All You Need to Know When Organising Your Own Bar

When it comes to organising a wedding bar, the last thing you want is to be running out of drink! Or the opposite - overcompensating and ordering too much. So it's important you gauge your quantities right before taking the plunge and buying the drinks for your wedding. To help you out, here's 5 tips to getting your drink quantities spot on and tailored to your day. 

1. Think about your number of guests 

Consider how many guests you'll be inviting, whether anyone will be joining you in the evening and the general duration of the wedding reception to help you work out how much you realistically think will be drunk per hour. Think about who will be drinking alcohol and who won't, then divide each segment into possible preferences. When thinking about those who will drink alcohol, consider what types of alcohol will be the preference - perhaps a third would appreciate beer whilst the rest would stick to wine and spirits. It sounds a bit complex but if you know your guests well, this shouldn't be too hard to work out!

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2. How much will they drink?

Typically we find that most guests will drink between 1 - 2 drinks per hour. Some maybe less and some possibly will drink more - either way this is a healthy average to go by. Once you've figures out the number of drinks that will likely be consumed in relation to the number of guests, the next step is to consider how many bottles of each beverage you'll need to buy. 

3. Work out quantities to buy 

Wine: a 750ml wine bottle contains 6 small glasses (125ml) and when buying multiples, you will save money purchasing by the case (6 bottles).

Beer: Beer bottles usually come in cases of 15-20 in supermarkets. In comparison, cans contain a larger volume of beer but get warm a lot faster. Plus from experience, we find people tend to end up leaving them scattered around the party, knowing the free bar has a fresh cold beer waiting for them! So my advice would be to go for bottles. 

Spirits: Buying by the litre helps to save money, but also makes it easier to work out how many drinks a bottle will make. the new standard single measure of spirit is 25ml. As an example, 1 litre of vodka will make 40 vodka & cokes. 

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4. Opt for a staffed Mobile Bar

Hiring a mobile bar  can save money on stock, prevent wastage and also help to regulate your guests pouring! Having staff in control of your drink means less drinks are wasted, with no free pouring large and unnecessary measures. It also helps to take the pressure away from you when you should be enjoying your special day with your guests. 

5. Don't forget you can return alcohol

If you're still not sure how much to buy, the option of sale or return is another great way forward. Most places now offer this service and as long as no packaging is opened, they will give you a full refund. This is especially useful if you want to supply a wider variety of drinks but are worried about having enough - after all it's better to have too much than too little!

Image Source: Paul Underhill

 If you're still a little baffled, we're happy to advise if you need help building your shopping list for the big day!