Wedding Alcohol Calculator for Bar Planning
Wedding alcohol calculator
Enter your guest count and how long the bar is open. Quantities update as you type.
75 drinking guests × 6 drinks = 450 drinks
| Category | Servings | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 180 | 180 bottles or cans7 cases of 24 + 12 |
| Wine | 180 | 36 750ml bottles3 cases of 12 |
| Spirits | 90 | 6 750ml bottles |
| Sparkling toast | 100 | 17 750ml bottles1 case of 12 + 5 |
Assumes 2 drinks in the first hour and 1 per hour after, 5 glasses per bottle of wine, 16 cocktails per bottle of spirits, and 6 flutes per bottle of sparkling. Containers are rounded up. Ask your venue whether you can return unopened cases before you buy.
Running out of wine at 9 PM or paying for 40 unopened bottles the morning after are both avoidable. A little math up front turns your bar order from a guess into a plan that fits your guest list and your budget.
How much alcohol do you need for a wedding?
The calculator above uses the standard planning formula: two drinks per guest in the first hour, while everyone arrives and the bar is busiest, then one per hour after. It counts only the guests who actually drink, which is the step most guides skip - 100 guests at 75% over five hours is 450 drinks, not 600. Converting to bottles is where the pours matter: a 750ml wine bottle gives 5 glasses, a 750ml bottle of spirits makes 16 cocktails at a 1.5oz pour, and a beer is one serving.
Don't forget the extras
A toast is one glass for everyone in the room, not just the drinkers, so it is counted separately above: at a 4oz flute a 750ml bottle pours 6, which is 17 bottles for 100 guests. Two things the calculator deliberately leaves out because they depend on your bar: stock mixers at 3x your spirits volume, since sodas, juices and tonic run out faster than the spirits themselves, and add 50+ non-alcoholic drinks for the 15-20% of guests who skip alcohol entirely.
Read your crowd, then buffer
A 20s-30s crowd skews toward beer and cocktails; an older or more formal group drinks more wine and champagne. Whatever mix you land on, add a 10-20% buffer on your most popular category only - most caterers and liquor stores accept returns on unopened, unchilled bottles, so overbuying slightly costs you nothing. If you'd rather sidestep the math for spirits entirely, a signature cocktail menu narrows the pour list and the shopping list at once.
Key Takeaways
- Plan 2 drinks per drinking guest in hour one, then 1 per hour
- 1 wine bottle pours 5 glasses; 1 spirits bottle makes 16 cocktails
- Count only the guests who drink, then stock mixers at 3x your spirits
- Include 50+ non-alcoholic drinks for the 15-20% who won't drink
- Buy a 10-20% buffer on your top category; unopened bottles are usually returnable
Frequently asked questions
- How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 100 guests?
- For 100 guests over a 4-hour reception, plan on about 375 drinks. That assumes 75 of them drink, at 2 drinks in the first hour and 1 per hour after. On a 40/40/20 beer-wine-spirits split it comes to 150 beers, 30 bottles of wine and 5 bottles of spirits, plus 17 bottles of sparkling if you are toasting everyone in the room.
- How many bottles of wine do I need per guest?
- A 750ml bottle pours five 5oz glasses, so a wine drinker at a 4-hour reception works through roughly one bottle. Order by total glasses rather than per head: take your drink total, multiply by the share of guests who choose wine, divide by five and round up.
- How much extra alcohol should I buy as a buffer?
- Add 10-20% on your most popular category only, not across the board. Most liquor stores and caterers take back unopened, unchilled bottles, so a buffer where you are most likely to run dry costs you very little. Mixers are the exception: stock those at 3x your spirits volume, since sodas, juices and tonic empty faster than the spirits themselves.
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Source: www.theknot.com