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How Much Wine for a 100 Guest Wedding?

🍷
109
bottles of wine

For a 100-guest wedding lasting 5 hours

15% buffer included
473
Total servings
4.7
Per person
+14
Buffer bottles

How We Calculated This

Our bartender-tested formula, step by step

1

Estimate actual drinkers

100 guests × 70% drinking rate
= 70 drinkers

At large events, about 70% of guests typically drink alcohol.

2

Calculate base consumption

70 drinkers × 1.5 drinks/hour × 5 hours
= 525 base drinks

Industry standard is 1.5 drinks per person per hour for a 5-hour event.

3

Apply consumption decay

Adjusted for drinking slowdown over time (decay factor: 3.75)
= 394 adjusted drinks

People drink faster in the first hour and slow down as the event progresses.

4

Apply wedding modifier

× 1.2 (+20% for wine)
= 473 wine servings needed

Weddings typically consume 20% more wine than average.

5

Convert to bottles

473 servings ÷ 5 servings per bottle
= 94.6 bottles (raw)

Each bottle of wine provides 5 servings.

6

Add 15% buffer & round up

94.6 × 1.15 = 108.8, rounded up
= 109 bottles

Always round up and add a buffer. Running out is worse than having leftovers!

* Why trust this formula?

Based on industry standards and refined by bartenders with 30+ years of experience. We factor in consumption decay (people drink less as events progress) and real-world drinking percentages.

📊 Quick Reference: Wine by Guest Count

Guests Wine Needed Total Servings
25 guests 28 bottles 118 servings
50 guests 55 bottles 237 servings
75 guests 82 bottles 355 servings
100 guests (you) 109 bottles 473 servings
150 guests 164 bottles 710 servings
200 guests 218 bottles 946 servings

* All calculations include a 15% buffer. Amounts for wedding.

Your Shopping List

Everything you need, plus essentials you might forget

🍷
Wine
The main event
109
bottles

Don't forget these

  • Wine opener/corkscrew (Have a backup!)
    2 pieces
    Buy
  • Wine glasses (or plastic) (2 per drinker for variety)
    140 glasses
    Buy

Pro Tips for Your Wedding

Insider advice from experienced bartenders

💡

40% of all alcohol is consumed during cocktail hour - front-load your bar staff and ice.

Offer 1-2 signature cocktails instead of a full bar to cut spirit costs by 40% and speed up service.

🎯

Pre-pour wine at dinner tables 5 minutes before guests sit to prevent service bottlenecks.

🧊

Order 10-15% extra and ask vendors about their return policy on unopened bottles.

If dancing goes past 10pm, reopen a simplified bar: beer, wine, and 2 signature drinks only.

🛒 Buying Guide

For weddings, plan a 60/40 split between red and white wine for fall/winter, or flip it for spring/summer. Budget $12-18 per bottle for a crowd-pleasing selection - guests can't tell the difference between $15 and $40 wine at a party. Consider having champagne for toasts separate from your open bar calculation.

🎉

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