How much alcohol should you buy for your wedding?

Upside down Wine Bottles

Bottoms up!

If you are fortunate enough to have fallen in love with a wedding venue that allows you to bring your own alcohol in for the wedding you might be wondering – how do I decide how much alcohol to purchase?

 

Here is the formula I use when estimating how much alcohol to purchase to build a modified full bar for your wedding:

 

  • 1 drink per person, per hour
  • Industry standard percentages are: 50% drink wine, 20% drink beer & 30% drink a mixed cocktail

 

Therefore, if you are anticipating 120 guests at your wedding and the bar is open for 5 hours the formula would look like this:

  • 1 drink per person (120) x per hour (5) = 600 servings

600 servings equates to:

  • 75 bottles of wine (red/white/bubbles)
  • 120 bottles of beer
  • 12-14 bottles of liquor

Bride and Groom Cheers

Now this might have sparked a bunch of additional questions.

So, here are a few quick tips regarding what specifically to buy:

  • Booze: Whiskey, gin, and vodka (These are the most popular liquor choices)
  • Optional Booze:Rum and tequila
  • Mixers: Juice (usually orange or cranberry), soda (at least a cola), tonic water, and club soda
  • Garnishes:Lemons and limes (You can usually ask your caterer to provide the garnishes)
  • Beer: It’s nice to select at least two types of beer (one dark or strong, one light) to provide your guests options.
  • Wine:You’ll need at least one red wine and one white, but you don’t need more than one varietal (or blend) of each, unless you want to have them.
  • Bubbles (Optional):Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy, and sparkling wine from other non-Champagne regions are delicious, and they are almost always a better deal than French Champagne. If you’re going to serve bubbles as a toasting-only option, you want about 4–5 ounces per person, per toast. Also, you don’t haveto do a bubbly toast, if you don’t want to. People can cheers with anything. 🙂

Of course, understand, this is just the estimate I use. You know your guests best. If they are not heavy drinkers you might want to dial back these estimates a little bit.

I hope this guide helps!

Cheers!

Casey

Casey Green Wedding

Casey Green Weddings, LLC

8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 114

Scottsdale, AZ 85255

602-448-8133

hello@caseygreenweddings.com

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