Wedding alcohol and drinks calculator
Work out how much liquor, wine, beer and sparkling wine to buy for your wedding. Copy the list and hand it to your venue or bartender.
We’re having guests, and of them don’t drink. The party runs in , with . Our crowd .
How much alcohol you need: per guest and in total
The list follows a common planning rule. Pick the drinks you’ll serve, and if you know your crowd, split each category your way.
- Liquor15 bottles
- 3⅕ of liquor
- 3⅕ of liquor
- 3⅕ of liquor
- 3⅕ of liquor
- 3⅕ of liquor
- Wine70 bottles
- 35½ of wine750 ml
- 35½ of wine750 ml
- Beer139 (5 cases of 24, plus 19)bottles or cans
- Sparkling wine for the toast13 bottles750 ml
- Sparkling cider for the toastfor guests who don’t drink2 bottles750 ml
- Soft drinksabout 28½ gallons
- 18⅓2-liter
- 19⅓half-gallon
- 19⅓half-gallon
- Water243 bottles (10 cases of 24, plus 3), about 32 gallons16.9 oz
Right now, liquor is split evenly across vodka, whiskey, tequila, gin and rum.
What if you asked your guests?A 1.75 L handle pours as much as two and a third regular bottles and usually costs less per drink.
Ask your venue whether you can bring your own alcohol and what the corkage fee is. It can change your total more than any bottle on the list.
Per guest
A common planning rule is one drink per guest per hour, and two in the first hour, when people arrive thirsty. That’s about 7 drinks over six hours for each guest who drinks. With a full bar, about half of them are wine, 30% cocktails and 20% beer, plus one glass of bubbly each for the toast.
How to calculate it yourself
Multiply the guests who drink by 7 drinks for six hours, add 10% and split by your mix. For example, with 90 guests who drink: 90 × 7 = 630 drinks, plus 10% makes 693. Half of that is wine: 347 glasses at 5 a bottle, or 70 bottles.
Only your guests know who drinks what
The calculator doesn’t know your guests, so it uses a common split: how many drink wine, cocktails or beer. Your crowd may be different.
Say 63 of your guests pick wine, 18 cocktails and 9 beer. The shopping list changes like this:
| Drink | Common split | Guests’ answers |
|---|---|---|
| Liquor | 15 bottles | 10 bottles |
| Wine | 70 bottles | 98 bottles |
| Beer | 139 beers | 70 beers |
| Sparkling wine for the toast | 13 bottles | 13 bottles |
That’s 28 more bottles of wine, 5 fewer of liquor and 69 fewer beers.
Turn your guests’ drink choices into a shopping list
No need to call around. Our wedding planning app makes an online invitation: a page for your wedding that you send to guests as a link. Each guest opens it, RSVPs and ticks the drinks they’d like. The app works out how many bottles of each drink to buy and shows who hasn’t answered yet.
Plan with your guests’ answers
Questions about wedding drinks
- How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 50, 100 or 150 guests?
- For 100 guests, 10 of whom don’t drink: 70 bottles of wine, 15 bottles of liquor, 139 beers and 13 bottles of sparkling wine for the toast. For 50: 36 bottles of wine, 10 of liquor, 70 beers and 7 of sparkling wine. For 150: 104 bottles of wine, 20 of liquor, 208 beers and 19 of sparkling wine. That’s six hours with a full bar and a 10% buffer, with one guest in ten not drinking.
- How much alcohol per person at a wedding?
- A common planning rule is one drink per guest per hour, and two in the first hour: about 7 drinks over a six-hour reception for each guest who drinks. Use it as a starting point and adjust for your crowd.
- How much champagne do I need for a wedding?
- For the toast, one glass for each guest who drinks. A bottle pours about eight glasses, so for 90 guests who drink, with a small buffer, that’s 13 bottles. Guests who don’t drink can toast with sparkling cider.
- How much wine per person?
- With a full bar, about half the drinks are wine: close to four glasses over six hours for each guest who drinks. For 100 guests with 10 not drinking, over six hours, that’s 70 bottles.
- How much non-alcoholic drink do I need?
- Plan about a liter of soda, juice and lemonade per guest over six hours, and half again for guests who don’t drink. Water is counted separately: about 40 oz per guest in summer.
- Should I buy extra?
- A little, yes: running out shows more than a leftover bottle. A 10% buffer is already included, and you can switch it off. If your store takes back unopened bottles, arrange it in advance.
- Can I bring my own alcohol to the venue?
- It depends on the venue: some allow it, some charge a corkage fee, some only let you use their bar. Ask before you buy: the answer decides what you’ll actually pay.
- Can I use this for a rehearsal dinner or another party?
- Yes, if there’s a dinner with drinks: the calculator plans an evening with a meal and a bar. Enter the guest count and how many hours it runs.
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