What wedding alcohol do I need?
Type the number of guests who drink, how long the bar is open, and your mix of beer, wine and liquor. The wedding alcohol calculator estimates the cans, cases and 750 mL bottles to buy.
- Wine (750 mL bottles)
- 30
Buy about 30 × 750 mL wine, 250 × 12 oz beer and 6 × 750 mL liquor.
- Total drinks
- 500
- Beer (12 oz cans or bottles)
- 250
- Beer (cases of 24)
- 11
- Liquor (750 mL bottles)
- 6
- Liquor share (%)
- 20
- Glasses of wine per bottle
- 5.072
Wine (750 mL bottles): 30. Buy about 30 × 750 mL wine, 250 × 12 oz beer and 6 × 750 mL liquor.
How to calculate
Estimates the beer, wine and liquor to buy for a wedding or party from the guest count, the hours of the bar and a drinks-per-hour rate, in cans, cases and 750 mL bottles.
Example with the default inputs (Guests who drink 100, Hours of the bar 5, Drinks per guest per hour 1, Beer 50%, Wine 30%): Buy about 30 × 750 mL wine, 250 × 12 oz beer and 6 × 750 mL liquor.
Method: Drinks = guests × hours × drinks per guest per hour. Beer cans = beer share of drinks (12 fl oz each); wine bottles = wine drinks × 5 fl oz ÷ 750 mL; liquor bottles = liquor drinks × 1.5 fl oz ÷ 750 mL; each rounded up. 1 fl oz = 29.5735295625 mL.
- One drink is one US standard drink (NIAAA): a 12 fl oz beer, a 5 fl oz glass of wine or a 1.5 fl oz shot of spirits.
- The drinks-per-hour rate is a planning rule, not a measured average; raise it for a lively crowd and count only guests who drink.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Guests who drink 100, Hours of the bar 5, Drinks per guest per hour 1, Beer 50%, Wine 30% gives Total drinks 500, Wine (750 mL bottles) 30, Beer (12 oz cans or bottles) 250, Beer (cases of 24) 11, Liquor (750 mL bottles) 6, Liquor share (%) 20.Source: NIAAA, What Is A Standard Drink? (12 fl oz of 5% beer, 5 fl oz of 12% wine, 1.5 fl oz of 40% spirits), https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/what-standard-drink (retrieved 2026-10-03)
- Guests who drink 60, Hours of the bar 4, Drinks per guest per hour 1.5, Beer 0%, Wine 100% gives Total drinks 360, Wine (750 mL bottles) 71, Beer (12 oz cans or bottles) 0, Liquor (750 mL bottles) 0, Glasses of wine per bottle 5.072103.Source: NIAAA, What Is A Standard Drink? (12 fl oz of 5% beer, 5 fl oz of 12% wine, 1.5 fl oz of 40% spirits), https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/what-standard-drink (retrieved 2026-10-03)
How it works
- Total drinks = guests × hours × drinks per guest per hour. The rate of 1 drink per guest per hour is the page’s stated planning rule; change it to suit your crowd.
- Split the drinks by the beer and wine shares you type; liquor gets the rest, 100% − beer − wine.
- Turn each share into what you buy, with one US standard drink each (NIAAA) and 1 fl oz = 3,785.411784 ÷ 128 = 29.5735295625 mL:
- Beer: one 12 fl oz can or bottle per drink, rounded up; cases of 24 = cans ÷ 24, rounded up.
- Wine: drinks × 5 fl oz ÷ 750 mL, rounded up to whole bottles.
- Liquor: drinks × 1.5 fl oz ÷ 750 mL, rounded up to whole bottles.
The page also shows the glasses of wine per bottle: 750 ÷ (5 × 29.5735295625) = 5.0721.
Exact arithmetic. Each value is read as the exact decimal you typed, so a count that lands exactly on a whole bottle is not rounded up.
Output format. Cans, cases and bottles are whole numbers. Total drinks and the liquor share (%) show to 6 significant figures; glasses per bottle to 4.
When there is no answer. The beer and wine shares add up to more than 100%.
Assumptions
- Every drink is a standard drink; a generous pour needs more bottles.
- The rate is an average over all drinking guests and all hours.
Worked examples by hand
100 guests, 5 hours, 1 drink an hour. Drinks = 100 × 5 × 1 = 500. Beer 50% = 250 cans, 250 ÷ 24 = 10.4, so 11 cases. Wine 30% = 150 glasses × 5 × 29.5735 = 22,180 mL ÷ 750 = 29.57, so 30 bottles. Liquor 20% = 100 shots × 1.5 × 29.5735 = 4,436 mL ÷ 750 = 5.91, so 6 bottles.
Wine-only dinner. Drinks = 60 × 4 × 1.5 = 360 glasses; 360 × 5 × 29.5735 ÷ 750 = 70.98, so 71 bottles.
Other questions people ask
How much alcohol do I need for a wedding?
A common planning rule is one drink per guest per hour. 100 guests for 5 hours is about 500 drinks; split 50% beer, 30% wine and 20% liquor, that is 250 beers, 30 bottles of wine and 6 bottles of liquor.
How many glasses of wine are in a bottle?
A 750 mL bottle holds about 5 standard 5 fl oz glasses: 750 ÷ (5 × 29.57) = 5.07. Generous pours give fewer glasses.
How many shots are in a bottle of liquor?
A 750 mL bottle holds about 17 standard 1.5 fl oz shots (750 ÷ 44.36 = 16.9). Mixed drinks with one shot each count the same.
What is a standard drink?
In the US, one standard drink holds about 14 g of pure alcohol: a 12 fl oz beer at 5%, a 5 fl oz glass of wine at 12%, or a 1.5 fl oz shot of 40% spirits (NIAAA).
Should I count every guest?
Count adults who will drink. Leave out children and guests who do not drink, or lower the drinks-per-hour rate to cover them.
What drink mix should I choose?
It depends on your crowd. Type the beer and wine shares; liquor gets the rest. A beer-and-wine bar makes the two add up to 100%, leaving 0% for liquor. The page rounds each count up to whole cans and bottles.