The following is an excerpt from my book, The Green Bride Guide – please visit thegreenbrideguide.com for more helpful tips and resources.
Alcohol Buying Guidelines
The amount of alcohol you need at a wedding can vary significantly. Generally speaking, daytime receptions require less alcohol than nighttime events, and younger crowds drink more than older crowds. You know your guests best, so you will be the best judge of how much (and what) they are likely to drink. A general rule of thumb is to provide your guests with one drink per person per hour – or four to five drinks per person for an evening affair. If you want to offer a limit bar with wine, beer and champagne, use the rule of five to calculate how many drinks you need, then divide the total using the following guidelines:
A bottle of Champagne = 6–8 flutes
A bottle of wine = 5 glasses
A beer = 1 drink
A liter of liquor = 18 drinks
Many liquor stores allow you to return unopened beverages, which means you can err on the safe side without penalty. If you are having a full bar, use the following buying guidelines per 100 people:
Beer = 2 cases (48 beers)
Champagne = 1 ½ cases (18 bottles)
Red wine = 1 case (12 bottles)
White wine = 1 ½ cases (18 bottles)
Whisky = 1–2 liters
Bourbon = 1–2 liters
Gin = 2 liters
Scotch = 3 liters
Light rum = 1 liter
Vodka = 6 liter
Tequila = 1 liter
Dry vermouth = 2 bottles
Sweet vermouth = 2 bottles