnot.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: I've consulted restaurants, I've developed cocktail programs for different hospitality groups between, you know, Lancaster, surrounding areas, Philadelphia as well.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I lived out there for a little bit and and ran a whole bunch of cocktail bars on like 13th Street.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I've always been in the hospitality world.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in the wedding space itself, I think over over 10 years, um, I worked at Cork Factory Hotel for you know several years.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I was always heavily involved with the uh the weddings that were happening there.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Outside of that, I worked with a couple of other catering companies that was facilitating, you know, weddings and the bar service and stuff like that.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I helped coordinate that a lot.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I just wanted to bring my own element into the business, you know, and and when shaken and strain kind of took off, I wanted it to be intimate.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted it to be a little more boutique.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted I just wanted there to be like a really cool bar vibe to where I'm able to develop these cocktail programs and really make you feel like you have a mixologist behind the bar, serving your drinks with the personality that you know facilitates that specific style of event.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you bring up like a mixologist, yeah.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're bringing up like style.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me a little bit more about what the shaken and strained sort of vibe is bringing to the day.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's not just like, hey, I'm back there just slinging drinks and just making everyone happy.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: So being as meticulous as I am, you know, with with how I do things, um, and like in the world of mixology, right?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because mixology is just something that has always fascinated me, you know, from pre-prohibition style cocktails to, you know, your everyday, you know, modern day cocktails, um, I just think mixology is something that brings people together.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: It tells a story.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: There's history to the cocktails and it opens up the conversation.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when you're when you're making these drinks and you're explaining to people what it is that you're doing, how you came up with this, you know, the science behind why we're pairing certain juices with certain spirits.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I just think there's something beautiful about that.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And just imbibing and bringing people together through food and drink is just always such a beautiful thing.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then on a special day like that, you know, it's just an extra layer and an element of like the whole experience of the wedding, you know.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love the storytelling part of it that you're bringing in.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Cause like for me as a videographer, and I know you like dabble a little bit in some video stuff, yeah, but like, yeah, but there's there's it would be so easy for a bartender to be like, well, I just provide the drinks.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas what I'm hearing from you is like, yeah, we provide the drinks, but we do it in a way that does more than just provide the drinks.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: So when I'm talking to couples, I usually ask them, um, do you have any specialty cocktails in mind that you would want to come up with, or do you want to give me free range to where I can I can come up with like four or five different cocktails that are really swanky and cool, and you can pick from there.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: Or if you want on a trip somewhere and you happen to see a cocktail that you really, really enjoyed, but you don't remember exactly what was in it, we can kind of dissect it and you can tell me a little bit about what you think was in it, and then I can try to recreate it for you.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to name it after, you know, your your dogs or you know, your cats, which is what a lot of people tend to do um for their his and hers drink, which is like a really cute thing.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, we kind of just go from there.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of a lot of communication back and forth for several, several months.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I like to keep that window of communication open with um the client because it makes my job a lot easier when I have all the information and it makes their day less worrisome when they can have that communication with me to ask me all the questions that they need to ask.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: In order for complete preparation of for the day of Yeah.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of decisions they have to make for people outside themselves, too.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Tons.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because they're deciding on, you know, hey, what kind of beer do we have?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of liquor do we have?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of drinks are we making?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: How do you help them go from like, here's all the options to like here's what's going to make sense for the two of you and the people that you've invited?
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, it's one of those situations where having that window of communication open between yourself and the client is extremely important.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: So you can ask these questions because if you reach out to me six months before your event, right?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: We have all that time to figure things out.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I always say to them, you can reach out to me for anything at any point because the more information I have, the better your experience is gonna be.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so these are some of the questions that I do ask them.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, do is the majority of the people in your group, are they beer drinkers?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Are they wine drinkers?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Are they more, you know, vodka tequila gjinn people?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I think asking those those questions are extremely important.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: So you're not you're not over-ordering things, you're not bringing items that you're not really gonna use.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and sometimes, you know, it it can be as extensive as it needs to be, or you know, as minimal as it you know, you know, as minimal as it needs to be as well.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: So are they deciding kind of just like as a group, most people do X, Y, and Z, or are they trying to get like as many options as possible?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the time they don't really know.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Since I've done these events so many times, I know more or less what people drink, like what they're gonna have.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I ask the questions.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes they just want things that I wouldn't even, you know, I wouldn't even think, you know, to add to the package.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So what I try to do is I explain it to them, I try to minimize it, simplify it for them.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: We make a decision from there.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always asking questions.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because I have to figure this out with you.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: I would imagine because of the intentionality you're putting into the questions you're asking, the way that you're caring for couples.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what's different about the way that you have your setup and the and the way that you're presenting yourself on the wedding day?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: So there's there's a lot of like detail into what I do.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've set up a lot of cocktail bars in my day.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've opened up a lot of restaurants.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: I have a certain swankiness that I like to go for.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um from you know, an old perfume bottle that I use as an atomizer for bitters, which is really cute.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's like my little Easter egg that I put on the bar.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's from like the 30s.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I have these beautiful copper spoons, these custom-made etched mixing um glasses that are just like, they're just really, really, it's the fine detail that I think what makes a huge difference.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, aside from myself, anybody that works with me on the Shaken and Strain team, what Shaken and Strain really is, it's a collective of people that have been in the hospitality game for over 10 years, right?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: They've worked in bars, they've worked in event spaces, they're not just a body behind the bar serving you drinks.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: They know what the game is, you know, they they have that level of professionalism along with myself and that personality that you would want when you're interacting with somebody that's making you these beautiful cocktails on you know on your special day.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it it goes to show uh the way that you can kind of craft your part of the evening um and not just have this kind of like, eh, well, whatever it feels like, it feels like you're taking that extra step, it sounds like, to kind of craft an experience.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how do you manage and balance that craft and the experience, but also keeping things moving so no one's sitting in line for too long, kind of waiting for their turn to get up there?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's that fluidity of being in the industry for as long as you have been, um, having that experience and really knowing how to manage people, right?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And when I say manage people, I'm talking about like managing the the flow of things and how busy it gets.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, usually there's two bartenders, so we have two separate lines and it moves very, very quickly.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, some of the other events that I have worked will have like a third station where it'll be like a, you know, like a pre-mixed cocktail that we do, or we just add the alcohol to like maybe like a mango strawberry lemonade or something like that.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it keeps the flow going, you know, and I try to break it up as much as I possibly can.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um if it's a bigger wedding, let's say over maybe 175 people, I'll I might have a third person just to kind of have those extra hands and still be able to kind of keep things flowing a little bit.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't I don't ever see myself running into any issues to where it's like this is too much, you know, and like I'm losing my cool.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because at the end of the day, like it's their special day, you're there to provide a service, never let them see you sweat.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know what I mean?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Keep your cool, keep your composure, and and just keep a smile on your face, keep it flowing, you know, interact with the people, you know, mingle a little bit, asking them, you know, personal questions like, hey, like how's the ceremony and things like that.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it just it keeps it keeps them, it keeps them happy, it keeps you happy, the morale is high, you know, and and just I love engaging with people, you know.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: I like to keep that that action, especially when I'm behind the bar, you know, getting to know like, you know, certain people, like, hey, what's your name?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, where are you from?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Where's the majority of the people here from?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: And like by the end of the night, you feel like you've made a couple friends, yeah, you know, and like these people are having like such an amazing, an amazing time.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I just I just got a review today.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: They put a smile on my face where it was like, you know, thank you so much, you know, for for what you guys did for us from beginning to end.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody loved you guys.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: The drinks were amazing, people can't stop talking about them.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it's moments like that that remind me why it is that I do things the way that I do things, how I like to make sure that everybody's having a good time, you know, when I'm out there making these these wonderful drinks.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm even just curious too, like on your team, you mentioned you know, they have a ton of experience, they're not just like a fresh, you know, warm body serving drinks.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: But how do you get them to buy into this um very intentional mindset that you have for yourself and for your business?
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: To also be like, okay, shaking the train's there.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Brian might not be there, but you're getting the same experience.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's you know, from the experience that I have and the people that I've worked with, I think it kind of shows with the quality of work.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I myself am almost a hundred percent present at all of my events.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm not, it's very seldom that that happens, but when it does, it's probably because I have like more than one event in one day.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I like to make that very clear.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's shaken and strained is like my little baby, right?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: And it's kind of hard for me to kind of let somebody else be a representation of shaken and strained when I'm not there, because I'll probably be like the you know, the parent that's at home biting their nails.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I wonder how I wonder how my baby's doing.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: So calling every five minutes.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I I like to be very present because like at the end of the day, if if anybody's gonna screw things up, like I'd rather it be me.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: As opposed to somebody else where I'm like, I should have been there.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: But um, like I said, between like the website, I tell a story on the website, I send out a PDF as well to the clients, kind of explaining what shaken and strain really is, that it's a collective of people that have been in the hospitality business collectively for over 20 years.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we we look at professionalism, appearance, and the style of work on a very like high expectations, right?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: This is just the way that I am.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's the way I like to do things and I like to keep it like that because I view shaken and strained as more like boutique bartending, right?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: As opposed to shake and strained catering.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Where it's like a boutique bartending service where we're gonna be very personal, personable, we're gonna be very professional in appearance and the way that we do things.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we just want to make sure that you're having the best day on your best day.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: What's it look like for you being a part of that reception process, but working alongside maybe some different catering groups, um, working at the different venues that you get to maybe frequent?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's that process look like collaboratively working alongside those different vendors?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's I think it's amazing and it's very, it's very fluid.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of the events that I work, and there's some pretty amazing catering companies out there that I've worked with.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um the first thing that I actually do, I introduce myself.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: And if there's any questions that they have, they can come to me.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I would I would expect that I'd be able to do the same thing.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think just having that communication with them so they know who I am and who we are and getting to know them as well is just I think extremely important throughout the whole process because at the end of the day, we're under the same roof for the same purpose, and that's to make sure that these people are having the best time of their life on a very, very memorable day.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a drink that you can think of?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that you might have to take a second to kind of think that a couple came up with, or you came up with a couple that just like became an instant hit, and everyone was like coming back for more and just like in love with the drink.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think so.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: The big one most recently, and I'll be honest with you, and this goes crazy, and I have to make it in volume, so I can't really make it as if I was, you know, in a bar setting where somebody's actually sitting there, they order it, and I can just like muddle things and and whatnot.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the mojito is really big right now for weddings.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, of course, it's a little meticulous and and arduous, you know, the process in making it because if you're in a bar, you're gonna take mint, you're gonna take, you know, a little bit of sugar, you're gonna take, you know, the lime and you're muddling it, and you have to add this and that.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: So the process is a little longer.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: I try to simplify it a little bit um in the catering um realm just to keep things flowing.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I make my own mint simple syrup um so I don't have to look really like muddle too much.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then I, you know, I pour a little bit of uh fresh lime and juice.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: So it kind of mimics the whole entire drink, but it tastes phenomenal, especially with the mint simple syrup.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: And like once these people try it, they're like part of the half of them can't even believe that I'm making mojitos at a wedding.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Being the fact that I'm making this process a little easier without having to do all the meticulous little details that I would do if I was working behind a bar is really cool.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean people go crazy over them.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like you could use the the simple syrup in some like cool ways too, outside of mojitos.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: The mint simple syrup specifically is for that one, but but it's yeah, it's it's phenomenal.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's phenomenal.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I bring different purees as well.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I can do like a strawberry, um uh strawberry mojito, a mango mojito, you know, things like that.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean it's and then I fluff it up with like the mint, so it's like it's a presentation and and it tastes pretty amazing.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: So when when couples are in that planning process with you, um, what's something that they're often overlooking and maybe a little like surprised by?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think options of what they're gonna have behind the bar.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um when I talk to certain couples, they're like, we don't even know where to start.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I pretty much give them this template and I'm like, this is like the basics of what you can start with, and then we kind of work off of that.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, wine, that's a big one.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of clients are like, I didn't even think of that.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there and there is a lot of people in my in my family that love wine.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we didn't even think of that.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: So when I hear that, it makes me feel good because, like I said, going back to my point earlier, it's asking these questions and really getting to know them and giving them information that they probably wouldn't think about on a normal on a normal day, um, is what helps the process to be able to have like a good experience that day.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like there's just there's so much that goes into it, like you've been saying, that once you get through some of that process with someone like yourself who's asking the questions, you start to see, oh, this is what we could do with it, and that's what we could do with it.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: And no, I didn't even think about that.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't even think about that.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's always my favorite response.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, oh, I didn't think of C.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, that's what that's why I'm in this position.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's why you got me.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in that process and you're playing with the your couples and you're, you know, you're doing the service actually at the wedding.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: What's what's one thing that, you know, you can kind of help keep the bar fun, but still kind of keep control of, you know, not too much fun that things are kind of getting out of hand?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think at the end of the day, it's it's all the experience that you have, like how.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: How many of these have you done right?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think I have it down to like a science at this point.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a well-oiled machine.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the only thing that I want the couples to do is just be the couple that day.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, focus on the wedding, have fun, enjoy yourself.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'll do the worrying.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we try to make it as fun as we possibly can.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we keep the flow of things, keeping a good, you know, positive attitude throughout the entire night.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if at the end of the night, you know, you want to scream in the car, you can do that.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, I genuinely love and enjoy what I do.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And seeing people in that element and seeing them happy, having a good time motivates me to continue to do what I'm doing throughout the night to make sure that these people are not going to forget this moment, you know, with their family, their friends, you know, we keep the drinks flowing.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's just keeping that level of, you know, professionalism throughout the whole night and just having fun with it.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you you obviously came into Shaken and Strained with a ton of experience, but I'm curious now that you've had Shaken and Strained for a number of years now, is there anything you would do differently?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: And like what would you do differently in the beginning having the experience that you have now?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I would change a whole lot, to be honest with you.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think I knew uh from the very beginning that there was a template that I was trying to create that was gonna make me successful, right?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: In the in the industry that I'm in.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: There was a template that I already created that I knew the client was gonna be happy with, right?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: So once I put that template into action, it was so easy for me to manage it.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I think what I what I did take from you know, from it, I grew every single time, right?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: When I would use this, I would fine-tune it.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: But there's there wasn't really much that I would change to it because I already knew the expectations that the client had, and I already knew the expectations that I had for myself.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I created something that was very formatted well to be able to, you know, put it into play.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: It does feel like a lot of times in the wedding industry, because the wedding side of things can be this like weekend warrior thing, it can be this kind of side thing that maybe a lot of wedding vendors aren't going into it with a structured plan.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so the fact that you did, um, I love that you're like, I won't change anything.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because but you wouldn't because you went into it with a plan.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: You had a structure in place, you used your past experience.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious what in that past experience with all the hospitality, the restaurants, the bars, and all that stuff that you did before Shaken and Strained, what's one of the like biggest standout things that you took from that experience and put into your business?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think just being able to deal with volume, you know, there's a lot of it is high pressure, a lot of it is is, you know, long hours, um being on your feet for a very long time.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I think going through that as long as I did, right, conditioned my body, conditioned my mind, um, gave me the capability to to handle high pressure situations.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end of the day, uh, you know, I I I try to manage it the best way that I possibly can without being too stressed about anything because at the end of the day, you still have to show up and do what you have to do.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I think going through that conditioning process through the years in like different establishments, different events, you know, restaurants and things like that, that was like more preparation for the real thing.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: It reminds me, like you were talking about your running.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it kind of keeps you a clear mind, like for sure.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: You almost had that like running mentality of like, okay, I'm gonna put the laps in and put the time in.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you get to do your own thing, it's like, okay, I'm gonna refine it and make this my own, but you already have that experience where you're you're not like doing that first event, you're like, oh man, I'm so nervous.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm cooked.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: There's like 150 people here out of the way.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: But you like to do that no, this is like I've done this before.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, never let them see you sweat, you know.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: But just give them an experience that they're gonna remember because like I genuinely love doing what I do, you know, and I show up every day with that mentality, you know.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: So when I do these weddings, like I'm hype, you know.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: I show up hype.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm probably the loudest one in the room when I first get there, and they're like, What's you know?
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think half the time they're like, What's wrong with this guy?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, but there's nothing really wrong with me, it's just an energy, and I want people to feel that energy, yeah.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, because when you have that, it goes a super long way.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: In certain moments, like you need to bring it up, you need to bring it down, you need to kind of like match the room.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm curious because you were mentioning how much you love running, you're running like all the time.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: I do, I love it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Prophecy excited.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's not for me.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just not for me right now.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I'm curious because you run so much, because you have that experience, what do you take from your running and infuse into your business?
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how how does that, and I know some of that too, I have another question on it too, but like what mentality do you take from your running and put into your business?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: The discipline.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think just the discipline behind it, you know, you have to show up, you have to do a job.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um you have to create this experience, you know.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: When when I'm like when I when I do go running, um the majority of the time I don't I don't really want to run.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, but it's something that I challenge myself to do.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: I tell myself that I'm gonna do it.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I tell myself that I'm gonna do a specific distance, so I can't do any less than that because I already told myself that I was gonna do it.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: And um, when I apply that into the business, it it's very similar because whether you want to do it or not, you still have to show up and be the best version of yourself for this event, so these people can have a memorable experience with you and your team, you know.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of it goes hand in hand.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: So to speak.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's interesting too, because you were mentioning something about how running is sort of like an outlet for you.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm curious if you could speak to that kind of idea of being a business owner, maybe feeling run down half the time or more than half the time, but having something like for you, it's running.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: For someone else, it could be something completely different.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: But how important is it for you?
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: And and what does that do for you to have that outlet to kind of get away and kind of clear your mind?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's super, super crucial.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, when I when I do it, it's very therapeutic for me.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I do some of my best thinking when I'm running.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of it, I probably have you know some pretty good ideas or maybe some some bad ones.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I'll talk about that one.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we won't do that.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll put those put those under here.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: But it's it's the discipline aspect of it.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you know that if you do it, whether you want to do it or not, at the end of, and I say this to anybody, right?
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: When you do something and you apply yourself, right?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you want to do it or not, there's always gonna be great reward at the end of it, right?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because you could look back and say, I did that even when I didn't want to do it.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I showed up, and the reward is I feel better.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: I can tell myself that I listened to my mind and I still showed up, did the job, did the run, did the walk, whatever it is that you do, there's always great reward to anything.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, as long as you're putting the the time into it.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think that's the hard part, you know.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like when you are feeling beat down and you're still like, I gotta do it, I gotta show up.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you have people that you're doing it for, hopefully.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, more than just like gritting and putting your head down and like, I gotta do this.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's so fun.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Brian, it's been so good to have you on.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: So cool to hear your story.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's been awful that you've had, yeah.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: How cool is the setup?
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this setup is crazy.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: I I love this.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely brought Brian down here.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, it wasn't it was a no-brainer.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but thank you for being on.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where can people find and follow along with what you're doing with Shaken and Strained?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you guys can follow me on Instagram, my website as well, Shaken and Strained through Google.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, on Instagram at Shaken and Strained717, even though I travel outside of the 717, but I gotta represent in the you know in the title um because we are Lancaster based.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, check me out.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: I love my clients, I love my couples, my vendors.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's too many to mention.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because I knew you were gonna ask me at one point, like, is there like a favorite one?
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm gonna stop that right now because all of you guys are amazing.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: All of you are my favorite.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, we're we're a team and we're out there, you know, creating some pretty amazing experiences for some wonderful people.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Brian, thank you so much for being on.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you've listened this far, all those links that he just mentioned will be down in the description.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: So you can click on any of those, connect with Brian, hear more about Shaking and Strain.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you for listening this far through the this episode.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I really appreciate you guys sticking this through.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you're here now and you haven't subscribed on YouTube yet, please do that.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Throw a like in the video, it's super helpful.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, follow along with audio if you're listening on audio.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh leave us a review, let us know how you're liking the episode, the show.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if anyone you think in your life or friends, family that would be um you know benefiting from hearing from Brian's story or learning more about bartending service, shaken and strained, please share this episode with them.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate that.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's all for this episode.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: I will catch you guys next time on the preferred list.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.