Wedding Alcohol & Bar Calculator
Estimate how much beer, wine, liquor, mixers, and ice to buy for your wedding reception or event bar. Customize by guest count, duration, and bar styles.
🍷 Celebration Parameters
Bar Planner📊 Stocking Requirements
Calculated🥤 Suggested Mixers
Shopping listThe Science of Planning a Reception Bar
Standard Serving Sizes
Calculations assume standard serving portions for safety and budget accuracy. A single bottle of wine (750ml) provides exactly **5 servings** (5oz pours). A single bottle of spirits (750ml) yields **16 drinks** (1.5oz pours), and individual beers are standard 12oz cans or bottles.
The 1-Drink-Per-Hour Metric
The industry baseline is to budget **1 drink per guest per hour**. However, for festive celebrations, a higher rate of **1.5 or 2.2 drinks per hour** guarantees the bar will not run dry. Our algorithm incorporates a safety buffer of +0.5 drinks per guest to cover spills and heavy pourers.
Ice and Mixer Logistics
A common wedding oversight is ice and mixer quantities. Open bars require **1.5 lbs of ice per guest** to keep canned beverages chilled in tubs and provide ice for highballs. Mixers require soda, juices, and tonics in a 3:1 ratio to total liquor pours.