Planning tools Alcohol calculator
Wedding Alcohol Calculator for a BYO Bar
How much beer, wine, spirits, ice and mixers to buy when you stock your own bar at a private estate, for one event or the whole weekend.
Updated November 2026
By the WedStay team
The short answer
Plan about one drink per drinking guest for each hour of bar service, then split the drinks by your mix of beer, wine and spirits. A 750 ml bottle of wine pours about five glasses. Count only guests 21 and over, buy ice for every guest, add water and alcohol free drinks, and check your estate's rules first.
Free tool
Wedding alcohol calculator
Plan the whole weekend
Adds the welcome night and brunch
Everyone at the event, children included
Guests 21 and over who will drink, up to total guests
From the first drink to last call
Sparkling wine toast
One pour for each drinking guest
Drinks to plan for
500
100 drinking guests over 5 hours of bar service.
- Wine, 750 ml
- 25 bottles
- Beer, 24 per case
- 6 cases
- Spirits, 750 ml
- 16 bottles
- Sparkling, for the toast
- 17 bottles
- Ice
- 200 lb
- Mixers
- 42 liters
Spirits in large bottles: 6 × 1.75 L plus 1 × 750 ml.
A planning estimate, not a shopping guarantee. Guests drink differently, so buy from a store that takes back unopened bottles if you can.
Only guests 21 and over count as drinking guests. Serve food, water and alcohol free drinks all night, and plan safe rides home.
Add prices (optional)Cost of the priced lines: $468.33
Example price: US Bureau of Labor Statistics average, October 2026. Change it to your store's price.
Example price: US Bureau of Labor Statistics average, October 2026. Change it to your store's price.
Type your store's price. There is no dated national average to start from.
Type your store's price. There is no dated national average to start from.
Type your store's price. There is no dated national average to start from.
Type your store's price. There is no dated national average to start from.
Printed on the bag. Ice is priced once you add both.
Type your store's price. There is no dated national average to start from.
Cost of the priced lines
- Wine, 25 × 750 ml$263.25
- Beer, 6 cases$205.08
How much alcohol do you need for a wedding?
Count only the guests 21 and over who will drink. A bartender quoted by The Knot plans about one drink per drinking guest for each hour of bar service, so the calculator multiplies drinking guests by hours. It then splits the drinks by your mix. The Knot’s recommended mix, the starting point here, is 50 percent liquor, 25 percent beer and 25 percent wine; Zola suggests 50 percent wine, 30 percent liquor and 20 percent beer.
The same bartender notes that guests drink more early in an event and slow down later, so drinks per guest per hour run higher for an event under three hours. The Knot gives no number for that, so for a short event, round up.
Servings come from the NIAAA standard drink: 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine and 1.5 oz of spirits. Divide the bottle by the pour and round down, since a part glass does not serve a guest. Bars often pour more than the 1.5 oz standard: The Knot counts about 1.75 oz a drink, 14 to a 750 ml bottle. If your bartender pours generously, buy more spirits than the result shows.
| Container | Volume | Pour | Servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine bottle750 ml, 25.36 oz | 750 ml, 25.36 oz | 5 oz | 5 pours |
| Spirits bottle750 ml, 25.36 oz | 750 ml, 25.36 oz | 1.5 oz | 16 pours |
| Spirits, large1.75 L, 59.17 oz | 1.75 L, 59.17 oz | 1.5 oz | 39 pours |
| Sparkling bottle750 ml, 25.36 oz | 750 ml, 25.36 oz | 4 oz | 6 pours |
| Beer case24 × 12 oz | 24 × 12 oz | 12 oz | 24 servings |
- The toast pour is The Knot’s figure: a 750 ml bottle of champagne serves 6 glasses of about 4 oz.
- A case of beer is 24 bottles or cans (The Knot).
- Mixers: The Knot counts 12 servings in a 2 liter bottle; the calculator allows one for each spirits drink, about 5.6 oz.
- Ice is 2 lb for every guest, the top of Reddy Ice's 1 to 2 lb range, because a bring your own bar chills its own bottles as well as serving drinks. (Reddy Ice)
- Every bottle, case, pound and liter rounds up. There is no hidden buffer.
How do you plan the bar for a whole wedding weekend?
When guests sleep on site, the bar runs across several meals, not one reception. Size each event on its own: a welcome night is often shorter and smaller, and a brunch may be mimosas and coffee rather than a full bar. A short event is not simply a smaller share of a long one: The Knot notes that drinks per guest per hour run higher for an event under three hours, so when a welcome night or brunch runs under 3 hours, round up.
Turn on Plan the whole weekend in the calculator to set the guests, hours, mix and toast for the welcome night, the wedding and the brunch. It shows the drinks for each event and the weekend shopping list; the copied list has each event’s drinks and the weekend totals.
What rules apply to a bring your own bar at a private estate?
Each estate’s house rules and your booking agreement say whether you may bring alcohol and whether a licensed bartender is required. Ask before you buy.
Host liquor liability
For hosts who serve alcohol but do not sell it. Confirm it is listed on your quote. A caterer or bartender you hire to serve needs its own liquor liability.
A certificate from each hired vendor
Your event policy covers you, not your vendors. Each one needs its own coverage, and caterers or bartenders who serve need liquor liability.
Social host laws are set by each state. The NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System tracks each state’s laws that hold hosts liable for underage drinking on property they own, lease or otherwise control. Never serve a guest under 21.
If you book a WedStay property in the US, WedStay purchases event insurance for your booking, and your booking agreement names the policy. Coverage is subject to the policy's terms.
If your venue is not a WedStay US booking
Ask for host liquor liability on an event policy
Event Helper sells event liability online for the days you choose, and its site says host liquor liability is often included in event liability insurance. Confirm it is listed on your quote.
What do you do with leftover alcohol?
Whether a store takes back unopened bottles depends on the store and on your state’s rules. Ask before you buy, keep every receipt, and keep unopened cases cool, dry and sealed so they stay returnable.
Wedding bar questions
How much alcohol do you need for 100 guests?
Count the guests 21 and over who will drink, multiply by the hours of bar service at about one drink per drinking guest for each hour of bar service, then split the total by your mix of beer, wine and spirits. Divide each share by the pours in a container: 5 glasses in a 750 ml bottle of wine, 16 shots in a 750 ml bottle of spirits, 24 beers in a case. The calculator on this page does the arithmetic for your own guest count and hours.
How should you split beer, wine and spirits?
The Knot gives 50 percent liquor, 25 percent beer and 25 percent wine as the recommended mix, and the calculator starts there. Zola suggests 50 percent wine, 30 percent liquor and 20 percent beer instead. Change the mix to suit your guests: a crowd that mostly drinks wine needs more bottles and fewer cases, and a beer and wine only bar sets spirits to zero.
Do we need a bartender for a bring your own bar?
It depends on the estate and the state. Each estate's house rules and your booking agreement say whether you may bring alcohol and whether a licensed bartender is required, so ask before you buy. A bartender or bar service you hire to serve needs its own liquor liability coverage; ask each one for a certificate.
How much ice do you need for a wedding?
Reddy Ice recommends planning 1 to 2 pounds of ice per person, depending on whether the ice only goes into drinks or also chills them. A bring your own bar usually does both, so the calculator uses the top of that range, 2 pounds for every guest, drinkers or not. For 100 guests that is 200 pounds.
What about guests who do not drink?
Leave them out of drinking guests, along with every guest under 21, and the alcohol lines shrink to match. Still count them in total guests, because everyone needs ice, water and something to drink. The Knot notes that more couples now offer one or two mocktails, and sparkling cider works for the toast.
Can we bring our own alcohol to a WedStay estate?
It depends on each listing's house rules and your booking agreement, which set whether you may bring alcohol and whether a licensed bartender is required. Ask the WedStay team about the estate you have in mind before you buy anything.
Next step
Have your list? Line up the estate and the bar
Pick a place where guests sleep on site, then hire a bartender or bar service, or bring your own vendors.
More planning tools
Sources checked November 2026
- NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
- The Knot, Wedding Alcohol Calculator: How Much to Buy (updated September 30, 2025)
- Zola, How to Buy Alcohol for Your Reception
- Reddy Ice, Ice Calculator
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data, wine, red and white table, per 1 liter, US city average (series APU0000720311)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data, malt beverages, per 16 oz, US city average (series APU0000720111)
- NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Prohibitions Against Hosting Underage Drinking Parties
- Event Helper, special event insurance (theeventhelper.com)
Disclaimer
General information, not legal or insurance advice. Alcohol laws and estate rules vary; check before you buy or serve.