Wedding Staff Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Hiring the Right Event Professionals

Wedding staff planning can feel a lot like managing a mini production—or, let’s be honest, a small country. Between the guest list, décor decisions, meal selections, and timeline tweaks, it's easy to overlook your wedding staff.

Just picture guests waiting half an hour in line for a drink or trying to find a seat during dinner because no one’s around to guide them. Not ideal.

The good news? With the right team in place, those potential hiccups vanish before they even happen. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about wedding staffing: who to hire, what roles are essential, how many people you’ll need, and where to find reliable professionals—fast. 

Key Takeaways

• Having the appropriate wedding staff assures your wedding runs smoothly from start to finish.
• These key roles involve banquet servers, bartenders, catering staff, and set-up workers.
• Using gig platforms simplifies hiring and enables professionals to be found easily.

Event Staff to Consider

There are a lot of moving parts within a wedding and with so many competing priorities, it’s easy to forget a detail or two. But don’t let your event staff be one of them! 

Let’s break down a list of key hourly workers you’ll want to have in place on the big day to keep things running smoothly. 

1. Banquet Servers

One of the biggest post-wedding talking points is typically the food and the overall dining experience. Service plays a big role in the night. Guests want to get their food as quickly as possible before hitting the dance floor to dance the night away. 

Hiring servers for an event is a delicate balance. When looking for banquet servers, you should consider the size of the wedding. Too few banquet servers can lead to long service times and hungry, anxious guests while too many can cost you more than necessary.

When sourcing banquet servers for a wedding, a general rule of thumb within the industry is one server for every 10 to 15 guests if it’s a plated meal or one server for every 25 guests if it’s a buffet-style meal.

Here is a table representation of this rule:

If you’re hiring servers for a private event, like a wedding, be sure to specify the dress code to ensure each server is dressed professionally and ready for service. Additionally, ensure the event servers you hire are well-versed in table settings as they’ll replace flatware and glassware throughout the evening.

2. Bartender

Banquet servers and bartenders might be your two most important positions to staff.

As guests trickle into the cocktail hour or wedding reception, the bar will be the first stop for many of them. 

No one wants to wait around for more than a few minutes to get their drinks – especially when they’re surrounded by food, music, and family or friends they haven’t seen in years. Whether the couple has chosen an open or cash bar, bartending services play a key role in the wedding guest experience. A general rule of thumb in the industry is one bartender for every 35 guests. 

When hiring bartenders for the big day, remember to consider the type of package the couple selected. Is it beer and wine only, or have they elected to offer liquor as well? 

The age requirement for bartenders and the type of alcohol they can serve may vary by state. For example, in South Carolina, an 18-year-old can serve beer and wine but must be 21 to serve liquor. Make sure you’re aware of your bartenders’ serving capabilities and certifications.

3. Line Cook and Prep Cook

From passed hors d’oeuvres to charcuterie boards to dessert platters and more, it’s no secret that guests come to weddings prepared to feast.

To ensure things go smoothly and everyone gets fed in a timely manner, you need more than just a chef. Prep and line cooks are an integral piece of a seamless operation. 

A prep cook prepares all of the ingredients needed for the dishes. They handle the tedious prep work so that when it’s time to get cooking, the rest of the team has everything they need. 

Line cooks handle various aspects of the menu in their own respective station. For example, if the reception menu includes salmon with asparagus and mashed potatoes, one line cook is cooking up the salmon while another is grilling the asparagus as another whips up the mashed potatoes. 

Providing wedding reception meals is no small undertaking and having these additional staff members in place can make a world of difference when it comes to service.

4. Barback

A barback is equally as important as your bartender. They’re a bartenders right hand, ensuring that the alcohol, glasses, and garnishes are fully stocked at all times. 

Without a barback, the bartender is left to handle everything themselves, making the wait times for guests longer and the experience less than ideal. 

5. Dishwasher

There’s a big focus on the food and the service during a reception, but what happens to all of those dirty dishes once tables are cleared?

Don’t underestimate the importance of your dishwashers – and having enough of them!

Once again, you’ll want to take into consideration the number of guests at the wedding. Dishwashers aren’t just cleaning dinner plates, they’re also tackling dishes from the cocktail hour, bar, and dessert tables. 

Needless to say, it’s not a job for one person if you want things to get done efficiently and get all of your staff out on time at the end of the night.

6. Set Up / Break Down Crew

It’s not uncommon for couples to have everything on site – from the ceremony to the reception to the after party. It makes things easy for the couple and their guests but for venues, it means that some rooms are getting turned over more than once.

A well equipped set up and break down crew will ensure that guests can transition smoothly from room to room as the evening progresses. 

Event set up and break down is more labor intensive, requiring some heavy lifting of tables, chairs, decor, wedding arches, and more. You’ll want to ensure you have a crew that can handle lifting at least 50 pounds or more. 

Make to sure also take into account the size of the wedding. If there are several hundred guests, you’ll need more than just a few helping hands to shuffle around tables and chairs.

Other Positions to Consider

These specialty positions are not required for each function but are invaluable at weddings with special requirements or demanding guest expectations.

1. Valet Attendants

Valet attendants are your superheroes if your reception space has poor or inadequate parking options. 

Imagine your guests decked out in their finest attire but stressed out from having circled your venue several times, fighting over what parking space is available. 

Valet attendants remove the frustrations of arriving and leaving, allowing your guests to be party-ready as soon as they leave their vehicles.

Apart from convenience, valet service adds class to your occasion. It is an indicator of attention to detail and care about guest convenience. Be sure to hire insured and experienced valets who are polite, clean, and familiar with the venue map. 

It is recommended to discuss with your planner and the venue how the traffic flow is managed, drop-off points, and parking regulations in the area.

2. Restroom Attendants

These attendants keep restrooms clean, well-stocked, and maintained during the wedding.

A clean restroom can have a more significant impact than you may think. Guests appreciate clean hand towels, complete toiletries and soaps, and a pleasant ambience in such an intimate space. Attendants even offer breath mints, stain pens, and sewing kits. 

For weddings spanning multiple hours with dozens of guests, having an attendant for the restroom can be the difference between a thoughtful experience and an unpleasant, potentially disgusting experience.

3. Coat Check Attendants

If it's a fall or winter wedding, or if your reception is at a site where your guests are arriving bundled up, coat-check attendants are absolutely necessary. 

Without them, coats inevitably fill lounges, back-of-the-chair spaces, or bathrooms, causing clutter.

A well-run coat check keeps your space tidy and elegant, and your patrons feel attended to as soon as they enter. 

Your staff should be versed in handling delicate things like evening wraps or fur coats and have an orderly system for marking and recovering possessions within a modest period.

4. Security Professionals

Not usually included in wedding planning, security staff offer a perception of safety and professionalism that is especially appreciated at big, high-profile, or public facility weddings. 

Their services range from coordinating guest sign-in and vendor access to monitoring gift tables and defusing unexpected interruptions.

A security presence does not have to be threatening—if designed correctly, it can be subtle but effective. Uniformed security guards can help direct patrons, keep unwanted party crashers out of the party, and step in in case of any difficulties.

Security can monitor for overindulgence in alcohol if alcohol is being consumed to help ensure a safe but lively atmosphere. 

Why Great Staff Matters on Your Wedding Day

Behind every successful wedding is a team of professionals laboring day and night to make the occasion memorable. 

Great wedding staff are the behind-the-scenes heroes—they get everything in place on time, resolve issues before you are even aware of them, and ensure your guests are cared for from the beginning through the end. 

An experienced staff doesn't just deliver service or workforce—they provide expertise. From coordinating the timeline to negotiating with the suppliers and fulfilling the visitors' requirements, they keep things moving smoothly like clockwork. 

Be it a fix for a dress issue, a chart revision, or ensuring that the champagne is chilled for that first clink, your staff will handle it without any hassle. Not only that, but great staff allows you—and your closest loved ones—to be fully present. 

You will no longer have to worry about who is cueing the music, serving the hors d'oeuvres, or taking guests to their seats.

Staff Your Event with Ease

Event staffing is a critical component to making sure things run smoothly on the big day.

Whether you need to hire event servers and bartenders who provide great customer service, or you’re seeking a back-of-house hero to keep the kitchen running smoothly, the gig economy can help.

Wedding planners, catering directors, and event venues are using gig economy platforms, like shiftNOW, to fulfill all of their event service needs. Gig apps offer a diverse pool of skilled workers looking to earn money on a flexible schedule. 

Get a headstart on your event staffing needs with shiftNOW. Whether you need servers for a 200-person wedding, or an event crew to set up for an intimate gathering, shiftNOW is your place to find high-quality, vetted hourly workers. 

FAQS

1. How many banquet servers will I require at my wedding?

One server per 10–15 guests for plated meals, or one per 25 guests for buffets is a solid rule of thumb.

2. What are the positions involved in staffing a wedding?

Must-haves include banquet servers, bartenders, line/prep cooks, dishwashers, barbacks, and setup/breakdown crews. Bonus roles: valet, restroom attendants, coat check, and security.

3. What should I remember when hiring bartenders at the wedding?

Plan for one per 35 guests. Know what types of drinks are being served (beer/wine or liquor), and check local serving laws and certifications.

4. Can gig apps be used to book wedding staff?

Yes. Platforms like shiftNOW connect you with experienced, flexible, and reliable event staff fast—especially for last-minute needs.

5. What makes professional wedding staff so important? 

Experienced staff ensure your wedding is trouble-free, deal with behind-the-scenes problems, and leave you and your guests to enjoy the day uninterrupted.

‍