A bar plan that fits your guest list
Wedding Alcohol Calculator
Start with the guests who expect to drink alcohol, then choose your bar hours and menu mix. This wedding alcohol calculator turns those choices into beer servings and 750 ml wine and spirit bottles. Use it to prepare a shopping conversation with your bartender; preferences, venue rules and your actual cocktail recipes still shape the final order.
Make it yours
A few details about your event
Your estimate updates as you go. No signup needed.
Count adults who expect to drink alcohol. Zero is welcome.
Per adult drinking guest, for purchasing estimates.
Optional shopping buffer, not a consumption target.
Your shopping plan
350
planned alcohol servings
- Beer · individual servings
- 105
- Wine · 750 ml bottles
- 21
- Spirits · 750 ml bottles
- 9
- Adult drinking guests
- 70
- Guests not drinking alcohol
- 30
100 guests · 4 hours · 5 planned servings per drinking guest · 30% beer / 30% wine / 40% cocktails · 1.5 oz spirit pours · 0% reserve.
Beer is about 5 × 24-packs. Bottles round up. Add mixers, water, alcohol-free drinks, ice and any separate toast to your final list. Cocktail recipes may require several spirit types.
An inventory estimate, not a recommendation to consume alcohol. Offer appealing alcohol-free options and coordinate responsible service with your bartender.
How the estimate works
Adult drinking guests = total guests × drinking percentage, rounded to a whole person. Set this percentage to zero for an alcohol-free event. The remaining guests still need a full nonalcoholic drinks plan.
Choose one planned drink per guest per hour, or the Total Wine inventory convention of bar hours plus one drink per drinking guest. These are purchasing assumptions, not a recommended amount to consume. Zero bar hours produces zero alcohol.
The beer, wine and cocktail shares always total 100%. Beer and wine are adjustable; cocktails receive the remainder. Whole drink allocations preserve the estimated total, and an optional reserve is applied before allocation.
Wine assumes a 5 US fl oz pour. Spirits use your selected 1.5 or 2 US fl oz per cocktail. Each 750 ml bottle is divided by the exact pour volume, and only the final bottle count rounds up. A cocktail with multiple spirits needs its ingredients split by recipe.
Beer is counted as individual servings, with a separate 24-pack equivalent. This estimate excludes a separate champagne toast, mixers, garnishes, ice and water. Add those to the final bar plan instead of treating the alcohol list as the entire order.
A practical example
For 100 guests, 70% drinking, four bar hours and the hours-plus-one setting, the plan is 350 drinks. A 30% beer / 30% wine / 40% cocktail mix gives 105 beers, 21 bottles of wine and 9 bottles of spirits at 1.5 oz per cocktail, before any reserve. Changing the spirit pour to 2 oz increases spirits to 12 bottles.
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.
Planning something in Orange County? Tell us your guest count, venue and date. We’ll help you find the right bar experience.