Wedding Vendor Love: Macson Dispensary

What's better than alcohol at a wedding?

Alcohol that's served out of a beautifully renovated caravan bar, of course!

We came across Macson Dispensary on Instagram and thought it was the COOLEST idea... so naturally we had to find out more about this cute caravan and the team behind the bar. Turns out Wellington-based Nick and Kylie are the lovely DIY duo and they have some great advice for New Zealand couples trying to plan the alcohol-related details for their wedding. Here's our interview with the Macson team.

Can you tell us a little about yourselves and what made you decide to turn an old caravan into a bar?

We saw one on Instagram, and thought it was such a cool idea!  We researched to see if there were any in Wellington and there wasn’t, so within a couple of weeks, we had brought an old fish and chip caravan to start converting into a bar!

I've always got some crazy ideas on the go, and this was definitely one that people couldn’t understand until it was done!  So many of our friends told us to burn the caravan because it was in such a terrible state! We really enjoy working in it too, we are very social, so we love getting out and meeting new people. When we aren’t doing this, we own two hair salons that I work in and Nick is an electrician full time.  We also have three kids that keep us pretty busy!

Your caravan bar is SO cute. What does Macson Dispensary offer for weddings and events?

We offer the bar service for your event.  This includes staff, glassware and good banter!  We also offer extra services like props and styling. You provide the beverages and we do the rest essentially!  We are always happy to go the extra mile to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Planning the drinks at a NZ wedding is one of those things couples always find hard. What are your tips for getting it right?

Keep it simple, as in, limited but good choices. A couple of different types of beer and the key wines (such as a pinot gris, chardonnay, bubbles, and a red) is absolutely enough. Rosé  is also very popular in the summer, so that's a good one to have in the sunny season. We have found if people have too much to offer, then they run out of one kind and have heaps of the other left. We also recommend you have enough non-alcoholic drink options, especially if it's a hot day! We will always provide water for you but it's a really good idea to have some other options for your guests.

If you could renovate any other vehicle or object and turn it into a transportable drinks bar, what would it be?

We are actually currently renovating another caravan! This one (Lulu) will actually be a mobile hair and make up salon though! If we could do another bar (which we probably will), we’d do a horse float, a tuk tuk or an old truck or bus! We feel like we’re getting a bit addicted to caravans, but our next project might be something a bit different!

Have you seen any trends in the types of drinks being offered at weddings? What's coming in for summer

Everything is getting prettier!  It’s all about presentation!  More creative vessels, and decorations in the drinks.

What is a favourite wedding moment of yours?

Kylies favourite part of every wedding has to be when the bride walks down the aisle! She says: 'I absolutely love weddings and have in fact started an internship to do wedding planning.  When I’m working on a wedding, my favourite part has to be making sure everything is going smoothly, and perfectly for the couple. There is always a moment of chaos before the bride walks down but as soon as she starts walking, it’s like nothing else matters! That is the best moment!

If you want to check out more from Macson Dispensary, you can visit their Instagram.