How many drinks do you need for 100 people?
Allot 1.5 drinks per guest per hour
That's 1.5 drinks per guest, per hour. So, if you have 100 drinkers, that's 150 drinks for every hour. A five hour event for one hundred guests would need 750 drinks.
How much alcohol do you need for 100 guests? For a 4 hour party with 100 guests, you will need approximately 400 drinks: 160 beers, 144 glasses of wine (29 bottles) and enough for 96 individual co*cktails (amounts will depend upon what type of co*cktail you serve). If you aren't serving wine, plan on 240 co*cktails.
Take the number of guests and divide by 2.15 for how many bottles to buy. So let's say the wedding will have 100 guests. If you divide the number of guests by 2.15, you should expect to get about 46 bottles of wine for the event.
The formula is short and simple - all you to do is make sure that every guest has a drink for every hour of the party, plus one extra in case they want more. So the formula is: # of soft drinks = # of guests * (party duration in hours + 1) .
100 (guests) x 5 (hours) = 500 drinks. 500 x 0.33 = 170 beers or 7 cases of beer or one ½ barrel sized keg. 500 x 0.33 = 150 glasses of wine, /5 glasses per bottle= 37 bottles of wine. 500 x 0.33 = 150 mixed drinks, /39 servings per 1.75 bottle = four 1.75ml bottles liquor.
Typically, many venues recommended having 1 bartender for 75-100 guests. However, if you are looking for even better service, we suggest 2 as many guests report that 1 bartender was not enough for 100 people.
It turns out, there is a magic formula when it comes to calculating the amount of drinks you'll need for your wedding, sort of: Plan for at least one drink per person per hour. (So for a six-hour wedding with 100 guests, you'll need roughly 600 drinks.)
Open Bar for 100 GUESTS:
15 bottles of liquor (750 ml)
Most guests will have two drinks in the first hour and one per hour after that. So for a two-hour event multiply the number of guests by three, and so on, to determine the number of drinks you'll need to serve.
Setting up a DIY Wedding Bar can save you massively– many event spaces mark up alcohol by 40%! When buying your own wedding alcohol, you'll likely spend less than going through your caterer who charges restaurant markup prices.
How many bottles of wine do you need for a wedding for 100 people?
Each 750ml bottle has five glasses, so for 100 guests and a four-hour wedding reception, you would need 400 glasses—or 80 bottles of wine (40 white and 40 red), which is a little more than 6 cases of wine.
For 100 people, that's roughly 17 bottles of champagne. Consider rounding up your figure in case waitstaff pour larger servings. This estimate gives each guest a small serving of the sparkler for the toast — you don't want guests at the last-served tables to toast empty-handed!
| Guests | 10-25 | 60-100 |
|---|---|---|
| Brandy/cognac | 1 | 3 |
| Aperitif | 1 | 2 |
| Cordial | 2 | 3 |
| Beer (bottles/cans) | 50 | 100 |
(Example/ If 50 guests will be drinking liquor. 50 liquor drinkers x 5 glasses each = 250 drinks. 250 co*cktails / 16 drinks per bottle = 16 bottles of liquor.
How much should you stock for a party? In general, plan on two beverages per guest during the first hour of your party, and one each hour after that. Quite often, parties last at least two hours, though yours may go a little longer depending on the occasion.
Let's look at an example to help – lets say you have 150 people at your wedding. It is always better to overestimate than to come up short so lets say the average person consumes 6 drinks. That means 900 drinks will be consumed at an average cost of $5 each. Your open bar budget should be $4500 in this example.
| Mixer Stock for a Full Bar | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10–24 Guests | 60–100 Guests | |
| Club Soda or Seltzer | 3 Two-Liters | 5 Two-Liters |
| Ginger Ale | 2 Two-Liters | 3 Two-Liters |
| Cola | 3 Two-Liters | 4 Two-Liters |
The bottom line is that you should have one bartender for every 25 to 50 guests. This will ensure that your bar runs smoothly and that your guests are able to get their drinks quickly.
The 50 rule in bartending is a very simple one. It refers to 50% of a drink that is still in a customer's glass. Once the glass is halfway empty from consumption, you can serve another drink. This is very important to consider and it will be essential in a bartender's career.
Using the four-count method, a 1.5-ounce pour is 3 counts using a pour spout. That means you'll start pouring and say “one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand” and stop.
Do you tip bartender after every drink?
Similarly, bartenders should be tipped $1-$2 per drink or 15%-20% of your total tab. While there's no obligation to leave money in a tip jar, the Emily Post Institute recommends tipping occasionally if your server or barista provides something extra or if you're a regular customer.
At a cash bar, guests must pay for their wedding drinks. If the bar doesn't take cards and there aren't any nearby ATM machines, let guests know so they can bring some money with them. If a cash bar is a necessity, consider providing some alcoholic and soft beverages at the tables during the wedding meal.
- Skip the champagne toast. ...
- Provide bottles at the table. ...
- Pay per head and not per drink. ...
- Offer up signature drinks instead of a full bar. ...
- Have a daytime wedding. ...
- Buy your own alcohol. ...
- Remove the expensive alcohol.
The higher the number of guests, the more you'll pay for alcoholic beverages. According to our study, couples who hosted weddings of 50 or fewer people on their guest list spent an average of $1,300 on alcohol, while those with more than 100 guests spent over $3,000 on booze.
- Champagne (750 ml) - 25 bottles.
- Red Wine (750 ml) - 15 bottles.
- White wine (750 ml) - 15 bottles.
- Spirits (1 liter) - 16 bottles.
- Beer - 150 cans or bottles.
| 1-2 hours | 45 bottles of wine | 6 bottles of spirits |
| 3-4 hours | 75 bottles of wine | 8 bottles of spirits |
| 4+ hours | 90 bottles of wine | 10 bottles of spirits |
So based on 50 people you will serve around 250 drinks during the party. A 1.75L bottle of alcohol will serve around 32 drinks.
Tips for calculating beverages
Guests drink an average of two drinks the first hour and one drink each hour after. Allow one half bottle of champagne per bubbly-guzzling guest and one bottle of wine per 2-3 guests, remembering that white wine tends to be more popular than red.
For a party of 50 guests, that translates to between 12 and 13 dozen beers, 9 dozen mixers and 20 bottles of wine. You can add two bottles of cordial (orange and lime are generally the most popular), a bottle of bitters, and some fruit juice options to diversify the choices without adding too much stock.
Rules to Plan By
Each adult will consume 1 pound of food total; children, about 1/2 pound. The more options you have, the less you need of each; decrease the main course portion sizes by 1 to 2 ounces if served on a buffet. Guests will always eat — and drink — more at night than during the day.
Who pays for the wedding alcohol?
The bride and her family pay for all professional services, including food and decorations. The groom's family pays for the DJ or band and liquor.
What Is a Dry Wedding? A dry wedding is simply a wedding without alcohol. The couple may choose not to serve alcohol for various reasons, from religious to financial. Deciding whether or not to serve alcohol at your wedding is completely up to you.
If you and your partner don't drink but your friends and family do (and you're not opposed to alcohol), it's nice to have a little bit of booze available, even if it's just beer and wine. If you feel strongly about not having any alcohol available at all, you can definitely skip it. But don't let guests go thirsty!
The general consensus seems to be that you should order at least three cups per attendee. Remember that you can always save by providing one sturdy, customized cup as a take-home gift (because who doesn't love a good cup?) and serving the rest of the drinks in a cheaper disposable cup.
Wine: One 750-milliliter bottle of wine provides five to six glasses, depending on your pour. During a party, plan one bottle for every two guests. Beer: Estimate that guests will drink about 12 ounces (one bottle) every half hour to hour during the party.
Reception, Dinner & Dancing – A good rule is to estimate one (1) drink per person for every hour of the reception. Some will drink more and some less so it will even out.
Here's how it stacks up for a 100 person reception:
Just one glass on arrival – 15 bottles. Or a glass with top-ups for an hour or so – 48 bottles maximum (half a bottle a head).
Again, there is a general rule that can be followed to determine how many bottles will be needed. For a full glass of Champagne for each guest, divide the number of drinkers by four. If you intend only to give half a glass to each person (enough for a toast), then divide the number of guests by eight.
While a Champagne flute usually contains 6 ounces, a typical serving for toast is just over 4 ounces. If you only partially fill glasses for a toast, your Champagne bottle will last longer through the party. A typical bottle of Champagne provides 6.25 servings for toast.
As a general rule of thumb, plan to serve one drink per guest per hour of the reception. In other words, if you're having a four-hour reception with 100 guests, provide 400 servings of alcohol. Full bars typically offer beer, wine, and liquor.
What is the 6 drink rule?
There is a maximum of six alcoholic drinks per person per day that can be served and these drinks will be provided only during lunch and dinner ( 3 each).
for 100 servings:
8 cups cold water. 6 3/4 cups lemon juice fresh or bottled. additional water ice, gallon ziplock bags for storage.
- Gin Martini – Gin, Dry Vermouth, Olives/Lemon (optional garnish) ...
- Whiskey Ginger – Whiskey, Ginger Ale. ...
- Kalimotxo – Red Wine, Cola. ...
- Gin and Tonic – Gin, Tonic. ...
- Old Fashioned – Whiskey, Sugar, Bitters, Cherry (optional garnish)
Beer typically comes in 12 oz bottles at 30 bottles a case, though some come in 24 packs. If you have a crowd that likes beer then you may wish to provide 1.5-2 beers per person. With 100 guests you will need approximately 150 – 200 beers, or 5-6 cases.
| 1-2 hours | 60 bottles of wine | 8 bottles of spirits |
| 3-4 hours | 100 bottles of wine | 10 bottles of spirits |
| 4+ hours | 120 bottles of wine | 12 bottles of spirits |
...
Basic Bar set up quantity guidelines.
| Number of guests | Soft Drink/Juice ( 1 litre |
|---|---|
| 50 | 6 |
| 50 | 9 |
| 100 | 11 |
| 100 | 19 |
| Guests | 10-25 | 25-35 |
|---|---|---|
| Beer (bottles/cans) | 50 | 75 |
| The Mixers (2-liter bottles) | – | – |
| Club soda/seltzer | 3 | 3 |
| Ginger ale | 2 | 2 |
Beer: Estimate that guests will drink about 12 ounces (one bottle) every half hour to hour during the party. co*cktails: Allow one and a half ounces of liquor for each drink. A 750 milliliter bottle (a fifth) makes about 16 drinks. Figure about a quart of mixer for every three guests.
For each guest to have one glass on arrival a good rule is: 100 guests: 15 bottles. 150 guests: 23 bottles. 200 guests: 30 bottles.
We did this by multiplying the amount of people, which was 50, by the amount of ounces each person would drink, which is 8 ounces. The answer we found was 400 ounces. We then had to divide the amount of ounces in each can of frozen orange juice, which was 48 ounces.
