Figuring out how much booze you need for an open bar wedding is so confusing, there’s actually wedding alcohol calculator apps and diagrams and spreadsheets that have been created to try and help you out. Unfortunately we find most of them a bit more confusing than they have to be, so we’re going to try and break it down for us as easily as possible without making a powerpoint for you! LOL.
OK. So here’s the most BASIC wedding alcohol calculator information you need to know, based on the number of guests you’re having. But first, below is a cheat sheet in case you really, really don’t feel like reading how to figure it out! LOL.
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Open Bar for 100 GUESTS:
- 70 bottles of wine
- 175 bottles of beer
- 15 bottles of liquor (750 ml)
- 20 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)
150 GUESTS:
- 105 bottles of wine
- 263 bottles of beer
- 22 bottles of liquor (750 ml)
- 30 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)
200 GUESTS:
- 140 bottles of wine
- 350 bottles of beer
- 30 bottles of liquor (750 ml)
- 40 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)
And for those who don’t want to math (like me!) we created an alcohol calculator you can use here. And while it’s intended for weddings, you can totally use this for dinner parties or other events as well:
Wedding Alcohol Calculator
How did we come up with that? The math breaks down like this:
1. Figure Out How Long Your Wedding Reception/Cocktail Hour Will Be
Assume guests will have 2 drinks in the first hour of the open bar, and 1 additional drink each following hour. The total length of a wedding reception will vary (you can read more about how long a wedding reception should be here) but assume for general purposes it will be 5 hours (1 hour for your cocktail hour, and 4 hours for dinner/dancing).
So for a 5 hour cocktail hour/reception, that’s 6 drinks total per guest, which is what a lot of websites will recommend. Overall, we always like to err on the side of caution when it comes to an open bar and not running out, so we actually recommend adding one drink to that calculation, bringing it to 7 drinks per guest for a 5-hour event.
SEE MORE: How to Throw the Best Backyard Wedding Ever
It’s not that people will consume 7 drinks/person, and of course not everybody will drink 2 or even 1, BUT you have to take into account how many times servers might pick up a half-full drink, or somebody misplaces theirs while dancing. It happens, and if you’re DIY’ing your own wedding bar with no extra inventory (like most wedding caterers have on hand), why take the chance? Extra bottles of wine that go unused after the wedding can make for great hostess or holiday gifts, and you won’t be freaking out thinking that you didn’t order enough alcohol.
2. Calculate How Many Drinks Come in a Bottle You’re Serving
- 5 glasses of wine in a 750 ml wine bottle (including champagne)
- 12 drinks in a 750 ml spirit bottle
- And of course a bottle of beer is one serving.
I found this to be one of the most helpful, clear guides to how many drinks various bottle sizes can pour.
| Type of Alcohol | % Alcohol by Volume | Size | No. of Drinks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine | 12% | Standard (750 mL) | 5 |
| Wine | 12% | Magnum (1.5 L) | 10 |
| Liquor | 40% | 750 mL | 17 |
| Liquor | 40% | Handle (1.75 L) | 40 |
| Liquor | 30% | 750 mL | 12.7 |
| Liquor | 30% | Handle (1.75 L) | 30 |
| Liquor | 60% | 750 mL | 25 |
| Liquor | 75.5% (Bacardi 151, Everclear) | 750 mL | 32 |
| Beer | 5% | 12 oz. | 1 |
| Beer | 5% | 40 oz. | 3.3 |
| Beer | 7% | 12 oz. | 1.5 |
3: Decide What You Want Your Alcohol Mix to Be
Note: For purposes of this article, we’re going to assume you’re having a full open bar (if you’re not, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered, below).
While sites like Total Wine encourage you to use a ratio of 50% wine drinkers, 30% beer, and 20% spirit drinkers, we think it’s safer to say 50% of guests want wine, 25% beer, and 25% want the hard stuff, though keep in mind you know your crowd better than anybody. For instance, at my wedding we had a lot of wine and spirit drinkers, so I would have made it 60% wine, 30% alcohol, 10% beer.
So using ALL those calculations, here’s how you would figure out just how much you need in total, assuming the percentages and everything else above for a 100 person wedding:
For 100 Guests:
Wine:
- 50% of guests = 50
- Multiply by drinks per guest:
50×7=350 - Divide by glasses per bottle:
350÷5=70
You need 70 bottles of wine.
Beer:
- 25% of guests = 25
- Multiply by drinks per guest:
25×7=175
You need 175 bottles of beer.
Spirits:
- 25% of guests = 25
- Multiply by drinks per guest:
25×7=175 - Divide by servings per bottle:
175÷12=14.6
(Round up to 15)
You need 15 bottles of spirits (750 ml).
Optional: Champagne Toast
- 100% of guests = 100
- Divide by glasses per bottle:
100÷5=20
You need 20 bottles of champagne.
Total for 100 Guests:
- 70 bottles of wine
- 175 bottles of beer
- 15 bottles of spirits
- 20 bottles of champagne (optional)
Only Having Beer and Wine?
Of course if you’re only having beer and wine, the percentages you’ll need for each would just go up accordingly. So you would most likely assume a 60% wine and 40% beer mix, making your numbers look like:
- 84 bottles of wine
- 280 bottles of beer
While the wedding alcohol calculator numbers above are rough estimates, I again encourage you to take into consideration your crowd. Are they big drinkers? Pad each of those numbers by a few bottles. Do a handful of guests you know of DEFINITELY not drink? Take it down a notch or two. Also talk to your alcohol/wine store you are purchasing from and get their opinion. This wedding alcohol calculator is by no means set in stone, these numbers are just meant to provide a guide for you so you know where to start.
SEE MORE: This is What a $50,000 Wedding Looks Like
Ready to buy? If you’re using the wedding alcohol calculator formula we’ve come up with, above, the shopping list for it is below.
4: Compile Your Shopping List
Spirits
OK. So here’s where I think the hardest part comes in for all wedding alcohol calculators. How much to get of each spirit? For a basic full bar you’ll want to have vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey. From there consider adding a bottle or two of bourbon, scotch, brandy, and any other speciality spirits you love.
Here’s a well-rounded list you can go off of when deciding the vodka to whisky amount you’ll need, assuming you buy 15 bottles of liquor for 100 people. And again, if you have a speciality liquor you like consider adding that to this list as well.
- 6 vodka
- 4 whisky
- 2 gin
- 2 tequila
- 1 rum
Wine
For wine you’ll want to do a mix of each, leaning towards more red wine if you’re throwing an evening wedding. Wine Folly has an easy-to-understand ratio of what types of wine to get for a wedding or other party, below:
Fall, Winter and Spring weddings: People tend to drink more red wine at indoor weddings in the fall, spring and winter. As a rule, have a mix of about 50% of red wine for this type of wedding.
Summer and Outdoor weddings: Outdoor weddings on hot days will have people drinking more white wine. Consider a mix of 30% each of all 3 styles of wine. On the other hand, you might also think about serving rosé, especially if you’re serving fish or seafood.
So if you’re buying 70 bottles of wine, your shopping list for an evening wedding inside might look like:
- 35 red
- 23 white
- 12 sparkling (not including extra bottles if you’re having a toast)
SEE MORE: Wedding Budget: Where to Save and Where to Splurge
Beer
A mix of 3 types of beer is perfect. In that case, I would do one pilsner, one lager, and one IPA (and try to make at least one of those mainstream enough for your Uncle Joe to enjoy, like a Miller Lite).
Mixers
You’ll want to have a variety of mixers available (and of course if you’re making speciality cocktails you’ll want to be sure to get everything you need that’s specific to those), as well as garnishes. One thing to note is that if you are hiring a bartender service (most venues require you have a licensed bartender) it’s often easier to let them supply the basic mixers and garnishes along with things like glassware and napkins.
In terms of mixers, plan on having the following for 100 guests:
- 10 Liters Club Soda or Seltzer
- 6 Liters Ginger Ale
- 8 Liters Cola
- 8 Liters Diet Cola
- 8 Liters Lemon-Lime Soda
- 6 Liters Tonic
- 3 Quarts each of any juice you want (plan on at least having orange, cranberry, and grapefruit)
- 2 bottles each of sour mix, grenadine, simple syrup, and bitters.
- 1 bottle each of dry and sweet vermouth
Garnishes
- 1/2 lemon/lime per guest (pre-sliced)
- 2 olives and cherries per guest
Phew. OK this article is WAY longer than we expected, and I’m sure there’s so much more we can include for future articles as well. In the meantime, are you having an open, DIY wedding bar? If so tell us how much you’re getting for it, below, and what wedding alcohol calculator you used and loved.
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Wow. That was a mountain of amazing info! I will have to send this to our couples. 🙂
What if we don’t plan on having any wine?
Thank you
This is assuming everyone is drinking, right? What if only half of the people are drinking?
What a useful post – so helpful, thank you!
Angie,
use the math in the article and stop being lazy
I am trying to put together an outdoor corporate family event of 3,00 people for 2 days January in of 6-8hrs.
(The tent is 20×20 with 4 and 2 servers)
They are going to have Wine, Mix drinks, Beer and Non-Alcoholic and would like to know how much to order of each. Including for mixing.
Thank you for your help and assistance.
Jeremy P,
This is correct. She said a 750 ml Boyle which is 25 ounces and some change. At 1.5 oz per drink it would be 12 drinks. If she said a 1litter bottle at 33 ounces then the 17 drinks would be correct.
Great calculator! I wanted to call out a small correction though. In your calculations for liquor, you’re using 12 drinks/bottle. However, that is for 30% ABV liquor (eg cordials). Most liquor that you’d buy (vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey) will likely be 40% ABV, and thus 17 drinks per bottle. With that change, at 100 people and 25% liquor drinkers, you’d be looking at 10.3 bottles of liquor, rounded up to 11.
This is the best calculator I have ever seen…and I have seen a lot of them!
Thanks for the great tips for buying alcohol for our wedding. I think we’re just going to have beer and wine, so it’s good to know about the 60% wine, 40% beer. We’ll take into account our guests, but start with that rough estimate!