how much beer and wine for a wedding reception is required per person?

My partner and I are trying to budget for the alcohol, and aren't sure how many drinks we should be catering per person. The reception will be for 4 hours.

Georgia B

Question Asked: 15/05/2017

Wedding Date: 14/04/2018

Most Helpful Response

Chopin Catering

(0) · Sydney, Central Coast / Gosford, Newcastle / Hunter Valley / Port Stephens, Regional, Southern Highl

Posted: 3/06/2018

Hi    <ul> <li class="MsoNormal">Sparkling: This wine is used mostly for toasts. There are six full glasses of sparkling wine in a standard 750ml bottle, and experts usually recommend two glasses of sparkling wine per guest. So, for 100 guests, you would need 200 glasses (at two glasses each), which translates into 34 bottles. There are 12 bottles in a case, so you’ll need three cases (36 bottles).</li> <li class="MsoNormal">White and Red Wine: People tend to drink white wine if it’s an outdoor wedding held during the day in the summer, and more red if it’s at night and steak is being served. Most people consume the same amount of white and red wine, and you can presume that each of your guests will drink one glass of wine per hour. Each 750ml bottle has five glasses, so for 100 guests and a four-hour wedding reception, you would need 400 glasses—or 80 bottles of wine (40 white and 40 red), which is a little more than 6 cases of wine.</li> <li class="MsoNormal">A simple rule to calculate manually the amount of wine/beer you will need at your wedding requires knowing: how many guests will be at your wedding and the amount of time your guests will be drinking. For example, if you have 100 guests and they will be drinking for about 3 hours, the math would be this: 100 guests X 3 glasses an hour (have to assume this metric) = 300 glasses of wine. 1 Bottle = 6 glasses, so 300/6 = 50 bottles of wine. 12 bottles = 1 case, so you will need a little more than 4 cases of wine. We recommend mixing the cases, so a case of red, white, and 3 cases of sparkling would be ideal! Remember, this is assuming your guests are drinking only wine and only for a short amount of time, so it’s always good to round up and add a couple more cases. If you have beer or another beverage, consider this when making your decisions!</li> </ul>

Answered by: 7 Experts

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Rustic Kitchen

(3) · Sydney

Posted: 6/10/2017

1 bottle of wine every 2 person, 2 beer per person

Food Stuff

(4) · Sydney and Surroundings

Posted: 2/10/2017

Hello Georgia All wedding parties are different depending on the dynamics of the group.  You need to consider age groups, sex; male or female, how many drinkers or non drinkers, how big the drinkers are, if men will drink wine or beer.  However having said that it is always best to over cater a little as it is inconvenient to run out. It is handy to be able to purchase your alcohol on a sale or return policy so that if it doesnt get drunk you can return it and get a refund Regards Louise www.foodstuff.com.au

Coral Coast Catering

(26) · Cairns and Port Douglas. Tully to Cooktown and The Atherton Tablelands

Posted: 23/05/2017

Hi Georgia Our ball park figure is 8 beers per guy. We recommend a small amount of light beer, some mid strength beer and a choice of two heavy beers.We recommend 2/3 of a bottle of wine per person. The tricky bit is working out the split between sparkling, white and red. This always varies from group to group and you are probably the only people that know your guests well enough to decide.We are in Far North Queensland so it is very conducive to a thirst quencher and may vary down in Mexico!Enjoy David YoungCoral Coast Catering

Steve the Bartender

(9) · Adelaide & Surrounding Areas

Posted: 22/05/2017

It's dependent on a number of factors such as time of day, weather, style (e.g. sit-down, cocktail, etc.) but as a very rough guide - 1 drink per person per hour. Iif you had 100 guests for 4 hours then you would expect approximately 400 alcoholic drinks to be consumed. Remember that this is an average, you might have some people that have 10 whilst others may have 1-2. It also depends on your family & friends as some groups will drink more than others.When we cater for an event we always ensure that there is more than enough of each menu choice so there is absolutely no chance of running out. Event organisers don't have to worry about a single aspect with the bar & beverages as we incorporate everything for a stress free event (mobile bars, staffing, equipment, setup, service, drinks, refrigeration, cleaning, etc.).Hope the planning is going well!

The Culinarian

(1) · Victoria Wide

Posted: 20/05/2017

Hi Georgia,Thats a tough question and one that as caterers we get asked all the time! It's always very hard for us to answer as you know your group of friends and family better than we do. Factors that can affect how much alcohol you will need include - the ages of your guests - are they big drinkers - what time of the year is your reception (white wine is more popular in the warmer months, red in the cooler) - the style of reception (sit-down dinner, cocktail style canapés) - what do your friends and family normally drink (you don't want to over order wine and run out of beer if most of your crowd are beer drinkers!) Speak with a number of different suppliers and try to find one that will be happy for you to return any unopened product as a number of suppliers offer this option. Always better to have a little extra that you can return if its not used than to run out!CheersBen

Ghost Wines

(1) · Australia Wide

Posted: 17/05/2017

Big congratulations Georgia from us at Ghost Wines ??It's always a tough call getting the quality and types of wine right. The worst thing you can do is not have enough or have cheap wine at a wedding or engagement party.Some good retailers (like us) will give you a refund for your unused wine which takes the pressure off you as a planner.Here is a quote I have recently completed to give you an idea but I would find out what food would be served so we can match it with the right wines. You will obviously need a good sparkling which we have got the Ex Bird in Hand wine maker that makes a better quality sparkling and it will cost you about $5.00 less a bottle. For 100 Guests 3 x 12 pack of Ghost Adelaide hills Sparkling = $630.00 15% off = $535.50 or $14.88 per bottle3 x 12 pack of Ghost Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc = $444.00 15% off = $377.40 or $10.49 per bottle3 x 12 pack of Ghosts Wines Pinot Gris = $444.00. 15% off = $377.44 or $10.49 per bottle 3 x 12 pack of Ghost Clare Valley Shiraz = $533.52 15% off = $453.50 or $12.31 per bottleTotal = $1743.80 or $17.44 per person. This is more than you need but it's better to be safe than sorry so I would budget on $15- $16.50 per person Cheers BrettGhost Wines

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