Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh

alcohol budget question!

We are inviting 240 people to our wedding and are allowed to supply our own alcohol.  We want a full bar but not top shelf liquor.  How much should we budget?  Our families both have some champion drinkers so I want to make sure we don't run out.  We can always return anything unused. 

Re: alcohol budget question!

  • edited December 2011
    You can probably find a chart online that will tell you what you need and how much depending on the number of guests (I would just google this or ask your venue if they have a list like this).  Then I would take that list to a liquor store/distributor and ask them for a quote.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • edited December 2011
    I had no idea where to start.  I'll check online. Thanks!


  • edited December 2011
    This little drink calculator may be of help: http://www.evite.com/pages/party/drink-calculator.jsp
    Awesome preview from our photographer, Caitlin Thomas, featuring flowers created by Paulette, The Urban Gypsy. Photobucket
  • ros3392ros3392 member
    Ninth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My advice is to buy more than what the calculator says. We too supplied our own alcohol and bought way more than the calculators told us and had very little left over. You can always return unopened liquor and untapped kegs/unused cases of beer.

    Also, start buying now and pick things up while they are on sale. Our liquor store told us when certain things were going to be on sale so we could plan accordingly!
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
  • bidge24bidge24 member
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    i agree......buy more than what you think you need, keep the receipts and return anything that hasnt been opened. our bartenders were really good about only having one bottle of whatever open at a time...and waiting until it was completely gone before they opened another...that way you have little to no waste as far as being able to return stuff
    Anniversary
  • edited December 2011
    I agree with Ros. If you have some champion drinkers, buy a good percentage (at least 20% probably) more than the calculators say. They can definitely give you a good idea of where to start though.

    And definitely check out sales and buy in bulk. That helps spread out the cost of it as well so you won't take a huge hit at one time.
    imageWedding Countdown Ticker
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards