Wedding Drink and Food Calculator
A wedding reception for 100 guests over a five-hour open bar comes to 41 bottles of wine, 5 cases of beer, 19 bottles of champagne, and 6 bottles of spirits, about 447 drinks in total. Wine leads a wedding bar at roughly 37.5 percent of what gets poured. Champagne is the smallest share at 16.7 percent, with spirits at 20.8 percent and beer at 25 percent. Those figures already build in a 15 percent buffer for guests who pour heavier or stay through the last toast. The total scales with the guest list, from about 128 drinks at 25 guests to 829 at 200, which moves the wine count from 12 bottles to 76.
On the food side, if the spread is the main dish rather than one course among several, 100 guests works out to 26 pizzas, 59 pounds of wings, 20 dozen tacos, 25 dozen sliders, 34 platters of appetizers, or 30 pounds of BBQ or pulled pork, depending on what is on the menu.
See the whole bar for a wedding at 100 guests About 447 drinks, wine, beer, spirits and champagne together.
| Drink | 25 guests | 50 guests | 75 guests | 100 guests | 150 guests | 200 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wine | 12 bottles | 22 bottles | 33 bottles | 41 bottles | 62 bottles | 76 bottles |
| Beer | 2 cases | 3 cases | 4 cases | 5 cases | 7 cases | 8 cases |
| Champagne | 6 bottles | 11 bottles | 16 bottles | 19 bottles | 29 bottles | 36 bottles |
| Spirits | 2 bottles | 3 bottles | 5 bottles | 6 bottles | 9 bottles | 11 bottles |
Every figure is that drink's share of a full bar, with a 15 percent buffer included. Each page also shows what you would need if it were the only alcohol served.
| Food | 25 guests | 50 guests | 75 guests | 100 guests | 150 guests | 200 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza | 8 pizzas | 14 pizzas | 21 pizzas | 26 pizzas | 39 pizzas | 49 pizzas |
| Wings | 17 lbs | 32 lbs | 47 lbs | 59 lbs | 88 lbs | 111 lbs |
| Tacos | 6 dozen | 11 dozen | 16 dozen | 20 dozen | 30 dozen | 37 dozen |
| Sliders | 7 dozen | 13 dozen | 20 dozen | 25 dozen | 37 dozen | 46 dozen |
| Appetizers | 10 platters | 18 platters | 27 platters | 34 platters | 51 platters | 64 platters |
| BBQ/Pulled Pork | 9 lbs | 16 lbs | 24 lbs | 30 lbs | 45 lbs | 56 lbs |
Food figures assume that dish is the main food. Serving several dishes together lowers each one.
Planning notes
- Cocktail hour is usually the heaviest stretch of the night, so front-load your bar staff and ice.
- Offering one or two signature cocktails instead of a full bar trims spirit costs and speeds up service.
Food calculators
Every number here comes from the same model, explained in full on the methodology page.