Free Planning Tool
Wedding Alcohol Calculator
Enter your guest count and event length. We'll estimate exactly how much wine, beer, prosecco, spirits and mixers to buy — based on the same formulas our bartenders use for real UK weddings.
Calculator inputs
Your shopping list
Estimated total: 595 drinks across 6 hours for 100 guests.
| Item | Quantity |
|---|---|
Still wine (750ml) ≈ 5 glasses per bottle | 60 bottles |
Prosecco / sparkling (750ml) 1 flute per drinker for the toast | 15 bottles |
Beer / cider (330ml) | 179 bottles |
Spirits (vodka, gin, rum, whisky) ≈ 17 × 25ml measures per 700ml bottle | 4.9 L |
Mixers (tonic, cola, lemonade, juice) | 18 L |
Soft drinks & water | 47 L |
Ice | 50 kg |
How the calculator works
The industry rule of thumb for a UK wedding or private event is 2 drinks per guest in the first hour and 1 drink per guest for every hour after. So a 6-hour reception for 100 drinkers works out at roughly 700 drinks in total.
From that total we split by your chosen drink style — the default balanced mix is 50% wine, 30% beer, 20% spirits — then convert into real bottles and litres using standard pour sizes: 175ml wine, 330ml beer, 25ml spirit measures with about 150ml of mixer each.
Buying tips from our bar team
- Buy on sale or return. Majestic, Costco and most wine merchants let you return sealed bottles — over-buy by 10% rather than run out.
- Chill for 24 hours. White wine, prosecco and beer need proper fridge or ice-bath time. Budget 0.5kg of ice per guest.
- Keep the bar simple. One house white, one house red, one lager, one cider, gin + vodka + tonic + cola will cover 95% of guests.
- Don't forget the non-drinkers. Water, elderflower and a decent 0% beer keep everyone happy and slow overall drinking.
Want us to run the bar for you?
Velvet Bar & Events offers dry hire bar services across London and the UK — you buy the alcohol, we bring the bar, glassware, ice, and professional bartenders. See our mobile bar hire guide or request a quote.