Keep the drinks cold all evening
Party Ice Calculator
Ice has two jobs at a party: serving drinks and keeping bottles cold. This party ice calculator keeps those amounts separate, adds an optional melt allowance and converts the total into the bags you can buy. The result is a planning starting point; a sunny backyard, a cocktail-heavy menu and a venue with limited freezer space each change the practical order.
Make it yours
A few details about your event
Your estimate updates as you go. No signup needed.
1 lb is a published starting point for a two-hour party. Set your own per-event quantity for a longer event or an ice-heavy menu.
Optional assumption. For example, enter 25 to compare a warmer-weather scenario.
Separate from service ice. Enter the amount your containers need.
Your shopping plan
10 bags
100 lb to purchase
- Service ice
- 100 lb
- Melt allowance
- 0 lb
- Coolers and beverage tubs
- 0 lb
- Estimated need before bag rounding
- 100 lb
100 guests · 1 lb per guest for the whole event · 0% service-ice allowance · 10 lb bags.
The 1 lb starting point comes from a two-hour party guide. For longer events, choose a per-event quantity with your bartender; no automatic hourly scaling is applied. Keep drink ice separate from chilling ice and confirm storage and replenishment.
How the estimate works
The default service baseline is 1 lb per guest for a two-hour party, as listed in Weiland's catering guide. You can edit that baseline to match your bartender's plan and how much ice your menu uses.
Service ice = guests × your selected pounds per guest for the entire event. There is no automatic hourly multiplier. For longer events or an ice-heavy menu, choose the per-event amount with your bartender instead of assuming a constant rate of ice use.
The optional melt allowance is a percentage of service ice only. Its default is zero; a 25% allowance is an editable scenario, not a measured weather forecast or a universal catering rule. Add a larger allowance only when your venue or bartender recommends it.
Add cooler and beverage-tub ice separately in pounds. This field starts at zero because container size, starting beverage temperature and whether you can replenish ice are unknown. Chilling ice is not included in the service estimate or its melt allowance.
The total rounds up to pounds, then to whole bags of your chosen size. Purchased weight may exceed the exact estimate. Keep ice intended for drinks separate from ice used around bottles, and agree on storage and replenishment before the event.
A practical example
If your bartender recommends 2 lb per guest for your whole event, 100 guests need 200 lb of service ice. Add a 25% melt allowance and 35 lb for tubs to reach 285 lb. With 20 lb bags, buy 15 bags for 300 lb total. The per-guest quantity, allowance and tub amount are assumptions you can change.
Sources & assumptions
Use these numbers as a starting point. Your menu, guests and venue may call for a different plan.
Made for your occasion
Your plans. Our bar. A lovely evening.
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