PourPlan · free drinks calculator
How much alcohol for 120 guests? These figures assume
120 guests · midday arrival, winding up early evening (7 hrs) · tab, then cash · mild · average crowd
Who pays
Tab, then cash Open bar Cash bar
The crowd
Lighter Average Heavy
The day
Mild Hot Scorching Cold
Plan on roughly 731 drinks — about 6.1 a guest across the whole day, with an honest range of 584 to 877, because every crowd is different.
The forecast · rounded to real packs
Beers243 × 330/440ml incl. 8% safety 225 · 11 cases of 24
Cidersincl. safety margin 100 · 5 cases of 24
White & rosé winethey bring these — you chill, pour and charge corkage · 5 × 150ml pour per bottle 145 · 32 bottles
Red winethey bring these — you chill, pour and charge corkage · 5 × 150ml pour per bottle 118 · 26 bottles
Bubblythey bring these — you chill, pour and charge corkage · toast for every guest (6-glass pour) + extra — buffer built in 210 · 35 bottles
Spirits (with mixers)28 × 25ml tot per bottle 88 · 4 bottles (750ml)
Mixerscans, one per spirit drink — a double shares the same mixer 75 · 4 cases of 24
Soft drinksbeyond mixers 55 · 3 cases of 24
Bottled water240 × 500ml · 2 per guest — never skimp on water 240 · 10 cases of 24
Ice12 × 5kg bags 60 kg
Bar staff1 head barman + 3 · 38 crew-hours incl. setup 4
Suggested bar spendR 193/guest R 23 219
Tune it properly in the calculator Free, no signup. Change the hours, the region, or your own drinks-per-guest.
When they actually drink it Not evenly. The ceremony is nearly dry, canapés are steady, supper quietens the bar, and the dance floor carries the night.
Arrival0.5 hrs 0.47 per guest
Ceremony0.75 hrs 0.13 per guest
Canapés2.25 hrs 2.37 per guest
Supper & speeches3 hrs 2.45 per guest
Dance floor0.5 hrs 0.67 per guest
What will move this number Nobody can give you an exact figure, and anyone who does is guessing. These are the things that actually shift it:
The DJ A full dance floor drinks; an empty one does not. The single biggest swing, and nothing predicts it.
When dinner lands Served late, guests drink through a longer canapé stretch. Served early, the bar quietens sooner.
What is being served A house wine and an estate Sauvignon pour the same volume and cost wildly different money.
The weather on the day Heat moves water and the white/red split more than it moves the total.
Who is in the room A wedding of a hundred university friends is not a wedding of a hundred cousins.
How these numbers are worked out Other guest counts Same 120 guests, different event Run a mobile bar? This calculator is one screen of PourPlan — the rest turns forecasts into branded quotes, van load sheets, a running tab on the night and a reconciliation the morning after. See what's coming →