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WEDDING · PARTY PLANNINGWedding Drink Calculator
How much wine, beer and champagne does your wedding actually need? Enter guests, hours and drink preferences to get total drinks and a full bottle shopping list — with a buffer, so the bar never runs dry.
- 100% free, no sign-up
- Full bottle shopping list
- Beer, wine, cocktails & toast
- Buffer so you never run dry
The standard catering planning assumption this calculator starts from — adjust it through hours and drinkers.
Every wine and champagne bottle in your list is counted at 5 glasses.
Cocktail counts are converted to spirits bottles at about 16 drinks per bottle.
Running out mid-celebration is worse than leftovers — the buffer covers it.
Your wedding
Everyone attending, including kids and non-drinkers.
How long drinks will be served — reception only, or the whole day.
Drinking adults only. Kids and non-drinkers are excluded from alcohol, but still count for non-alcoholic drinks.
Drink preference split (%)
What your drinking guests will actually drink. The four shares should add up to 100% — if they do not, the calculator scales them proportionally and tells you.
Split total: 100%.
The toast is extra — one glass per guest, on top of the drinks in the split above. Counted at 5 glasses per 750ml bottle.
Water, soda and juice servings for every guest, drinkers included.
Extra stock so the bar never runs dry. 10% is the default advice; raise it for heavy-drinking crowds or long nights.
Please note: this is a planning estimate built on stated assumptions (1 drink per guest per hour, 5 glasses per wine or champagne bottle, about 16 cocktails per spirits bottle, 1 beer bottle or can per beer drink). Real consumption varies by crowd, weather, season and how the bar is run. Treat the list as a shopping starting point, not a guarantee.
How this wedding drink calculator works
Three steps, in the order the formula runs — every conversion is shown, nothing hidden.
Count the drinks
Drinking guests times celebration hours, at 1 drink per guest per hour, gives drinks before buffer. Non-drinkers and kids never enter this number.
Split and add buffer
Drinks are split by your beer, wine, cocktail and champagne percentages, then the buffer is added to every category — alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.
Convert to bottles
Wine and champagne divide by 5 glasses per bottle, cocktails by about 16 per spirits bottle, beer stays one bottle or can per drink — always rounded up, since you cannot buy part of a bottle.
Planning assumptions — stated, not hidden
Every conversion factor this calculator uses is a planning assumption you can disagree with — not a measured statistic. They are the standard catering rules of thumb, shown here so you can judge the result.
Assumed — and adjustable in effect
- 1 drink per guest per hour — the standard catering rule of thumb
- 1 wine bottle (750ml) = 5 glasses
- Beer = 1 bottle or can per drink
- 1 spirits bottle (750ml) ≈ 16 cocktails
- Champagne toast = 1 glass per guest, when enabled, on top of the split
What is NOT assumed
- No average drinking rate is claimed — your crowd sets it through hours and drinkers %
- No brand, price or vendor data — this is quantities only, not a cost estimate
- No allowance for spillage, half-finished drinks or staff drinking — that is what the buffer is for
- Non-alcoholic servings are your own input (default 2 per guest), not a measured average
Worked examples
Three weddings, worked through the same formula. All three use an even 25% beer, 25% wine, 25% cocktails, 25% champagne split, a 10% buffer, and no champagne toast — so the bottle math is easy to check.
| Wedding | Guests | Hours | Drinkers | Drinks (no buffer) | Drinks (+10% buffer) | Wine bottles | Beer bottles | Spirits bottles | Champagne bottles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small wedding | 50 | 4 | 40 | 160 | 176 | 9 | 44 (2 cases) | 3 | 9 |
| Medium wedding | 100 | 4 | 80 | 320 | 352 | 18 | 88 (4 cases) | 6 | 18 |
| Large wedding | 200 | 5 | 180 | 900 | 990 | 50 | 248 (11 cases) | 16 | 50 |
Medium wedding, step by step: 100 guests at 80% drinkers gives 80 drinking guests; 80 × 4 hours = 320 drinks before buffer, and 320 × 1.10 = 352 with the 10% buffer. An even split gives 80 drinks per category before buffer, 88 after. Wine: 88 / 5 = 17.6, rounded up to 18 bottles. Beer: 88 bottles, or 4 cases of 24. Spirits: 88 / 16 = 5.5, rounded up to 6 bottles. Champagne: 88 / 5 = 17.6, rounded up to 18 bottles. Small wedding: 50 × 80% = 40 drinkers × 4 hours = 160 drinks, 176 with buffer; 44 per category after buffer gives 9 wine, 44 beer (2 cases), 3 spirits and 9 champagne bottles. Large wedding: 200 × 90% = 180 drinkers × 5 hours = 900 drinks, 990 with buffer; 247.5 per category after buffer gives 50 wine, 248 beer (11 cases), 16 spirits and 50 champagne bottles. With the toast on for 100 guests, add 20 champagne bottles (100 glasses / 5 per bottle) to any row.
Wedding drink questions, answered
How many drinks should I plan per guest at a wedding?
This calculator uses the standard catering rule of thumb: 1 drink per guest per hour. It is a planning assumption, not a measured fact — a long, late-night celebration with heavy drinkers will need more, and a short daytime reception will need less. Change the hours and the share of guests who drink to match your crowd.
How much wine vs beer should I buy for a wedding?
It depends on your guests. This calculator starts from a 40% beer, 30% wine, 20% cocktails and 10% champagne split, but every percentage is editable — set the split to what your crowd actually drinks. The bottle math then follows: one 750ml wine bottle is counted as 5 glasses, one spirits bottle as about 16 cocktails, and beer as one bottle or can per drink.
Do I need a separate champagne toast calculation?
Yes, if you are doing a toast. Turn the champagne toast toggle on and the calculator adds one glass of champagne per guest on top of the drinks in your split — at 5 glasses per 750ml bottle. The toast is extra: guests still drink their usual drinks during the celebration, so the toast glasses are added, not taken out of the split.
What about non-drinkers and kids at the wedding?
They are handled two ways. First, the percentage of guests who drink excludes them from all alcohol — set it to drinking adults only, so kids and non-drinkers never inflate the wine and beer count. Second, the non-alcoholic drinks per guest field covers everyone: water, soda and juice for every guest, drinkers included.
How much buffer should I add to wedding drink quantities?
The default buffer is 10%, and it is there for one reason: running out of drinks mid-celebration is far worse than having a few bottles left over. The buffer is applied to everything you buy — alcoholic and non-alcoholic. For a crowd you know drinks heavily, or a celebration that may run long, raise it to 15% or 20%.