Free event planning tool
Wedding & party drinks calculator
Work out what drinks to buy.
Work out bottles, cans and alcohol-free drinks for your guests. Adjust the quantities, take off what’s already supplied, and save your list.
Start with your guests
These are example quantities. Adjust them to suit your guests and bar supplier.
Your quantities stay in this browser. Saving is optional.
Bottles, cans and litres
Your drinks list
“Supplied” includes bottles you’ve bought or drinks covered by the venue. Amounts to arrange are rounded up to whole bottles, cans or litres.
A starting point for ordering, not a promise of what your guests will drink. Ice, glassware, chilling and cocktail ingredients need their own plan.
What’s in this estimate?
Show the quantities before rounding
How much drink do you need for a wedding?
Start with how many guests will choose alcohol, how long drinks will be served, and which drinks your guests prefer. Plan alcohol-free drinks and water as well. If you have extra evening guests, make a separate estimate for the hours they’re there.
This calculator starts with one alcohol serving per drinking guest per hour. Change this to suit your guests; it isn’t a drinking target. It divides the total between your chosen drinks, then works out how many bottles and cans you need.
If you include a toast, those glasses are taken from the total allowance first. Soft drinks and water are listed separately, and spirit mixers are kept separate from ordinary soft drinks.
Example: drinks for 100 guests
With 100 guests, 80 choosing alcohol, four hours of service and one alcohol serving per hour, the starting allowance is 320 alcohol servings. A toast uses 80 of those, leaving 240 for the bar.
With half beer and half wine, that means 120 beers or ciders, 20 bottles of wine and 14 bottles of sparkling wine. This uses 125ml wine and toast glasses, with no extra-stock allowance. The calculator also plans alcohol-free fizz, soft drinks and water for the same event.
These figures depend on your guests, how long you serve drinks and your glass sizes. Check the list with your supplier and take off any drinks included by the venue.
Drinks for 50, 100 or 150 guests
These examples use the same settings: four hours, 80% of guests choosing alcohol, one alcohol serving per hour, a toast, then half beer and half wine. Wine and toast glasses are 125ml. There are no spirits or extra stock.
| What to arrange | 50 guests | 100 guests | 150 guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine75cl bottles | 10 | 20 | 30 |
| Beer or cidercans / bottles | 60 | 120 | 180 |
| Prosecco / sparkling wine75cl bottles | 7 | 14 | 20 |
| Alcohol-free sparkling75cl bottles | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Soft drinkslitres | 18 | 35 | 53 |
| Drinking waterlitres | 50 | 100 | 150 |
Soft drinks use one 250ml serving per alcohol-free guest per hour, plus one quarter of a serving for other guests. Each alcohol-free toast glass replaces one soft-drink serving. Water starts at 250ml per guest per hour and can be supplied by the venue.
How many drinks do you need for a party?
Choose “Party or event”, enter your guest numbers and set the hours the bar will be open. This switches off the wedding toast; you can add it back if you want one. Choose the beer and wine mix your guests are likely to prefer, then subtract anything your venue already supplies.
If guests arrive in two groups, calculate each group for the hours they’ll attend and combine the lists. Check with your supplier before ordering, especially for a full-day event or a cocktail menu.
How many bottles of prosecco for 100 guests?
For one 125ml toast each, 100 guests need 17 bottles of 75cl prosecco. If 20 of them choose alcohol-free fizz, the split is 14 bottles of prosecco and four bottles of alcohol-free sparkling. Both are rounded up separately.
That covers the toast only. Prosecco served throughout the reception needs a separate allowance.
Common questions
How many glasses are in a bottle of wine?
A 75cl bottle contains six 125ml glasses. Larger pours use more wine: this calculator lets you choose 125ml, 175ml or 250ml, then rounds the total wine volume up to full bottles.
Can I plan an alcohol-free event?
Yes. Choose “Alcohol-free” to set the alcohol guest count to zero. You can still add an alcohol-free toast, and adjust soft drinks and water.
What if the venue supplies some drinks?
Enter them in the “Supplied” column. For example, if the list allows for 20 wine bottles and the venue supplies 12, it shows eight still needed. Match the bottle sizes and avoid counting the same drinks twice.
Does the spirits figure cover every cocktail?
No. It shows an equivalent number of 70cl spirit bottles using your chosen measure, plus 150ml of mixer per serving. Different cocktails need different spirits and ingredients. Agree recipes with your bar supplier before buying.
Does the water all need to be bottled?
No. It can come from your venue’s drinking-water supply. Enter the amount covered by that supply in the water row so it is not treated as something else to arrange.
Can I use this for a festival or corporate event?
Yes, for a group with a known guest count and drinks-service period. It won’t predict sales at a public bar, where guests come and go and buy their own drinks.
Where the figures come from
The Forager Bar’s planning guide uses about one alcohol serving per drinking guest per hour and separate soft-drink allowances for each guest group. We use those as starting estimates, with UK bottle sizes and our stated serving sizes. Highbury Vintners confirms six 125ml wine glasses per 75cl bottle.
There is no single supplier formula. For example, Bar Hire UK allows more drinks in the first hour. Our 250ml water allowance, 20% spirits share when selected and 150ml mixer serving are example settings, not fixed rules. The workings above show how they affect your list.
We’ve checked the calculations and source guides, but have not yet compared this tool with a real event bar order. Ask your supplier to check the quantities before buying. A “serving” here is a stock item, not an alcohol unit; beer sizes and strengths vary.
Sources checked 16 September 2026. This is a shopping estimate, not guidance on safe consumption, hydration or driving.