How much alcohol do I need for a wedding or party?

Direct answer

Start with guests x service hours x 1.2 drinks

Cocktailhire's public calculator begins with 1.2 planned serves per guest for every hour of normal party service. That is a transparent purchasing allowance, not a claim that every guest will drink at the same speed. The result is rounded up and divided between the drinks categories selected by the host.

For a five-hour party, the base is six serves per guest. A separate fizz reception adds one further hour at the same planning rate. Daytime events may need less, while hot weather, a younger crowd or a late finish can change the real pattern. The planner therefore shows the assumption instead of pretending there is one perfect number for every wedding.

Worked examples

Drinks quantities for 50, 100 and 150 guests

Here, the guest count means adults drinking the selected drinks, not everyone attending. These examples use five hours of party service and a 34% spirits, 33% wine and 33% fizz split. They do not include beer, cider, table wine, soft drinks, water or a separate reception. Plan drinks for children and non-drinkers separately; use full attendance for staffing and your booking.

Spirit bottles use a 35ml measure and 20 serves from a 70cl bottle. Mixers use 100ml per spirit serve. Wine uses a 175ml medium pour and four serves from a 75cl bottle. Fizz uses a 125ml pour and six serves from a 75cl bottle. Physical purchases are rounded up.

If the same adults will also drink beer or cider, review the allocation before buying. Adding beer to the full spirits, wine and fizz estimate does not rebalance it. The separate reception option adds one hour for the same adult group; do not include that hour in the main party time as well.

Wedding phases

Do not treat the whole wedding day as one bar period

A wedding often has several different drinks services: arrival drinks, a reception, wine with the meal, toast fizz and an evening bar. Calculate or agree each phase separately. If table wine and toast fizz are already supplied by the caterer, do not buy them again as part of the evening bar.

What to adjust

The five questions that materially change the answer

1. Who is actually drinking? Separate children, drivers and known non-drinkers rather than treating the full headcount as identical.
2. What is already supplied? Remove venue packages, table wine and reception drinks from the quantities you are buying.
3. What will guests choose? Adjust the split between spirits, wine and fizz using what you know about the group.
4. Can unopened stock be returned? Sale-or-return terms can make sensible rounding less financially risky.
5. Can everything be chilled? Buying the right amount is not enough if the venue cannot refrigerate it or accept ice deliveries at the correct time.