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How Much Wine for a 125 Guest Wedding Shower?

🍷
113
bottles of wine

For a 125-guest wedding shower lasting 3 hours

15% buffer included
487
Total servings
3.9
Per person
+15
Buffer bottles

How We Calculated This

Our bartender-tested formula, step by step

1

Estimate actual drinkers

125 guests × 70% drinking rate
= 88 drinkers

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

2

Calculate base consumption

88 drinkers × 1.5 drinks/hour × 3 hours
= 396 base drinks

Industry standard is 1.5 drinks per person per hour for a 3-hour event.

3

Apply consumption decay

Adjusted for drinking slowdown over time (decay factor: 2.65)
= 350 adjusted drinks

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

4

Apply wedding shower modifier

× 1.4 (+40% for wine)
= 487 wine servings needed

Wedding Showers typically consume 40% more wine than average.

5

Convert to bottles

487 servings ÷ 5 servings per bottle
= 97.4 bottles (raw)

Each bottle of wine provides 5 servings.

6

Add 15% buffer & round up

97.4 × 1.15 = 112.0, rounded up
= 113 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 23 bottles 97 servings
50 guests 46 bottles 195 servings
75 guests 68 bottles 292 servings
100 guests 91 bottles 390 servings
150 guests 136 bottles 584 servings
200 guests 181 bottles 779 servings

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

Your Shopping List

Everything you need, plus essentials you might forget

🍷
Wine
The main event
113
bottles

Don't forget these

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

Pro Tips for Your Wedding Shower

Insider advice from experienced bartenders

💡

Mimosa bars are the gold standard. Stock 1 bottle of sparkling per 3 guests, plus orange juice and peach nectar for variety.

⏰

Skip heavy reds. Go 70% white/rosé (Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc) and 30% light red (Pinot Noir).

🎯

Create one signature cocktail (Aperol Spritz, French 75) and batch it ahead of time - plan 2 servings per guest.

🧊

25-30% of guests won't drink alcohol. Offer elegant non-alcoholic options like mocktails or flavored sparkling water.

✨

Afternoon timing means lower consumption - most guests have 1-2 drinks max.

🛒 Buying Guide

For a 2-3 hour afternoon shower, plan for 1.3 drinks per guest. Champagne and wine dominate - stock 1 bottle of sparkling per 3 guests for mimosas, plus 1 wine bottle per 2 drinking guests. Buy 10-15% extra; unopened bottles can be returned or saved for the wedding. Prosecco is cost-effective for mimosas; save real Champagne for the toast.

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