Free tool
Wedding alcohol calculator
Find out how much wine, beer and spirits to buy for your wedding, plus champagne, mixers and ice, with a cost estimate and a shopping list you can print. No sign-up.
One sparkling pour per guest for the speeches.
Drinks to plan for
690
Estimated cost
$1,596
$16 per guest
| Buy | Amount | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Wine 311 glasses. About half red, half white; more white and rosé in summer. | 63 bottles 750 ml | $756 |
Beer 207 beers. Mostly a light lager, plus an IPA or a local favorite. | 9 cases 24 × 12 oz | $270 |
Spirits 173 drinks. Vodka goes fastest, then whiskey or bourbon, tequila, gin and rum. | 11 bottles 750 ml | $275 |
Sparkling wine A toast pour for each of 100 guests, 8 to a bottle. | 13 bottles 750 ml | $182 |
Mixers Tonic, club soda, cola, ginger ale, cranberry and orange juice, plus limes and lemons. | 11 bottles 2 L | $33 |
Ice About 2 lb per guest: half for drinks, half to chill bottles in tubs. | 20 bags 10 lb | $80 |
How we worked it out
- 2 drinks in the first hour + 1 an hour for 4 more = 6 per guest
- × 100 guests × 1 (average crowd) = 600 drinks
- + 15% so you don't run out = 690 drinks
- Wine 45% = 311 ÷ 5 glasses a bottle = 63 bottles
- Beer 30% = 207 ÷ 24 a case = 9 cases
- Spirits 25% = 173 ÷ 16 drinks a bottle = 11 bottles
- Toast: 100 pours ÷ 8 a bottle, on top of the bar
Count only guests old enough to drink. Most stores take back unopened bottles, so ask before you buy. To save a PDF, pick “Save as PDF” as the printer.
Get every guest's photos from the night
Put a BridaLens QR code on the bar and the tables. Guests scan it and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone, with no app or account, and you download everything in one zip.
Get your gallery QR codeHow to work out how much alcohol you need
- 01
Count your drinkers
Guests old enough to drink, and the hours the bar is open, including cocktail hour.
- 02
Pick your crowd and bar
Light, average or heavy drinkers, and a full bar, beer and wine, or wine only.
- 03
Adjust the split
Set how much of the drinking is wine, beer and spirits, and whether there's a champagne toast.
- 04
Print the list
Add your store's prices for a cost estimate, then print or copy the shopping list.
The formula
The same math bartenders and planners use, so you can check it or do it on paper.
- Drinks per guest: 2 in the first hour, then 1 an hour after that.
- × guests × crowd: 0.75 for light drinkers, 1 for average, 1.25 for heavy.
- + 15% so the bar doesn't run dry.
- Split by your bar: 5 glasses in a bottle of wine, 24 beers in a case, 16 drinks in a bottle of spirits.
- Champagne toast on top: 8 pours a bottle.
Example: 100 guests × 6 drinks over 5 hours = 600, + 15% = 690 drinks.
How much alcohol for a wedding, by guest count
A 5-hour reception with a full bar (45% wine, 30% beer, 25% spirits), average drinkers and a champagne toast, at typical US store prices.
| Guests | Drinks | Wine (bottles) | Beer (cases) | Spirits (bottles) | Sparkling | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 345 | 32 | 5 | 6 | 7 | $840 |
| 75 | 518 | 47 | 7 | 9 | 10 | $1,223 |
| 100 | 690 | 63 | 9 | 11 | 13 | $1,596 |
| 150 | 1,035 | 94 | 13 | 17 | 19 | $2,377 |
| 200 | 1,380 | 125 | 18 | 22 | 25 | $3,163 |
| 250 | 1,725 | 156 | 22 | 27 | 32 | $3,933 |
Tips for stocking a wedding bar
- Ask your store about returns before you buy. Many take back unopened bottles, so it's cheaper to buy a little extra than to run out.
- Close the bar for 20 to 30 minutes during dinner and pour wine at the tables instead. Guests drink less and it feels more special.
- One signature cocktail instead of a full bar cuts the spirits and mixers you need, and still feels like a cocktail bar.
- Check whether your venue charges corkage or requires licensed bartenders before you plan to bring your own.
- Have water, soft drinks and a mocktail out all night. Count about 2 non-alcoholic drinks per guest; it keeps everyone going.
- Chill wine and beer the day before. Ice in tubs takes hours to cool warm bottles.
Planning the day? Make your wedding day timeline or a photo scavenger hunt for cocktail hour.
Wedding alcohol questions
How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 100 guests?
For 100 guests over a 5-hour reception with a full bar, plan for about 690 drinks: about 63 bottles of wine, 9 cases of beer and 11 bottles of spirits, plus 13 bottles of sparkling wine for a toast. Adjust it above for your hours, crowd and bar.
How many drinks per person at a wedding?
Plan for 2 drinks per guest in the first hour, usually cocktail hour, and 1 an hour after that. That's 6 drinks per guest over 5 hours. Add 15% so you don't run out, and less or more if your crowd drinks lightly or heavily.
How many glasses of wine are in a bottle?
A 750 ml bottle pours 5 glasses of 5 oz (150 ml). For a champagne toast, pours are smaller, about 3 oz, so you get 8 from a bottle.
How many drinks are in a bottle of liquor?
About 16 drinks of 1.5 oz from a 750 ml bottle, after a little spillage. A 1.75 liter bottle is about 2.3 of those, or 37 drinks. Plan on about one 2-liter bottle of mixer for each bottle of spirits.
Should I buy beer in cases or kegs?
Kegs are cheaper per beer and less waste, but need a tap, a tub of ice and someone to pour. A half-barrel keg holds about 165 beers of 12 oz, a quarter-barrel about 82. Cases are easier to return when unopened. Switch between them in the calculator.
How much ice do I need for a wedding?
About 1 pound per guest for drinks and another pound to chill bottles in tubs, so 2 pounds (about 1 kg) per guest in all. Buy more on a hot day or if the bar is outside.
How do I take photos of the whole night, not just the bar?
Put a QR code on the bar and the tables. With BridaLens, guests scan it and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone browser all night, no app or account, and you download everything in one zip. It's $24.99, one-time.
Add this tool to your site
Planners, caterers, bartenders and wedding blogs can embed the alcohol calculator for their readers for free. Paste this code into your page.
Every guest's photos, in one place.
Guests scan your QR code and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone. No app. $24.99, one-time.