Wedding Alcohol Calculator
Enter the guest count, hours of bar service and the share who drink, and get beer, wine and liquor in bottles and cases, plus mixers, a toast, soft drinks and ice.
Wine-led, with a toast; cocktail hour plus dinner and dancing
Kids, drivers, non-drinkers come off the top
Normalised if they don't sum to 100
Of the wine bottles
Total drinks
510
6 per drinking guest over 5 h
Beer
153 bottles
7 cases of 24
Wine
51 bottles
26 red, 25 white · 255 glasses
Liquor
7 × 750 ml
102 cocktails at 1.5 oz
Mixers
21 L
soda, tonic, juice; 3 L per bottle of spirits
Toast
17 bottles
sparkling, 6 flutes each
Soft drinks & water
225 + 250
cans and bottles, for everyone
Ice
100 lb
1 lb per guest; more outdoors
A full bar from 7 bottles
| Spirit | Share | Bottles (750 ml) |
|---|---|---|
| Vodka | 30% | 2 |
| Whiskey / bourbon | 25% | 2 |
| Tequila | 15% | 1 |
| Rum | 15% | 1 |
| Gin | 15% | 1 |
Drinks = drinking guests × (2 in the first hour + 1 each hour after). Split by the shares above, then bottles at 5 glasses of wine, 16 cocktails or 24 beers per case. A signature-cocktail-only bar runs about 20% less liquor than a full bar.
Wedding bar shopping list by guest count
Five hours of service, 85% of guests drinking, the standard 50/30/20 wine-beer-liquor split, and a sparkling toast. This is the calculator's default set, so the row for your guest count matches what you see above before you change anything.
| Guests | Drinks | Wine (750 ml) | Beer | Liquor (750 ml) | Mixers (L) | Toast bottles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 255 | 26 | 77 | 4 | 12 | 9 |
| 75 | 383 | 39 | 115 | 5 | 15 | 13 |
| 100 | 510 | 51 | 153 | 7 | 21 | 17 |
| 125 | 638 | 64 | 192 | 8 | 24 | 21 |
| 150 | 765 | 77 | 230 | 10 | 30 | 25 |
| 200 | 1020 | 102 | 306 | 13 | 39 | 34 |
| 250 | 1275 | 128 | 383 | 16 | 48 | 42 |
How the numbers are built
Drinks first: drinking guests × (2 + hours − 1). Then the split, then bottles: wine ÷ 5, cocktails ÷ 16, beer ÷ 24 for cases. Mixers are three litres per bottle of spirits, which covers soda, tonic and juice with some to spare. Soft drinks are one and a half per guest plus one an hour for each non-drinker, and water one bottle per guest per two hours. Ice is a pound per guest indoors; the ice calculator on this site raises that for outdoor and summer receptions.
Adjusting for your crowd
A crowd in its twenties and thirties with dancing until midnight drinks at the high end of the rule; an afternoon reception or one with many families and older relatives drinks at the low end, and dropping the drinking share to 70% covers it. A dry hour before dinner reduces the total by a fifth. Whatever you pick, buy from a store that takes back unopened cases and round up: the only bar problem worse than leftovers is a bar that closes early.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 100 people?
For a five-hour reception where 85 of the 100 guests drink, plan about 510 drinks: two per drinking guest in the first hour and one an hour after. With a typical wedding split of 50% wine, 30% beer and 20% liquor, that is roughly 51 bottles of wine, 153 beers (7 cases) and 7 bottles of spirits, plus 17 bottles of sparkling for a toast. The calculator above adjusts every one of those numbers to your guest count, hours and crowd.
How many drinks per person at a wedding?
The bartender's rule is two in the first hour and one each hour after, so about six over a five-hour reception. That is an average: some guests have none and some have ten. It already assumes a cocktail hour and a dinner where the pace slows, so do not add extra for the meal.
What is the right beer, wine and liquor split?
For most weddings 50% wine, 30% beer, 20% liquor. Shift toward beer for a backyard or barn wedding, toward liquor for a city cocktail-style reception, and toward wine for an older or dinner-focused crowd. If you're serving a signature cocktail instead of a full bar, keep the liquor share but buy only the one or two spirits it needs.
How much champagne for a toast?
One flute per guest, and a 750 ml bottle pours six toast-sized flutes, so 17 bottles for 100 guests. Prosecco or cava works the same. Many couples skip a separate toast pour and let guests raise whatever they have; that saves the whole line.
How many bottles of wine for 100 guests?
A 750 ml bottle pours five glasses. If wine is half the drinks at a five-hour wedding for 85 drinkers, that is 255 glasses, or 51 bottles, roughly 4 cases of 12. Split red and white by season and menu; 50/50 is the safe default, 60% white for a summer wedding or fish, 60% red for winter or beef.
Should I buy the alcohol myself?
Only if the venue allows it and you can return unopened cases; most stores will. Buying yourself typically halves the bar cost versus a venue package, but you take on delivery, chilling, ice, bartenders and liability. Check your venue's licence and your state's rules first.
These tools use the caterer's and bartender's planning rules (drinks per guest per hour, ounces per plate, pounds of ice per guest, square feet per seat, Wilton's cake chart), all stated on each page. They are planning estimates for an average crowd: know your guests, round up, and check what your venue, caterer and local alcohol rules require.