Planning Style :: Estimating Your Liquor Bill

So the biggest unknown with planning a wedding reception, is what your alcohol costs will be for the night…will your guests drink a little or a lot?

{ server at Union Bank Inn | photo: Sam Ng Photography }

So here is some quick formulas to help you plan and budget for your alcohol costs.

** I’m using drink prices that are standard for hotels, prices will vary if you are bringing in your own alcohol **

Dinner Wine
Generally, you can get 4-5 glasses from each bottle of wine (about 5-6oz serving)
Generally, if your wine is being served, you’ll have two rounds of service
Not everyone is going to have wine, but it is easiest to budget for them all to

price of bottle of wine / 4 x # of wedding guests x 2 drinks each = approximate dinner wine costs

Open Host Bar
Generally guests will drink 1 drink per hour of a reception – some will drink more, some less
To calculate the average drink price (cost of 1 beer + cost of 1 import beer + cost of rye + cost of wine per glass)/4 = average drink price
So to calculate your guest consumption
# wedding guests x # of hours of reception x average drink price from above formula = approximate liquor costs

Ta Da!! Now you know how much your liquor bill is approximately going to be…but to be on the safe side, add an additional 15% if you think you have an average crowd, or 25% if you think you have an excessive drinking crowd and hopefully you’ll be close!

PS. In your budget, don’t forget about the costs of bartenders, corkage fees or gratuities as determined by your venue!

Jolyn | Lifestyle Wedding Planner & Designer
Nuance Occasions
780.628.6457