How much Booze for an open bar at a wedding?

Question

Im having about 150-200 guests at my wedding. We are having an open bar. How much booze should I get. We are looking at Vodkas, Patrons, Champagns, Scotches,wines and beer. I believe the PAtron, beer and wine will be the most popular.

Answer 1

try and get a return deal with an off licence

how this works is you take twice as much as you think you will need and they charge you

but they will refund on anything you dont use and bring back

all the best
Ian

Answer 2

I've done a few banquets in my day, the most important thing is to not run out! Remember alcohol can last so if worse comes to worse you have booze left over for other events. Unopened bottles of good liquor, champagne, and wine can be given away as gifts if left over. For a group that size I would reccomend between 8-12 cases of beer. Miller Lite for the most part is the most popular. If you don't mind spending a little more you could throw in a few cases of something like heineken light or amstel light. Heine light is mild enough that regular light beer drinkers should have no problem with it. There is no need to spend too much on wine because there are many resonably price good wines. 8-10 cheaper bottles of chard, 6-10 cheaper bottles of a red, most people will drink either merlot or cabernat, there are also merlot/cab blends you can go with. I would also have 5 or 6 bottles of either a pinot or riesling because the are a bit sweeter. If chard runs out people will drink pinot also. Cheap vodka, rum, whiskey and gin are fine for mixed drinks. 4-5 bottles of each should be fine. Lots of juice and soda (cran, orange, lemonade, coke, diet, sprite, and even ginger ale) mixers are important, club soda and tonic water is important if it's an older crowd. A few bottles of nicer scotch, whiskey and tequila is sometimes a good idea for those who drink it with water. I reccomend Johnnie Walker Black or red for scotch, Jack for a finer whiskey, and Patron is good, but Jose would probably be okay too. This is a lot of info I know but if you need some more info you can email me at [e-mail]. I understand that you always want your wedding to be perfect, but 99% of people who attend weddings won't consider it a bad experience if there is a little problem with the booze. Also remember you can't predict everyone's tastes, as long as you have the specialty orders for important family members, especially the fathers, it won't matter if you don't have something for everyone. Also you can always send out someone for a last minute purchase if you really need something. Good Luck and hope this helps.

Answer 3

Way more than you think. We had an open bar at our wedding, 20+ years ago, ~75 guests and we went through $1000 worth a liquor, plus a keg of beer, plus several cases of champagne. Many of the older folks weren't drinking, plus kids, so maybe 55 people were drinking.

I'd suggest $4000 would be a good starting number.

Also, if hard liquor is free - most people won't drink beer. We ended up taking most of the keg home. I wouldn't get more champagne than you think you will need for the toast(s), 1 bottle for every 4 people. People have 1 maybe 2 glasses of pain and move onto something else.

Answer 4

Very generous - Patron is a Brand of tequila, not it's own type of liquor. It runs between $50 and $70 per bottle, depending on where you purchase. If I were you - I would put a $ amount on what you are willing to spend. This will help you figure out how much of each type you're willing to buy. I have worked lots and lots of weddings as a server/bartender and I will tell you - Champagne should be reserved for the bridal party and the families only (no one will think anything of it - you have it poured by a server before the toasts and speeches). I have seen receptions where there were 2 bottles of champagne per table and it was mostly wasted on the guests (who had one sip with the toast and never touched it again = no one drank it). Let your guests have wine with dinner and for the toasts. Some will only want beer or mixed drinks and that's fine too. Make sure no one is served unless they are 21. It's nice to have a staff of experienced bartenders and servers to take care of everything. If you're at a club or a hotel - they can arrange everything for you. They can also help you place a custom liquor order for the reception and you may save $$$. A word to the wise - I don't know the age of your bridal party, but if you are serving Champagne, beer, wine and mixed drinks, be prepared. Most cannot handle mixing this many kinds of alcoholic drinks and if you have inexperienced drinkers - for sure have a chat with the younger members of the bridal party. I have seen bridesmaids and groomsmen getting sick in the bushes outside 2 hours into the reception!!! I advise choosing 1 kind of drink and sticking to it throughout the event. It's fine to have a sip of Champagne with whatever, but if anyone has wine, then Champagne, then mixed drinks, then pucker or shots, then beer - they're asking for TROUBLE!!!
What venue will this reception be at? I believe you may have to use an establishment (like a township building, country club, private club or hotel convention room) which has its own liquor license - this may be dependant upon which state you are in, but here where I live, if you were going to have this much liquor and have guests being served and leaving in their own vehicles, you have to make sure you're compliant with the law. By using a licensed establishment - they will be able to handle all of this for you and can give you good advice along the way. They've seen it all!
Here is what I would suggest for your bar list (and I am just guessing here, but it should be close):Miller Lite in kegs (most popular beer on the market), 5-7 bottles of Vodka (Absolute is a nice medium/good quality), 5-7 bottles of Rum (Bacardi), 5-7 bottles of Whiskey (Jack Daniels), 3-5 bottles of Gin (Tanqueray), 1-2 bottles of Scotch (Dewars - and this would be very generous, it's expensive too), 1 case of each wine (12 bottles each, usually) Chardonnay, White Zin, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, & Cabernet. 3-4 bottles of Champagne. If you want to serve tequila - do not do Patron. Your bridal party can have it's own bottle, but don't waste this on your guests unless you just want to blow $$$ away. If it were me, I would order 5-7 bottles of Jose Quervo Gold. Good quality and it's not going to cost you a fortune. You are also going to have to have mixers for all of the hard liquor Plus soft drinks, as I mention.
What a hotel or club can do for you is order extra and you will only have to pay for what is opened. If there is any unused, I believe they will keep it for their own inventory. This way you're not being charged extra. Offer coffee and soft drinks too.
Best Wishes, hope this helps!

Answer 5

Dude get the credit card out. Patron will go quick and it's expensive. three fifths of Patron, two fifths of Vodka and plenty of beer. a case of Merlot.

Answer 6

Five cases of the hard stuff. Double that If I'm invited.

Answer 7

go to ecards