How to use the Wedding Alcohol Calculator
This calculator estimates how much beer, wine, and liquor to buy for a wedding reception using the standard bar-planning rule caterers and liquor stores rely on: budget for one drink per drinking guest per hour. Multiply that by your guest count, your reception length, and the share of guests who actually drink, then split the total across beer, wine, and liquor and convert into real purchasing units — cases of beer, bottles of wine, and bottles of liquor.
The formula
Total drinks = Guests × % who drink × Hours × 1 drink/person/hour. That total is then split by your beer/wine/liquor percentages. Each category is converted to bottles using standard pour sizes: a 750ml wine bottle pours about 5 glasses (5 oz each), a 750ml liquor bottle pours about 17 shots (1.5 oz each), and beer is sold in cases of 24 bottles or cans (12 oz each, one can = one drink).
Why the 1-drink-per-hour rule
This benchmark comes from decades of catering and event-bar experience: most guests have their first drink within the first hour and then average roughly one drink per hour after that, factoring in guests who have two early and none later, and guests who skip alcohol during dinner or speeches. It is deliberately a middle estimate — cocktail-hour-only events run lower, and receptions with a young, celebratory crowd can run higher.
Typical reference points
- 100 guests, 5-hour reception, 80% drink: 400 total drinks. With a 50/20/30 split that's 200 beers (9 cases of 24), 80 glasses of wine (16 bottles), and 120 liquor drinks (8 bottles at 17 shots per bottle).
- Standard drink mix: many planners default to roughly 50% beer, 20% wine, 30% liquor for a mixed-preference crowd, or closer to 40/40/20 for a wine-forward crowd.
- Champagne toast: if you're doing a separate champagne toast, budget one extra 4 oz pour per guest (about 6 glasses per 750ml bottle) on top of this calculator's output — it is not included here.