Wedding drinks calculator
Enter your guest count and how long the bar is open to see how much wine, beer, liquor and champagne to buy for the reception. Every figure is rounded up, and you can change any assumption to fit your guests.
What to buy
100 guests, 75% drinking, 5 hours, average drinkers, full bar, United States sizes, champagne toast
- Total drinks
- 450 drinks for 75 drinking guests over 5 hours
- Wine
- 45 bottles 750 ml bottles, 5 glasses each (225 glasses)
- Beer
- 135 cans 355 ml cans, one per drink
- Or beer on tap
- 1 half keg or 2 quarter kegs, or 3 sixth kegs
- Liquor
- 6 × 750 ml bottles or 3 × 1.75 L bottles (90 drinks)
- Champagne for the toast
- 13 bottles 750 ml bottles, 8 toasts each (100 toasts)
These are planning estimates, rounded up. Serve alcohol responsibly: offer plenty of water and soft drinks, serve food, and help guests get home safely. Read our disclaimer.
Assumptions
The calculator uses these common rules of thumb. Change the inputs above to fit your guests.
| Drinks per drinking guest | 2 in the first hour, then 1 per hour |
|---|---|
| Drinking level | light ×0.75, average ×1, heavy ×1.25 |
| Full bar | 50% wine, 30% beer, 20% liquor |
| Beer and wine | 60% wine, 40% beer |
| Wine only | 100% wine |
| Signature cocktail | 40% wine, 30% beer, 30% cocktails (1.5 oz liquor each) |
| Wine | 750 ml bottle = 5 glasses of 5 oz (148 ml) |
| Beer | one 355 ml can per drink |
| Liquor | 750 ml bottle = 16 drinks of 1.5 oz (44 ml); 1.75 L bottle = 39 |
| Champagne toast | 750 ml bottle = 8 toasts of 3 oz (89 ml), one toast per guest |
| Kegs (12 oz pours) | half 165, quarter 82, sixth 55 |
| Buffer | +10% on every quantity when switched on |
| Rounding | every quantity is rounded up |
How we calculate
- Drinking guests. Guests × the share who drink.
- Drinks each. Two in the first hour, then one for every hour after that, scaled for light (×0.75) or heavy (×1.25) drinkers.
- Total drinks. Drinking guests × drinks each, plus 10% if you switch on the buffer.
- Split by drink. The bar type (or your own mix) shares the drinks between wine, beer and liquor.
- Bottles and cans. Each share is divided by the servings in one container: a 5 oz glass of wine, one can of beer, a 1.5 oz measure of liquor. Partial pours don't count, and every result is rounded up.
- Toast. If you choose a champagne toast, every guest gets a 3 oz pour, drinkers or not.
Worked example: 100 guests, 5-hour reception
With the default inputs (100 guests, 75% of them drinking, average drinkers, a full bar and US bottle sizes):
- 75 drinking guests × 6 drinks each (2 in the first hour, then 1 an hour for 4 hours) = 450 drinks.
- Wine is half of those: 225 glasses ÷ 5 glasses a bottle = 45 bottles.
- Beer is 30%: 135 drinks = 135 cans, or one half keg if you'd rather have beer on tap.
- Liquor is 20%: 90 drinks ÷ 16 measures a bottle = 5.6, rounded up to 6 × 750 ml bottles.
- The toast: 100 guests ÷ 8 toasts a bottle = 12.5, rounded up to 13 bottles of champagne.
Questions
Should the cocktail hour count toward the hours?
Yes. Count every hour the bar serves drinks, from the cocktail hour to last call. If the bar closes during dinner, leave that time out.
Do I count guests who don't drink?
Enter all your guests, then set the share who drink. Children and guests who don't drink alcohol are covered by that percentage. They still count for the champagne toast, because most venues pour a glass for everyone.
Is it better to buy too much or too little?
Running out mid-reception is the bigger problem, so the calculator always rounds up. Many shops take back unopened bottles; check the return policy before you buy, and switch on the 10% buffer if yours does.
What if most of my guests prefer one drink?
Pick the bar type that's closest, or open "Set your own drink mix" and enter your own split, for example 70% wine and 30% beer.