How many drinks do I need for a wedding of 100 guests?

For a 100-guest, 5-hour reception with an average crowd, plan about 500 drinks total: roughly 100 beers, 22 bottles of wine (12 red, 8 white, 2 sparkling), 16 bottles of spirits (750 ml), and 17 bottles of champagne for the toast. Add 10% buffer so you don't run out.

How do I calculate drinks for a wedding?

Use this formula: guests × pace × drinker multiplier × (1 − non-drinker %) × (1 + buffer %). Pace is 1.0 drinks for the first hour, 0.75 for every hour after (0.6 for brunch). Drinker multipliers are Light 0.7, Average 1.0, Heavy 1.3, Very Heavy 1.5.

How many drinks per person for a wedding?

The industry standard is 1 drink per person per hour, or about 5 drinks across a 5-hour reception. Adjust up to 6–7 for a heavy-drinking crowd, or down to 3–4 for a daytime / brunch wedding or older crowd.

Should I serve beer, wine, and liquor or beer and wine only?

Beer and wine only typically cuts your alcohol bill by about 30% and works well for casual or outdoor weddings. A full bar (50% spirits / 25% wine / 25% beer) is the US industry default and gives every guest a familiar option. Pick beer-and-wine if budget matters, full bar if your crowd skews mixed-drink lovers.

How many bottles of champagne do I need for the toast?

One 750 ml champagne bottle pours roughly 6 toast-sized servings (about 4 oz each). For 100 toasting guests, plan 17 bottles. Toast champagne is on top of any sparkling wine you serve during the reception.

How many mocktails should I plan for non-drinkers?

Plan 1 non-alcoholic drink per non-drinking guest per hour. If 20% of your 100 guests don't drink, that's 20 guests × 5 hours = 100 mocktail / soda / juice servings. Split that as ~60% soda, ~25% juice, ~15% sparkling water, plus 1 bottle of water per guest baseline.

How many bartenders do I need for a wedding?

Plan 1 bartender per 50 guests as the industry standard. Below that ratio, queue times stretch past 10 minutes and your effective drink pace drops, leaving you with leftover alcohol and unhappy guests. For 100 guests, hire 2; for 150, hire 3.

How much ice and how many mixers should I order?

Plan 1 lb of ice per guest (0.5 kg) for an indoor evening reception, and 1.5× for outdoor or summer weddings. For mixers, plan about 120 ml of tonic, soda, or juice per cocktail served — so ~22 L of mixers for 180 cocktails.

Wedding Drink Calculator

Event basics

Guests

Bar service hours

Event timing

Drinker profile

Bar plan

Bar mix

Red

White

Sparkling

Toast type

Guest mix & safety

Guests not drinking alcohol0%

Safety buffer+10%

Pricing & region

Currency / market

Per-bottle prices

Beer per can/bottle

Still wine bottle

Spirits bottle

Sparkling bottle

Main bar drinks

440

440 alcoholic · 0 non-alcoholic

+ 102 champagne toast pours

Estimated cost

$1,448

Per guest

$14.48

Drink mix

How the 100 guests split across beer, wine, spirits, and mocktails

Beer

25%

110

Wine

25%

Spirits

50%

Bottles & bar stock

What to buy from your store or supplier

Beer

110

5 × 24-pack

Red wine

750 ml bottles

White wine

750 ml bottles

Sparkling

750 ml bottles

Spirits

750 ml · or 12 × 1 L

Toast champagne

750 ml bottles

Water

225

Hydration backup

Setup essentials

Behind-the-bar must-haves: staff, ice, glassware, and mixers

Bartenders

1 bartender per 50 guests

Ice

100 lb

50 kg · 1 lb / guest

Wine glasses

150

1.5× guests (allows for swaps)

Cocktail glasses

200

2× guests (cocktails go fast)

Mixers: ~27 L of tonic, soda, and juice for cocktails. Plan for lemons, limes, and bitters at the bar.

Shopping list

Send this to your venue or liquor store

Beer110 bottles · 5 × 24-pack
Red wine9 × 750 ml
White wine9 × 750 ml
Sparkling4 × 750 ml
Spirits16 × 750 ml or 12 × 1 L
Champagne toast17 × 750 ml
Water225 bottles
Ice100 lb (50 kg)
Mixers27 L tonic / soda / juice
Glassware150 wine · 200 cocktail
Bartenders2

What is a Wedding Drink Calculator?

Stop guessing how much alcohol to buy for the reception.

1 / hr

Standard pace

One drink per guest, per hour

50 / 25 / 25

Classic mix

Spirits / beer / wine

1 : 50

Bartender ratio

One bartender per 50 guests

A wedding drink calculator turns four inputs — guests, reception hours, drinker profile, and bar style — into a precise shopping list of bottles, cans, mixers, ice, glassware, and bartenders. It uses industry-standard pacing and adjusts for light vs heavy drinkers, non-drinkers, daytime weddings, and a safety buffer so you never run out at hour three.

Quick rule of thumb: 100 guests at a 5-hour reception with an average crowd needs about 440 alcoholic drinks — roughly 100 beers, 18 wine bottles, 11 (1 L) spirits bottles — plus 17 bottles of champagne for the toast (an extra ~100 pours on top of the main bar).

How is the drink count calculated?

The formula behind the bottle counts

Two equations work together. First we estimate the total bar demand — every drink your bar will pour, alcoholic or not. Then we slice that across beer, wine, spirits, and mocktails using your mix; the alcoholic count is the sum of the first three slices, and bottles come from drinks-per-bottle.

Total bar demand =

guests × pace(hours) × drinker_multiplier × (1 − non_drinker%) × (1 + buffer%)

Pace = 1.0 first hour + 0.75 every hour after (0.6 for brunch / daytime)

Total alcoholic drinks =

bar_demand × (beer% + wine% + spirits%) / 100

Mocktails are the fourth slice — counted separately, not as alcohol

Worked example — 100 guests, 5 h, average drinkers, classic mix (25/25/50/0), 10% buffer:

pace = 1.0 + 4 × 0.75 = 4.0
bar demand = 100 × 4.0 × 1.0 × 1.0 × 1.10 = 440
alcoholic = 440 × (25 + 25 + 50)/100 = 440 (no mocktail share)
50% spirits → 220 cocktails ÷ 14 per 750 ml = 16 spirits bottles
25% wine → 110 wine drinks ÷ 5 per 750 ml = 22 wine bottles
25% beer → 110 beers = 110 cans (~5 cases)

With the Full Bar + NA preset (10% mocktail), bar demand stays 440 but alcoholic drops to 396 and 44 mocktail servings are added. With the Dry / Mocktail preset (100% mocktail), alcoholic is 0 and 440 mocktail servings cover the whole bar.

750 ml wine

5 drinks

750 ml sparkling

6 drinks

750 ml spirits

14 drinks

1 L spirits

19 drinks

Beer, wine, or full bar?

How to split your bar by style of wedding

Classic

50 / 25 / 25 — spirits / wine / beer. US default for evening receptions, ages 25–60.

Beer & Wine

50 / 50 — saves ~30% on the bar bill. Casual & outdoor receptions love it.

Brunch

60% wine (sparkling-heavy), 20% spirits, 10% beer, 10% mocktails. Daytime pace drops 15–25%.

Full Bar + NA

Add 10–15% non-alcoholic to any mix. Pregnant guests, designated drivers, and dry guests will thank you.

Brunch and daytime weddings

Lower pace, sparkling-heavy mix

Daytime guests drink ~15–25% less than evening guests. Two controls handle this:

The Brunch / daytime toggle drops the pace from 0.75 to 0.6 drinks per guest per hour after the first hour. Use it whenever your reception is a daytime event, even with a custom mix.
The Brunch preset chip (in the Bar style row) goes further — it also rewrites the mix to ~60% wine (sparkling-heavy for mimosas), 20% spirits, 10% beer, 10% mocktails. Plan one bottle of sparkling wine per 5 mimosa drinkers.

Add coffee, tea, and infused water to the non-alcoholic outputs — a daytime crowd will hit those hard between courses.

Common mistakes to avoid

What couples typically miss when stocking the bar

Forgetting the 10% buffer

Hour four is when bottles run out. A small overshoot is much cheaper than an emergency liquor run.

Ignoring non-drinkers

10–25% of most weddings don't drink alcohol. Plan dedicated mocktails, sodas, and water — not just leftover juice at the bar.

Underbuying ice

Plan 1 lb of ice per guest at a minimum. Hot venues, outdoor weddings, or full-bar setups need 1.5×.

Using the wrong bottle size

US bars assume 750 ml; UK and Australia default to 700 ml spirits. The calculator flips automatically by currency.

Skipping the champagne toast count

A 750 ml champagne bottle pours about 6 toast servings — not 5 like still wine.

One bartender for 150 guests

Plan 1 bartender per 50 guests. Below that, lines stretch and the pace effectively drops.

Pro tips

Three small moves that pay back across the night

Buy from a store with returns

Stores like Costco, BevMo, or Total Wine accept returns on unopened bottles — you can safely overshoot by 15%.

Tip the bartenders

Plan $50–$100 per bartender for a 5-hour reception, on top of their hourly rate.

Pre-batch signature cocktails

A signature cocktail costs ~30% less than full bar service and reduces bartender wait times by half.

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions couples and planners ask most

Wine bottles are 750 ml worldwide (about 5 servings of 5 oz each), so the calculator uses 750 ml for red, white, and sparkling regardless of region. For 100 guests at a 5-hour reception with a 25% wine mix, you need about 22 bottles of wine total — split roughly 40% red, 40% white, 20% sparkling. The 700 ml regional convention only applies to spirits in the UK, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE.

Brunch and daytime weddings typically drink 15–25% less. Two controls handle this in the calculator. The Brunch / daytime toggle drops the pace from 0.75 to 0.6 drinks per guest per hour after the first hour — use it for any daytime event regardless of mix. The Brunch preset chip in the Bar style row also rewrites the mix to roughly 60% wine (sparkling-heavy for mimosas), 20% spirits, 10% beer, 10% mocktails. Add coffee, tea, and infused water to the non-alcoholic outputs since daytime crowds hit those hard.

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Last updated May 1, 2026

Wedding Drink Calculator

Event basics

Bar plan

Guest mix & safety

Pricing & region

Drink mix

Bottles & bar stock

Setup essentials

Shopping list

What is a Wedding Drink Calculator?

How is the drink count calculated?

Beer, wine, or full bar?

Brunch and daytime weddings

Common mistakes to avoid

Pro tips

Frequently Asked Questions

Embed Wedding Drink Calculator

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