Royal Beverage

Maria, the owner, is very easy to work with and helpful. We had Patrick as our bartender on our wedding day. The guests really liked him and his drinks were a hit!

My wife and I were planning a potluck wedding. We naively imagined that beverages could be handled the same way. My wife's parents knew better and generously offered to hire Maria of Royal Beverage for our big day--and wow, are we so glad we agreed! Maria and her colleague Sara(h) provided glassware and ice, both of which took a major load off our shoulders, and we provided the drinks. Ahead of the event, we provided Maria with our menu. She handled a few last-minute menu changes with aplomb and had everything listed on an attractive framed menu at the bar on the day itself. The champagne toast went smoothly with two professionals pouring for our guests, and throughout the night, we and our guests so appreciated the ability to ask for a refill or another can of seltzer from these two convivial, professional women. At the end of the night, they had everything cleared out so quickly that we missed giving them their thank you card in person and had to mail it instead! We highly recommend Maria and her team at Royal Beverage for their professionalism and excellent service. We couldn't have pulled it off without them!

Our experience with Maria was truly terrible. Aside from the fact that she had overbooked herself and had 3 weddings that weekend, she showed up late, made the bride pay for her hotel, was frazzled, and kept complaining about how overwhelmed she was. I can count on one hand the number of things she did. Having her was just one more thing to worry about. Would not recommend

If I could give zero stars, I would. Unfortunately, my experience with Maria as both a bartender and day-of coordinator was extremely disappointing. Brides, please think twice before booking her services - not worth it. Initial Interactions: I first reached out to Maria in January to inquire about her bartending service. I was excited by the barrel bar setup and had positive conversations leading up to the booking. I informed her that my wedding would take place in Bar Harbor, and she assured me that it wouldn't be an issue. We signed the contract, and I later added her as the day-of coordinator. Red Flags Begin: In the summer, I requested a call with her to discuss how much alcohol we should purchase for the event, including signature cocktails. This is when things started to go downhill. During the call, Maria seemed stressed, mentioning her car had broken down and that she was overwhelmed. She then expressed concern about the distance to Bar Harbor (despite previously saying it wasn’t an issue) and asked if she could stay at the house where the wedding was taking place. I felt very uncomfortable but, to avoid additional stress, I ended up booking her a hotel for one night. Lack of Coordination: Between the summer and the wedding, I didn’t hear anything from Maria about the day-of coordination. I had assumed she would help create a timeline for the event, but that never happened. Instead, I had to take it upon myself to make a detailed schedule, including vendor arrival times and the flow of the day. The Week of the Wedding: As the wedding approached, communication remained minimal. When I finally spoke with her (by me texting her), she was again overwhelmed, mentioning that she had three weddings booked on the same day as mine. Her focus was clearly not on my event. To make matters worse, she informed me that the barrel bar—the main reason I hired her—was unavailable. Additionally, she dismissed the signature cocktail I had requested, claiming it was too complicated, so my best friend went out of their way to pre-mix it to ease her workload... It was a blueberry spritz... The Wedding Day: On the day of the wedding, Maria arrived late, showing up just 3 hours before the ceremony, despite agreeing to be there four hours earlier. My friends essentially took over all of the coordination and drink preparation, as Maria was not up to the task. To top it off, my mother overheard Maria speaking negatively about me to her staff saying "I cant belive the bride wants this done by 4.... EVEN THOUGH SHE ARRIVED LATE??????). Later in the event, she complained to me that my mother-in-law had been rude to her, one again dumping stress on the bride... DURING the wedding. Final Thoughts: Maria’s inability to manage stress, lack of professionalism, and poor service were incredibly disappointing. She added unnecessary stress to my wedding day and did not deliver on what was promised. Brides, I strongly advise looking elsewhere for bartending or day-of coordination services. What a complete waste of money.