Calculating Drinks for Your Wedding: How Much Wine, Beer and Water Per Guest?

With a drinks package, the venue takes care of quantities. If you bring drinks yourself, the math is up to you. Too little is embarrassing, too much costs money. A few guidelines help.

Calculator

The basic rule

Count on about two drinks per guest in the first hour, then about one drink per guest per hour. For a celebration from 3 pm to 2 am, that is roughly twelve to fourteen drinks per person over the day, water and coffee included. That sounds like a lot, but it spreads out.

Guidelines by drink

• Sparkling wine at the reception: about one to two glasses per guest. One bottle makes six to seven glasses.
• Wine with the meal: about half a bottle per wine drinker for the evening.
• Beer: for beer drinkers three to five 0.33 l bottles over the evening.
• Water: at least one liter per guest, more in summer.
• Soft drinks and juices: about half a liter per guest, more for children.
• Coffee: one to two cups per guest with the cake.

Know your guests

The guidelines are averages. A soccer team drinks differently from a choir. Go through your guest list and estimate roughly who drinks wine, who drinks beer and who drinks little or no alcohol. Pregnant guests, drivers, children and guests who don't drink alcohol need good non-alcoholic alternatives, not just apple spritzer.

Non-alcoholic drinks that aren't boring

At almost every wedding there are more guests without alcohol than you'd think: drivers, pregnant guests, children, people who don't drink out of conviction, and everyone who has to get up early in the morning. For them it's worth offering more than water and cola. A non-alcoholic sparkling wine for the reception, a homemade lemonade or one or two non-alcoholic cocktails at the bar cost little and go over well. For the non-alcoholic sparkling wine, count about a quarter of the sparkling wine quantity.

How to approach the planning

1. Count the expected guests and subtract children, for whom you calculate juice and soft drinks.
2. Use the guest list to estimate how many drink mostly wine, beer or no alcohol at all.
3. Work out the quantities with the guidelines above and add about 10 percent reserve.
4. Order on commission, so the reserve costs nothing if it is left over.

Commission instead of purchase

Many beverage dealers offer buying on commission: you pay only for what was opened, the rest goes back. That lets you plan generously without being stuck with leftovers. Also ask about rented glasses and cooling.

Don't forget ice

For cooling and drinks, count about a kilo of ice per guest, more in summer. It is one of the items that tend to be missing on the wedding day.

Package or by consumption?

If the venue provides the drinks, you often have a choice. A drinks package usually pays off with many hard-drinking guests and a long party. If many guests drink little, for example at a big family with children and older relatives, billing by consumption is cheaper. In both cases, ask what exactly is included. Cocktails and spirits are often excluded from packages.