Fall and winter weddings are being planned right now, which means it is not too early to place your wedding reception catering orders. When it comes to ordering enough alcohol for your wedding reception, there are some factors to keep in mind. If you order too much, you are taking away from your overall wedding budget, but if you order too little, you risk disappointing your guests and taking away from the overall experience.
To avoid this problem on your upcoming special day, scroll down to view a simple alcohol ordering guide that will help you calculate how much alcohol you need per guest at your wedding reception.
Wedding Reception Bar Planning
Planning the alcohol and bar element of a wedding reception can pose all sorts of challenges if you are not equipped with the right information. Preparation is key when it comes to organizing an efficient bar plan that falls within your budget while also meeting your celebratory expectations.
It is your aim to order just the right amount of alcohol, plus optimize the selections to best fit your wedding’s theme or agenda. You can achieve this objective with ease by using this basic guide to alcohol ordering:
How Much Alcohol is Enough for a Wedding?
Knowing how much is enough when it comes to bar planning is fiddly. Not everyone will drink alcohol, and those who do will have varying amounts in differing selections. Fortunately, there is a way around this chaos.
The general rule of thumb for wedding guest alcohol orders is decreed in a time-to-person ratio: For a 4 hour reception, plan for around 4 to 5 drinks per guest.
Using a base of 12 ounce beers, 5 ounce glasses of wine, and 1.5 ounces of liquor, this general rule of thumb should allow each guest to enjoy one drink per hour of your event. Not only is this sufficient for guest satisfaction, but it also abates over-drinking.
Just Serving Beer and Wine?
If you are planning to only serve beer and wine (including champagne) at your wedding reception, aim for a 60:40 ratio of 60% beer and 40% wine selections.
Serving All Selections?
If you wish to serve beer, wine, and mixed drinks at your wedding reception, use a 20:35:45 ratio of 20% beer, 35% wine and champagne, and 45% liquor.
Additional Tips for Planning Your Wedding Reception Bar Order
When it comes to beer, kegs are great options. Not only are they economical, but they are readily available and easy to use. The average metal beer keg can serve between 140 to 165 12-ounce beers. Be sure to rent an extra tap in case the one you are given breaks.
As for wine, take note that one 750 ML bottle of wine traditionally serves 5 glasses. Magnum bottles, which are the much larger wine bottles, serve 10 glasses on average. Be wise on your scope of wine selections too. Merlot and chardonnay are the most popular wedding guest wine orders, as well as prosecco champagne.
Liquor for shots and mixed drinks mainly consists of vodka, tequila, scotch, and bourbon. Unless your wedding has a particular theme that includes rum-based cocktails like mojitos or pina coladas, rum is not usually a common wedding guest drink order. The same goes for gin. As for mixers, aim for 3 bottles per bottle of liquor.
Are you looking for professional wedding catering service? Contact Food for Thought Catering at 678-340-0510 to speak with an experienced catering manager about large group catering and weddings in Peachtree City, Georgia and its surrounding counties.
You Should Also Read:
How to Select Alcohol Service for a Catered Event
Do Not Make These 3 Wedding Reception Catering Blunders
Why Signature Drinks are a Big Hit at Any Wedding or Party