CanadaTier 1
Wedding alcohol calculator
Guest count and event hours in. Bottles of beer, wine and spirits out, with a shopping-list buffer.
Free·No sign-up·Last checked 2026-08-27
Formula
Total drinks = guests × % drinkers × [first-hour rate + (hours − 1) × later-hour rate]
Beer bottles/cans = beer share of total drinks (1 each)
Wine bottles = wine share of total drinks ÷ 5 (150 mL servings per 750 mL bottle)
Spirit bottles = spirits share of total drinks ÷ 17 (43 mL servings per 750 mL bottle)
Worked example. 120 guests, 75% drinkers, 5 hours (2 first + 1×4 later) → 6 drinks/drinker × 90 drinkers = 540 total drinks.
Questions
Cocktail hour and the reception's opening stretch tend to see the heaviest pour; consumption per hour typically settles lower once dinner and the program start.
A buffer covers uneven pours, breakage and guests who drink more than the average. Many retailers and provincial liquor stores accept returns of unopened wine and spirits, so overbuying slightly is lower-risk than running out.
That's the % of drinkers input — it removes non-drinking guests from the total before the per-category split is applied.