Frequently asked questions

The industry rule of thumb is one drink per drinking guest per hour. Multiply guests × hours × 1 drink, subtract your non-drinkers, then add a 10% buffer. For 100 guests over 5 hours with 15% non-drinkers that is about 468 drinks — roughly 164 beers, 33 bottles of wine and 9 bottles of spirits at a standard full-bar split, plus champagne for the toast.

A standard 750 ml wine bottle pours 5 glasses at a 5 oz pour. A 750 ml spirits bottle makes about 17 drinks at a 1.5 oz pour. A 750 ml champagne bottle pours about 6 toast glasses.

A standard case holds 24 cans or bottles. This calculator rounds your beer count up to whole cases so you never run short mid-reception.

Yes for the glass count — everyone raises something. We count one champagne glass per guest and note a sparkling juice or soda alternative for non-drinkers, kids and anyone skipping alcohol.

Set the crowd type to Lively, which multiplies the plan by 1.25. You can also raise drinks-per-hour above 1.0 — many planners budget 2 drinks in the first hour and 1 per hour after that.

Plan roughly 1 lb of ice per guest, and about 1.5 soft-drink servings per non-drinker per hour. Water should be out all night — roughly one serving per guest per hour on top of everything else.

Usually, yes — running dry is the real disaster. Many retailers let you return unopened bottles and cases, so the 10% buffer in this calculator rarely goes to waste. Check your store's return policy before you buy.

Yes — birthdays, reunions, office parties and holiday events all follow the same one-drink-per-drinker-per-hour rule. The difference is the split: casual parties usually lean heavier on beer, so consider the beer-and-wine style or raise the beer share.

Use the Copy shopping list button in the calculator to grab the full list as text, or Print to save a paper/PDF copy. Nothing is stored on a server — the calculation happens entirely in your browser.

The conversions use the 750 ml standard common in the US, Europe and Australia. Where 700 ml spirits bottles are standard, treat the spirits count as approximate — one extra bottle across a whole order covers the difference.