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Sara
Expert June 2019

diy open bar = insanity + math?

Sara, on May 20, 2019 at 2:42 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 0 10
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Hi all!

I need some help with alcohol! So we have hired bartenders and will be providing the alcohol that they will serve. Our wedding will be Saturday, June 15, in New York, with 115-120 adult guests, no children. 1 hour for cocktail hour (6-7PM) and a 4 hour indoor/ outdoor reception (7-11PM). We will serve beer, wine, and liquor (and mixers), no champagne toast. I have done all sorts of crazy math, which I will run by the bartenders, but before that- what do you all think? Am I wayyyy off base?! I'm running myself in circles!

To begin; most online "alcohol calculators" state that for 100-150 guests, for a 5 hour event, you will go through:

70-105 bottles of wine

175-266 bottles of beer

****mL bottles of liquor

I am guessing we have 20 light drinkers, 80 average drinkers, 10 heavy drinkers, and with rounding up, I'm guessing we have 45% wine drinkers, 25% beer drinkers, and 35% liquor drinkers (yes, I know that equals more than 100%, we'll have some extra). These calculators also say to figure 2 drinks per person for cocktail hour, and one drink per person for each hour of reception. So that gives us 6 servings per person for our 5 hour event:

45% wine = 60 people x 6 servings = 360 servings/ 5 glasses per bottle = 72 bottles

25% beer = 30 people x 6 servings = 180 bottles

35% liquor = 42 people x 6 servings = 252/ 12 servings per bottle = 21 750mL bottles

Apparently they say people drink way more white wine in summer, based on some percentage.. So I set the wine as: 24 red (2 cases), 40 white (3.5 cases), 12 blend/ rose (1 case). Then I remembered I don't think I know anyone who drinks white wine..

Ok. So that hypothetically gives us enough for 132 people, when really we expect about 115-120. So I ran it by FH, FH's parents, and FH's brother last night. Seriously, they were like a bunch of deer in the headlights on the couch. Who knew there was so much stupid math?! The conclusion: Why sooo much white wine?! Add more liquor! Hey, let's drink some wine right now!

OK; so here's my current thought:

Beer: 1 pony keg Bud light (82 servings); And 1 pony keg either Summer Ale or Yuengling (82 servings): 164 servings beer total .... maybe increase keg size on one of these...

Wine: 40 red (pinot noir and another type maybe), 18 white (pinot grigio), 18 blend/rose: 76 bottles of wine total

Liquor: 8 vodka (Titos), 6 Whiskey (4 Jameson, 2 Jack Daniels), 2 Bourbon (4 Roses), 2 Gin (Tanqueray), 3 Rum (Captain Morgan), 3 Tequila (Jose Cuervo): 24 bottles of liquor total

Throw in 2-3 bottles of champagne because I know at least a few people who will ask for it at the bar. Throw in 2 gal OJ, 2 gal Cran, 1 gal grapefruit, 2 cases coke, 2 cases diet coke, 2 cases ginger ale, 1 case club soda, 1-2 cases tonic, and a bag of lemons and limes.

This seems like wayyyy too much? Not enough? Gahhhh!

Here are some of the resources used:

https://www.womangettingmarried.com/wedding-alcohol-calculator-open-bar/

https://www.theknot.com/content/how-to-stock-the-bar-at-your-wedding https://www.evite.com/pages/party/drink-calculator https://apracticalwedding.com/wedding-alcohol-calculator/
OK.. Thoughts?

10 Comments

Latest activity by Haley, on May 20, 2019 at 9:39 PM
  • Tonia
    Expert October 2019
    Tonia ·
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    I am in the same boat as you in terms of number of people and providing the alcohol. The bartender we hired is supposed to give us a shopping list of how much we will need. I don't think what you're purposing is too much, especially if you know your crowd. The calculators can be a little misleading because it's based on an average. I think we might have to get a keg based on the number of servings.

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  • T
    Super June 2019
    Tiffany ·
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    I’m working this very thing now and it’s a struggle lol
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  • Mandi
    Master October 2020
    Mandi ·
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    So much math. My brain just shut down. But I just want to say kudos to you for taking the time to do all those equations and what not. I'm sorry I dont have anything helpful to recommend. But I feel like you need to be praised for this work.
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  • Waldy
    Devoted October 2020
    Waldy ·
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    Gah! I'm going to go through this in about a year. Thank you for providing links! I'm sure everything will work out. We're getting married at a winery, so we don't have to worry about that. We're not doing liquor, so we need to compensate with extra beer, especially since a lot of FH's family and friends prefer liquor
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  • shayandbae
    Devoted June 2019
    shayandbae ·
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    We are doing the same thing, except I have not even started to think about this as much as you have, and our wedding is 6/28. You make me wanna get the ball rollin on this ASAP!

    What you've calculated sounds like more than enough, so I think you'll be fine. Smiley smile

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  • A
    Dedicated February 2019
    AnnaG ·
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    We got to BYOB for our 5 hour reception as well with almost the same amount of guests we had:

    240 bottles of Busch Light

    200 bottles of Bud Light

    80 bottles of Boulevard Wheat

    3 handles of Jim Beam

    2 handles of New Amsterdam Gin

    2 handles of Jose Cuervo Tequila

    6 handles of Titos Vodka

    6 handles of Captain Morgan

    3 cases Pinot Noir

    3 cases Sav Blanc

    We thought our crowd was beer heavy but had so much beer left over and almost no vodka, which we weren't expecting. My biggest recommendation would be purchasing from a place you can return the extras - our initial bill for beer & liquor was right around $1,000 and ended up spending less than half by the end of things because we were able to return. We also overbought knowing we could return.

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  • VIP September 2019
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    What your calculations sound good. My weddings just under 4 months and it makes my head even to try and think about it
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  • ASMini914
    Super September 2019
    ASMini914 ·
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    But from somewhere that allows you to return unopened beverages and over buy. You would hate to run out.

    On your comment about not knowing many white any white wine drinkers... I’m a red wine drinker myself, but at events I pretty much only drink white to avoid any mishaps with spills, and the red teeth.
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  • Futuremrs
    Devoted July 2019
    Futuremrs ·
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    We're aren't having a bartender and are just doing beer, wine, and possibly 1 or 2 signature cocktails. Our go to drinks are jack and coke for him, vodka tonic for me, but one of the restaurants that we go to has a drink called the Sicilian Kiss (amaretto and Soco) which we think would be cute since I'm Sicilian and he's Italian. If people want additional hard liquor, they are welcome to bring it.

    The problem is that we don't know what most of our guests drink let alone how heavily. I hope I can find a place that will return extras. If I can't, we're going to have to reconsider what we're offering. I can't imagine having loads of beer leftover. Ciders, pale ales, shandys I can manage, but a whole bunch of Coors or Bud? 😡

    Your math is wildly impressive and I believe I got the deer in the headlights look as I read it. Thanks for sharing all the info and showing how you got to where you got.
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  • Haley
    Dedicated April 2020
    Haley ·
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    I don't have any experience in ordering alcohol for that many people but I wanted to let you know my thoughts, in case you find them at all helpful. I think your wine bottle estimate is high. If each bottle is four glasses, then 100 bottles would mean half of your wedding is having four glasses. It won't go bad so you can always take the extra home. People who usually order beer (it's cheap!) sometimes switch to hard liquor if someone else is paying. I'd estimate higher on the hard liquor. Also, I'd consult your bartenders about if they prefer a 750mL (or 1L) bottle vs a 1.75L "handle". Most bartenders make drinks by timing the pour (hold bottle upside down for X seconds to get X ounces) and getting the wrong size bottle can result in over serving. Also ask the bartenders if you will need to buy the bottle spouts or it they provide them. Amazon has them if you need to buy them.
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