This wedding alcohol calculator estimates the bar for a reception with the planner’s standard model: one drink per guest per hour, split across beer, wine and spirits — then converts drinks into bottles, cases and kegs you can actually order.

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The One-Drink-Per-Hour Model

Event planners size bars with a deliberately unglamorous rule: guests average one drink per hour across a reception (the eager first hour and the fading last hour cancel out). The defaults run the canonical reception — 100 drinking guests, 5 hours → 500 drinks — split 50/25/25 into 250 beers (≈21 12-packs or 1.5 kegs), 125 wine glasses (25 bottles), and 125 spirit drinks (about 7.4 × 750 mL bottles). Every figure a vendor quotes you is this model with their margin assumptions attached, so run it yourself first: the two inputs are your real guest count (DRINKERS only — children, non-drinkers and designated drivers come out) and your true bar-service hours (cocktail hour counts; dinner with table wine counts double-ish for wine specifically).

Refinements professionals layer on: champagne for the toast is separate arithmetic (one bottle = six flutes; many guests take a symbolic sip — a bottle per 8–10 guests usually covers the toast even though the glass count says 6); signature cocktails concentrate the spirits split into 1–2 bottles types, simplifying buying; and return policies matter more than precision — buy from a retailer who accepts unopened returns, then round UP every line, because the failure mode of running out (a dry bar at hour 4) outcosts a case of leftover wine you’ll drink happily all year. Ice, incidentally: plan ~1 lb per guest for service plus chilling — the most commonly under-bought item at DIY bars.

Worked Examples (Verified)

  • Defaults: 100 guests × 5 h = 500 drinks → beer 250 servings, wine 25 bottles, spirits ≈ 7.4 bottles.
  • Intimate wedding: 50 drinkers × 4 h = 200 drinks → beer 100 (8.3 12-packs), wine 10 bottles, spirits 3 bottles.
  • Big barn wedding: 200 × 6 h = 1,200 drinks → beer 600 (3.6 kegs — order 4), wine 60 bottles (5 cases), spirits ≈ 17.8 bottles.

Wedding Bar Discipline

  • Count drinkers, not invitations; then count hours of actual bar service, not venue rental.
  • Round up and buy returnable: surplus unopened stock is a refund, a shortage is a story.
  • Toast champagne is its own line (1 bottle per 6 flutes; sips mean per 8–10 guests in practice).
  • Mixers, garnish and ice scale with the spirits line: ~1 lb ice per guest total is the planner’s floor.
  • Non-alcoholic provisioning is not optional arithmetic: water stations, sodas and a considered mocktail keep every guest in the party.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 100?

With the planner’s model (1 drink per guest per hour), a 5-hour reception for 100 drinkers needs ~500 drinks: at a 50/25/25 split that’s 250 beer servings (about 21 twelve-packs or 1.5 half-kegs), 25 bottles of wine, and about 7–8 bottles (750 mL) of spirits. Enter your drinker count and bar hours above to scale it; adjust the split for your crowd’s tastes.

How many drinks per guest should I plan?

One per hour of bar service is the industry planning average — some guests have four in hour one and stop, others nurse one all night; the aggregate holds remarkably well across events. Heavy-drinking crowds (young, evening, full bar) justify 1.2×; daytime, older, or beer-and-wine-only receptions often land under the model. When between, round up and lean on returnable purchases.

How many glasses are in a bottle of wine or champagne?

Wine: five 5-oz glasses per 750 mL bottle (a 12-bottle case = 60 glasses). Champagne/sparkling: six 4-oz flutes per bottle for a toast pour. Spirits: a 750 mL bottle yields about 16–17 standard 1.5-oz pours (fewer once free-poured generously — budget 15 for a lively home-style bar). These conversion constants drive the calculator’s bottle outputs.

Beer keg or cans/bottles?

A half-barrel keg pours ~165 12-oz servings and is usually the cheapest per serving with the least packaging waste — but needs a tap, a tub, and ~3 bags of ice, serves ONE beer type, and must be finished around the event. Cans/bottles give variety (an IPA, a lager, a light), portion control, leftovers that keep, and simpler self-service. Many receptions split: keg for the main beer, a small canned selection beside it.

What about wine quantities for dinner service?

Table wine during dinner runs on top of the bar model if the bar closes during the meal: plan ~half a bottle per wine-drinking guest across a sit-down dinner (2–2.5 glasses). If the bar stays open, dinner wine draws from the same total — guests migrate, they don’t duplicate. Red/white splits default to 50/50, shifting white-ward for summer and seafood menus, red-ward for winter and beef.

How much ice do I need?

About 1 lb per guest covers drink service; add chilling capacity for kegs and warm bottles (a rough total of 1.25–1.5 lb per guest for a DIY summer bar is the safe professional figure). Ice is the classic wedding under-buy because it’s invisible in the drinks math — this calculator’s outputs assume you’ll read this answer and order the ice separately and generously.

Should I offer a full bar or beer and wine only?

Budget and logistics, not etiquette: beer-and-wine-only receptions are entirely standard, cheaper (drop the spirits line and reallocate its 25% mostly to wine), and self-limiting in a way some hosts prefer. If you go beer + wine, upgrade the selection quality with the savings and add one signature mocktail. Full bar: the spirits math above plus 2–3 mixer volumes per spirit volume and a licensed bartender where your venue/state requires.

Is this wedding alcohol calculator free?

Yes — free, instant, no sign-up. Enter drinking guests and bar hours for total drinks converted into beer servings/kegs, wine bottles and spirits bottles.