Hi there! I'm hoping for some thoughts on my alcohol calculations for our wedding. We are purchasing our own booze and I am very nervous about getting it right. I will start by saying we are inviting 120 of-age guests, expecting around 100 to actually come. We are serving beer and wine only and will have a champagne toast. I am trying to overestimate because we do have some heavy drinkers in our group.
I figured at a 3-4 oz pour for champagne toast we would need about 20 bottles - 125 servings.
We are doing a self-serve cocktail "hour" - will be slightly less than that time-wise. Our wedding party and families will be taking pictures at this time so there will only be about 80 in attendance. I was thinking 2 cases of beer and 2 of hard cider which we are using as a fruitier alternative. Plenty of soft drinks of course.
Our reception is going to be 5 hours long. We went over our guest list and figured we are split about 50/50 between beer and wine drinkers. I was thinking 2 kegs of beer (about 330 servings) plus 4 cases of cider (96 servings). We are planning on one light and one medium style beer for our kegs.
As for wine I was figuring 75 bottles - that is 375 servings figuring for a 5oz. pour. We have a very kind aunt donating a case of mixed, plus I was figuring for 2 red, 2 white, a rose plus a few more odds and ends to get up to the 75 mark.
My thoughts right now are that I am actually overestimating - which does not bother me so much because we don't mind having leftovers. However, I just don't even want to think about running out. Has anyone out there purchased their own alcohol for a similar number of people for a beer and wine only affair? Also, does the variety sound good? We feel bad about not offering mixed drinks but we really can't afford it. Thanks in advance!