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Wedding Alcohol Calculator (2026)

How much beer, wine and spirits do you actually need? Enter your guest count, reception length and drink split, and get a shopping list with bottles, cases and total cost.

Calculate Your Wedding Alcohol

The rest get soft drinks, water and mocktails.

Beer, wine and spirits percentages must add up to 100.

750 ml bottle, about 5 glasses.

One case holds 24 cans or bottles.

750 ml bottle, about 16 standard pours.

Your beer, wine and spirits percentages do not add up to 100. Adjust them so the split totals 100 before ordering.
Total drinks needed
Wine bottles (750 ml, 5 drinks each)
Beer cases (24 drinks each)
Spirits bottles (750 ml, 16 drinks each)
Wine cost
Beer cost
Spirits cost
Estimated total cost

Quantities are rounded UP to whole bottles and cases, so you will not run short. Prices are retail estimates — ask your supplier about bulk discounts and returns on unopened bottles. Plan soft drinks and water separately for non-drinkers.

How Wedding Alcohol Is Calculated

Wedding planners use one widely accepted rule of thumb: one drink per guest per hour of bar service. Multiply that by the share of guests who actually drink, and you have the total number of drinks. The split across beer, wine and spirits then decides how many bottles and cases to buy.

  • Total drinks = guests × percentage who drink × reception hours. A 100-guest wedding with 80% drinkers over 4 hours needs 320 drinks.
  • Wine: one 750 ml bottle pours about 5 glasses, so wine bottles = wine drinks divided by 5, rounded up.
  • Beer: sold by the case of 24, so beer cases = beer drinks divided by 24, rounded up.
  • Spirits: one 750 ml bottle gives about 16 standard 1.5 oz pours, so spirit bottles = spirit drinks divided by 16, rounded up.
  • Cost: bottles and cases multiplied by your prices. Buying by the case often saves 10 to 15%.
Total drinks = guests × drinker % × hours
Wine bottles = ceil(wine drinks / 5)
Beer cases = ceil(beer drinks / 24)
Spirit bottles = ceil(spirit drinks / 16)
Total cost = wine bottles × wine price + beer cases × case price + spirit bottles × spirit price

Worked Example: 100 Guests, 4 Hours, 40 / 40 / 20 Split

Drink Drinks Servings per unit Buy Cost
Wine 128 5 per bottle 26 bottles $390.00
Beer 128 24 per case 6 cases $144.00
Spirits 64 16 per bottle 4 bottles $120.00
Total 320 $654.00

At $15 per wine bottle, $24 per beer case and $30 per spirit bottle, the whole bar for 100 guests costs about $654 before tax — roughly $6.54 per guest.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Plan on one drink per guest per hour of bar service. For a 4-hour reception that is about 4 drinks per drinking guest, or 320 drinks for 100 guests when 80% drink. Some planners use 2 drinks in the first hour and 1 per hour after, which gives a slightly higher total — this calculator uses the simpler, widely quoted one-drink-per-hour rule.

It depends on the split. With a 40% wine share at a 4-hour, 100-guest wedding (80% drinkers), you need 26 bottles. If wine is the only option, the same wedding needs 64 bottles. One 750 ml bottle pours about 5 glasses.

Yes — beer and wine only is a popular bar format that typically cuts alcohol costs by 30 to 40% compared with a full bar. Set the spirits percentage to 0 and split the rest between beer and wine; most guests are happy with good beer and wine options.

Many planners add a 10% buffer on top of the calculated amount, or buy from a supplier who accepts returns on unopened bottles. This calculator already rounds every category up to whole bottles and cases, which builds in a small cushion automatically.

Set the drinker percentage to match your guest list — 80% is a typical default. Budget soft drinks, water, sparkling water and mocktails separately for the remaining guests; a good rule is one non-alcoholic drink per non-drinker per hour, plus water for everyone.

Buying it yourself is often cheaper if your venue allows outside alcohol, but you take on the estimating risk and leftovers. Venue packages cost more but remove that risk. Compare the venue’s per-person bar price with this calculator’s total before deciding.
Disclaimer: Estimates only for planning purposes. Actual consumption varies with your guests, season and venue. Check local laws on serving alcohol, and always arrange safe transport for guests.

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