United StatesTier 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 (servings per 750 mL bottle)
Spirit bottles = spirits share of total drinks ÷ 16 (1.5 oz 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. Most unopened wine and spirits can be returned by many retailers, 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.