Wedding Alcohol Calculator

How much alcohol do you need for a wedding?

Almost every "how much booze for a wedding" answer online stops at a bottle count. That's the easy half. The half that decides whether you self-supply at all is what those bottles cost once you've added mixers, ice, corkage and bar staff — and whether that total actually beats the per-head package the venue quoted you.

The calculation starts with drinks, not bottles. Take your guest count, subtract the people who won't be drinking, and apply a consumption rate. The standard planning rule is two drinks per drinking guest in the first hour, when everyone arrives thirsty and there's a welcome drink in every hand, then one drink per drinking guest for each hour after that. For 85 drinkers over a five-hour reception, that's 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6 drinks each, or 510 drinks in total. It's a rule of thumb, not a measurement — a young crowd, a hot day or a long gap before dinner all push it up, which is why both rates are inputs you can change.

Next, split those drinks across beer, wine and spirits. The often-quoted default is roughly 40/40/20, but you know your guests better than any average does: a beer-drinking crowd might be 60/25/15, a cocktail-heavy reception the reverse. Get this split roughly right and the rest of the shopping list follows automatically.

Then convert drinks into things you can put in a trolley. One beer is one drink. A 750ml bottle of wine is about five 5oz glasses, or four if your pours are generous. A 750ml bottle of spirits gives about 16 single 1.5oz measures. Bottle sizes and standard pours differ between countries, so the calculator asks for these rather than assuming them. Every category is rounded up to whole bottles and whole cases, because that's how you actually buy — which quietly builds in a small buffer.

Finally, cost it honestly. Multiply each quantity by your local price, add a per-guest allowance for mixers, soft drinks and ice, and add the fees the venue charges for the privilege of bringing your own — corkage, bartenders, glass hire, sometimes a licence. That total, divided by your guest count, is your real cost per guest. Put it next to the venue's per-head open bar quote multiplied by the same guest count and the decision usually makes itself. Self-supply often wins, but a steep corkage fee can wipe out the saving entirely, and the package price includes staff, glassware and someone else carrying the empties out at midnight.

One practical tip before you buy: ask your retailer whether they take back unopened stock. Some retailers do, which makes buying a little over almost risk-free — and lets you plan for the thirsty end of the range rather than the average.