Wedding Alcohol Calculator

Wedding alcohol planning turns a guest count and a reception length into a shopping list: how many bottles, cases and flutes, and what that comes to at your local prices.

Core formulas: Total Drinks = Total Guests × Hours of Reception × Drinks Per Hour Per Guest Bottles of Wine Needed = (Wine Drink % × Total Drinks) ÷ 5 (5 glasses per 750 mL bottle) Cases of Beer Needed = (Beer Drink % × Total Drinks) ÷ 24 (24 cans/bottles per case) Bottles of Spirits Needed = (Spirits Drink % × Total Drinks) ÷ 16 (~16 drinks per 750 mL bottle at 1.5 oz per pour)

Standard planning assumptions:

• Drinks per person per hour: 1 in the first hour, 0.75 in each hour after
• Non-drinkers: about 15% of a typical guest list, so the drink count is based on 85% of the head count
• Typical reception length: 4 to 5 hours, meaning cocktail hour plus dinner plus dancing
• Guest mix: 40% wine, 35% beer, 25% spirits, which is an average and not your crowd

Worked example: 120 guests, a 5-hour reception.

• Drinking guests: 120 × 0.85 = 102
• Drinks each: 1 + (4 × 0.75) = 4
• Total: 102 × 4 = 408 drinks

Splitting that 40 / 35 / 25:

Champagne for the toast is separate and is poured for everyone, non-drinkers included: 120 ÷ 6 flutes per bottle = 20 bottles.

Bottle yields, if you buy the bigger sizes:

Handles work out cheaper per drink almost everywhere, and a bar pouring from them looks no different once the bottle is behind the counter.

Full bar, or beer and wine only? Beer and wine only runs 30 to 40% cheaper than a full bar and nobody thinks less of it. The split shifts to roughly 60% wine and 40% beer once the cocktails are gone, which is what the calculator does when you pick that option. A third option worth knowing about: two or three signature cocktails instead of a full spirits shelf. It cuts waste, speeds up service, and one bottle of each spirit covers a surprising number of people.

The guests who are not drinking still need something. That 15% is not 15% of people standing empty-handed through the toasts. Soft drinks, sparkling water and ice are all sized for the whole head count rather than for the drinkers, which is why the calculator lists them separately. Ice is the one everyone underestimates: 1.25 lb per guest sounds absurd until you watch a bar go through it in the first hour.

Reference prices (approximate, and they move every year and by state):

• Beer: $25 to $45 a case
• Wine: $12 to $25 a bottle buying by the case
• Spirits: $25 to $60 a bottle for well brands
• A licensed bar service with staff: add $25 to $40 per person on top

The calculator has price fields for each of these. Leave them blank and it gives you the shopping list without a total, which is the useful half anyway. Fill them in with what your shop actually charges and it will do the arithmetic.

Add 10 to 15% on top for heavy drinkers and unexpected guests. Return policies vary a lot, so ask before you buy: a shop that takes back unopened cases turns over-ordering from a real cost into no cost at all.