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merrybrides · 3 years

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Figuring out how much booze you need for an open bar wedding is so confusing, there’s actually wedding alcohol calculator apps and diagrams and spreadsheets that have been created to try and help you out. Unfortunately we find most of them a bit more confusing than they have to be, so we’re going to try and break it down for us as easily as possible without making a powerpoint for you!

OK. So here’s the most BASIC wedding alcohol calculator information you need to know, based on the number of guests you’re having. But first, below is a cheat sheet in case you really, really don’t feel like reading how to figure it out!

Open Bar for 100 GUESTS:

70 bottles of wine

175 bottles of beer

15 bottles of liquor (750 ml)

20 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)

150 GUESTS:

105 bottles of wine

266 bottles of beer

22 bottles of liquor (750 ml)

30 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)

200 GUESTS:

140 bottles of wine

350 bottles of beer

30 bottles of liquor (750 ml)

40 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)

How did we come up with that? The math breaks down like this:

1. Figure Out How Long Your Wedding Reception/Cocktail Hour Will Be

Assume guests will have 2 drinks in the first hour of the open bar, and 1 additional drink each following hour. The total length of a wedding reception will vary but assume for general purposes it will be 5 hours (1 hour for your cocktail hour, and 4 hours for dinner/dancing).

So for a 5 hour cocktail hour/reception, that’s 6 drinks total per guest, which is what a lot of websites will recommend. Overall, we always like to err on the side of caution when it comes to an open bar and not running out, so we actually recommend adding one drink to that calculation, bringing it to 7 drinks per guest for a 5-hour event.

It’s not that people will consume 7 drinks/person, and of course not everybody will drink 2 or even 1, BUT you have to take into account how many times servers might pick up a half-full drink, or somebody misplaces theirs while dancing. It happens, and if you’re DIY’ing your own wedding bar with no extra inventory (like most wedding caterers have on hand), why take the chance? Extra bottles of wine that go unused after the wedding can make for great hostess or holiday gifts, and you won’t be freaking out thinking that you didn’t order enough alcohol.

2. Calculate How Many Drinks Come in a Bottle You’re Serving

5 glasses of wine in a 750 ml wine bottle (including champagne)

12 drinks in a 750 ml spirit bottle

And of course a bottle of beer is one serving.

I found this to be one of the most helpful, clear guides online to how many servings a bottle of alcohol in various sizes can pour.

3: Decide What You Want Your Alcohol Mix to Be

Note: For purposes of this article, we’re going to assume you’re having a full open bar (if you’re not, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered, below).

While sites like Total Wine encourage you to use a ratio of 50% wine drinkers, 30% beer, and 20% spirit drinkers, we think it’s safer to say 50% of guests want wine, 25% beer, and 25% want the hard stuff, though keep in mind you know your crowd better than anybody. For instance, at my wedding we had a lot of wine and spirit drinkers, so I would have made it 60% wine, 30% alcohol, 10% beer.

So using ALL those calculations, here’s how you would figure out just how much you need in total, assuming the percentages and everything else above for a 100 person wedding:

For 100 guests:

Wine:

(50% of guests)=50

(Number of Drinks Needed According to Total Hours) = 7

=350

/ (divided by)

(Number of glasses per bottle of wine) = 5

=70 bottles of wine needed

Beer:

(25% of guests) = 25

(Number of Drinks Needed According to Total Hours) = 7

=175 bottles of beer needed

Spirits:

(25% of guests) = 25

(Number of Drinks Needed According to Total Hours) = 7

=175

(Number of servings per 750ml bottle of liquor)= 12

=14.5 (round up to 15) bottles of liquor needed

OPTIONAL….

Champagne Toast:

(100% of guests) = 100

(Number of glasses per bottle of champagne) = 5

=20 bottles of champagne needed

TOTAL:

So to recap, for 100 guests you would need:

70 bottles of wine

175 bottles of beer

15 bottles of liquor (750 ml)

20 bottles of champagne for toast (optional)

Only Having Beer and Wine?

Of course if you’re only having beer and wine, the percentages you’ll need for each would just go up accordingly. So you would most likely assume a 60% wine and 40% beer mix, making your numbers look like:

84 bottles of wine

280 bottles of beer

While the wedding alcohol calculator numbers above are rough estimates, I again encourage you to take into consideration your crowd. Are they big drinkers? Pad each of those numbers by a few bottles. Do a handful of guests you know of DEFINITELY not drink? Take it down a notch or two. Also talk to your alcohol/wine store you are purchasing from and get their opinion. This wedding alcohol calculator is by no means set in stone, these numbers are just meant to provide a guide for you so you know where to start.

Ready to buy? If you’re using the wedding alcohol calculator formula we’ve come up with, above, the shopping list for it is below.

4: Compile Your Shopping List

Spirits

OK. So here’s where I think the hardest part comes in for all wedding alcohol calculators. How much to get of each spirit? For a basic full bar you’ll want to have vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey. From there consider adding a bottle or two of bourbon, scotch, brandy, and any other specialty spirits you love.

Here’s a well-rounded list you can go off of when deciding the vodka to whisky amount you’ll need, assuming you buy 15 bottles of liquor for 100 people. And again, if you have a specialty liquor you like consider adding that to this list as well.

6 vodka

4 whisky

2 gin

2 tequila

1 rum

Wine

For wine you’ll want to do a mix of each, leaning towards more red wine if you’re throwing an evening wedding. Wine Folly has an easy-to-understand ratio of what types of wine to get for a wedding or other party, below:

Fall, Winter and Spring weddings: People tend to drink more red wine at indoor weddings in the fall, spring and winter. As a rule, have a mix of about 50% of red wine for this type of wedding.

Summer and Outdoor weddings: Outdoor weddings on hot days will have people drinking more white wine. Consider a mix of 30% each of all 3 styles of wine. On the other hand, you might also think about serving rosé, especially if you’re serving fish or seafood.

So if you’re buying 70 bottles of wine, your shopping list for an evening wedding inside might look like:

35 red

23 white

12 sparkling (not including extra bottles if you’re having a toast)

Beer

A mix of 3 types of beer is perfect. In that case, I would do one pilsner, one lager, and one IPA (and try to make at least one of those mainstream enough for your Uncle Joe to enjoy, like a Miller Lite).

Mixers

You’ll want to have a variety of mixers available (and of course if you’re making specialty cocktails you’ll want to be sure to get everything you need that’s specific to those), as well as garnishes. One thing to note is that if you are hiring a bartender service (most venues require you have a licensed bartender) it’s often easier to let them supply the basic mixers and garnishes along with things like glassware and napkins.

In terms of mixers, plan on having the following for 100 guests:

10 Liters Club Soda or Seltzer

6 Liters Ginger Ale

8 Liters Cola

8 Liters Diet Cola

8 Liters Lemon-Lime Soda

6 Liters Tonic

3 Quarts each of any juice you want (plan on at least having orange, cranberry, and grapefruit)

2 bottles each of sour mix, grenadine, simple syrup, and bitters.

1 bottle each of dry and sweet vermouth

Garnishes

1/2 lemon/lime per guest (pre-sliced)

2 olives and cherries per guest

Phew. OK this article is WAY longer than we expected, and I’m sure there’s so much more we can include for future articles as well. In the meantime, are you having an open, DIY wedding bar? If so tell us how much you’re getting for it, below, and what wedding alcohol calculator you used and loved.

#wedding alcohol #wedding bar #wedding reception #alcohol

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secret-rendezvous1d · 7 years

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Break-up Novella.

PART FOUR: IT’S JUST GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME.

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE |

I’m not 100% on this specific part of the Break-Up Novella bit I felt like I needed a filler part in between Parts 3 and 5. I promise you, Part 5 will be filled and it’ll be better and we’ll see their relationship really get better. There may or may not be a cheeky smut scene at the end, as well as the cutest scene I think I’ve ever written in my life.

I’m really iffy on this part, so, I apologise in the horrendous flow. I really tried to work through it, I can promise you, haha. Chances are, I will come back to this a really re-do it to fit the novella properly. I lost all inspiration for this section and I’m so unsure as to why. I think I’ve just been SO excited to write the final part because I hate it when the missus and Harry fight because I just love them and I’m rooting for them SO hard... :(((

Enjoy! xx

4 weeks post break-up; Harry.

(Harry’s texts. Missus’ texts.)

Hey, how are you?

Harry, hey.

Hi. I’m good, thank you. How are you?

I’m okay, yeah.

How’s tour going? It’s been a month, right?

3 weeks, yeah.

But, it’s okay, I guess. A bit exhausting trying to get back into the time differences and such.

Where are you now?

We’ve just finished the South American leg of the tour. We’re taking an extra few days off in São Paulo before we go to Dublin. Suppose it’s alright but, I just want to get back to the English time zones.

What’s the time there now?

It’s dinner. To be precise, it’s 5:19pm. I’m just about to go down to the hotel restaurant for food.

That sounds nice.

I miss a good UK burger though. Forgot all about my health-kick diet thing. It’s only taken me 3 weeks away from the UK to realise I need a good greasy dinner.

Hahaha.

Are you sure you’re okay?

You seem a bit off.

I just feel a bit awkward right now.

Why?

Talking to you after 3 weeks of not being together isn’t exactly what I was thinking of doing, Harry. Especially at 8:22pm.

Oh.

I’m sorry. I just thought that because we were working on being friends, it was okay to text you and talk to you about your day. I’m sorry for making you feel awkward.

I think it’s just going to take some time before we become the best of friends again, Harry. Definitely more than 3 weeks, actually.

I know.

We’re on track though. Okay? I think, for me, I just need to time to forget everything.

I understand.

I miss yo though.

Not just romantically. But, I just miss your presence around me. It’s been different without you, you know? I’m finding it difficult, I suppose.

I know.

* *

Her lips tasted like the raspberry cocktail he’d seen her nurse, multiple times, throughout the evening. Her figure edging closer to his perched position on a bar stool as the hours passed by, a smirk toying on her lips as she pinched the straw of her drink between her teeth and made eye contact with him, his forearms pressed on the marble bartop with the small glass, holding a gin and tonic, set on a napkin between his hands. A smirk on his lips each time he side-glanced in her direction and caught her with a hard stare on him. His eyelids heavy and drooping, feet hooked around the pole of the stool to stable his drunken self to keep him from embarrassing himself and falling off in front of a half-full bar.

He loved the taste of raspberry.

He was no stranger to sticking the fruit into smoothies and having the juice give a burst of flavour to the beverage, and he was no stranger to dropping handfuls on top of his granola or porridge in the mornings when he’s in a rush to leave and he was always found sticking his fingers into the open packet in the fridge, popping one between his lips and chewing on the tangy food, eyes squinting with the sour taste as it touched his tastebuds. And he adored the artificial smell that it gave off with his shampoo because it made him feel summery and fresh.

But, most of all and the main reason why he loved the taste - it was what your lipgloss tasted like when you kissed him, painting his lips with the softest peach colour, his tongue swiping over the flesh after you’d pulled away and sent him a warm smile, bidding him a farewell before you left him for the day. The taste being enough to last him through the day

It was raspberry that he associated with you.

And, as he cupped the back of the unknown woman’s head, his lips moulding with hers as she captured him between her body and the bar, all he could think about was you. And how wrong it felt to be kissing someone in hopes of starting a hook-up or a one night stand just to ease the sexual tension and frustration that had been building and stocking up inside him. How it felt to be doing something so wrong when things were just getting back on track with you, down a path he had been wanting from the moment you walked out of his life and disappeared into the London darkness.

Friends.

If he wanted to progress past that zone, he could afford to muck up anything.

“M’sorry,” he grumbled out, his breath fanning her face as he tried to push away from the bar, “need t’ go. S’feels wrong. So wrong. M’sorry.”

“Whatever you have going on, just forget about it for one night,” she cooed, dragging a finger up his chest and grabbing his chin in her strong hold, lips forming a pout as she leant up as close as she could get, his breath fanning over her face from the close proximity between their bodies, “c’mon, Harry. My room is only up a coupl’a floors. S’not gon’a take long. I can make you feel really good, Harry.”

“Can’t,” he murmured, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and slipping away from the bar, reaching for the jacket he’d settled over the back of his stool and hanging over his forearm, “m’sorry. M’not ready. Can’t do it.”

She scoffed, pushing from the bar, rejected and moody as she swung her hips with each step she took back towards the group of friends she was previously with. Their hands coming up to pat her back and rub her shoulder in sympathy. Guilt bubbling in his belly each time he glanced over in their direction, eyebrows furrowing when one flipped him the bird and insisted they left the bar and continued their party in their bedroom, on the wine and the tequila and the tiny bottles of liquor from the mini-fridge that came complimentary with the room. Eyes burning holes into his back as they left.

* *

need yo to heear this

i miss ypu

sent mum a ticket for you today

in Manchtesr

to seee me on staage!

Harry?

Harry, are you drunk?

jus had a few gins and tonic. some shpts tooo.

Harry, please.

Don’t do anything silly.

m drinking my sorros away

Harry, go home to your hotel, please. I don’t want to wake up and find out you’ve been taken to hospital to have your stomach pumped.

im fiiiiiine

You’re not.

Please. I’ve known you for a little less than two years now. That’s enough for me to know that you cannot handle your booze. Please. Go back and have a sleep.

ur not my girlfrend anymore!

i can do what i lik

u don’t get to control me like u used 2

* *

“Harry! Harry, mate.”

Harry’s head whipped up, looking over his shoulder as his eyes widened. Watching Niall step into the hotel bar, guilt residing in his gut because, he looked exhausted. Confusion soon taking over and running through his mind because he was sure he was in contact with you and not Niall. Room key tucked tightly into his hands as his slipper-clad feed shuffled across the murky-green carpet, that surprisingly gave the rest of the room an ostentatious look. With a matte white bar lining one wall with reflective surfaces and mirrors scattered all throughout the room. Fitting to the 4-star hotel they’d been staying in during the last couple of days.

“Niall?”

“Hi, buddy. Hey,” he cooed softly, “come on, mate. Let’s get you to bed, yeah? You’re not that cooperative when you’re hungover.”

“How’d yeh,” he tripped over his footing, hiccuping and interrupting his speech as he stumbled forward. Niall catching him, limbs flailing out, before he fell and broke a bone or bruised his face, “how’d yeh know I was down ‘ere?”

“(YN) called me. She got worried and called me to tell me where you were. You know you can’t drink so much of this foreign alcohol, you stupid prick,” he scolded, arm wrapped around his shoulder and Even back in London, she still looks after you. Can’t believe you let her go,” he grunted beneath his breath as he tugged Harry towards the lift in the hotel reception, pushing a button to bring it down to the lower ground, “you’re lucky she’s got some care in her. If I was her, I’ve have let you drown and pass out.”

Harry stayed silent for the most part, staring down at his phone.

whyy did you calll niall?

i was havin fuuuuuun drinkin!

Because I want you to be safe, Harry. Especially in a foreign country when no one is around with you.

I may not be your girlfriend anymore, but, as a friend, I’m looking out for you.

* *

He woke with a headache.

Throbbing behind his pupils, pulsing around his temples and making it almost impossible to lift his head from his pillow. Groans and grumbles escaping his lips as he tugged the duvet over his head and protected his fragile eyes from the bright sunlight filtering through the open curtains. A nauseous feeling coursing through his gut as the alcohol from last night mixed together, bubbling in his stomach and slowly but surely making it’s way up towards his throat, knowing that the most of his morning will be spent on the cold bathroom floor of his hotel room with his head pushed into the toilet bowl, giving himself a sore throat and a disgusting and vomit-inducing tase at the back of his mouth.

But despite his headache and the horrendous hangover that took over him, he was still fully aware of what happened. The desire to drink when he sauntered past the hotel bar on his way out for the evening. The number of Gin and Tonics he’d sipped upon ashe sat by his lonesome self, drowning in the laughter and the soft music that filled the area. The shots he’d asked for, downing one after the other after the other after the other, allowing the liquid to burn his throat. The girl he kissed with the taste of raspberry coating her lips and wafting from her breath. The moment Niall came to collect him dressed in his pyjamas. The stumble down the corridor to his room after leaving the lift, dropping his room card at least 4 times along the way, and tripping over his pigeon-toed feet.

What he couldn’t recall clearly was the texts that were sent to you. Sent out of spite without a clear minded thought process behind it.

Peeking from beneath the duvet, nudging it away from his face and squinting towards the bright light, he reached for the phone that sat on the bedside table. Blinking away that it needed charging and flashing with texts and alarm notifications that he’d forgotten to switch off. Your name, boldly showing beside the green ‘Messages’ icon, has the number 3 sitting between two brackets, confusion pulling at his eyebrows as he unlocked his phone with a swipe of his thumb.

Are you good this morning? Hungover? Some ibuprofen and some water usually do the trick for you.

Wait, you’re not answering me. I checked the time. You should be awake, Harry.

You’re in hospital having your stomach pumped again, aren’t you? For Christ sake. I can hear your mum going crazy in Chapel right now.

A snicker escaped his mouth, soon turning into a wince as his head throbbed with a dull ache. His thumb scrolling up through the messages sent beforehand, eyes widening and his cheeks, although they were already warm and flushed, becoming a darker shade of pink at the embarrassment that swallowed him.

“Christ,” he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief as he began to type back a response, chin dipped to his chest to give him an easier angle to look at the screen of his phone.

Thank you for last night.

God, thank you. So much.

I don’t know what came over me. I went down to get some dinner because I was fed up with eating room service food every night and I walked past hotel bar on my way there so I snuck inside to have a beer and I just kept going and going and going. I’m not even sure what possessed me to go on and on and get drunk on my own, to be honest, in the first place. I think I was just sad over our last conversation and I just wanted to forget everything. I’m taking this break-up really hard, but, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t make you feel awkward as we progress as friends.

Just, you don’t have to reply or anything.

I just wanted to thank you. I can’t begin to imagine what I would have done if you didn’t call Niall; probably pass out and get attacked or something. Or wake up in the hospital with a tube pumping the contents out last time…

* *

4 weeks post break-up; (YN).

“You know that I’m going up to Manchester next week?” Gemma pondered, tracing the rim of her coffee mug with her forefinger. The coffee house, that you had agreed to meet her in for a quick afternoon coffee and a cake, was quiet and buzzing with the softer side of the London life, decorated from ceiling to floor with oak panels lining the brick and tropical plants overgrowing and hanging down, giving the small area a Pinterest-esque look. Your table tucked away in the corner and hidden away from the wandering eyes of people who would most definitely catch your face. “Harry’s sent some tickets and passes home for us to use over the three nights he’s in Manchester. Most of the family are heading up to Chapel a couple of days before and then we’re going to the stadium to see the boys over the three nights they’re there.”

“That sounds fun,” you grinned, giving her a nod before taking a soft sip of the coffee from the mug nursed tightly in your hands, foam catching on your upper lip before you swiped your tongue over your flesh, collecting the froth on the pad to rid the marks, “do you need me to go and tend to anything in your flat? Water the flowers or something?”

“Nope,” she shook her head, “but, Mum wanted to know if you wanted to join us? Harry sent an extra ticket home that he specifically said was for you. In case you wanted it. I know you've been trying to work things through this last week and I know things have been tough in regards to being his friend again,” she motioned, wrapping her fingers around the cup and lifting it from the saucer set on the wooden table. Clinking softly when the , “I think he sent it as a, just in case you wanted to come, sort of thing. Didn’t want to leave you out, I suppose. I think we’d all really love it if you came. But, obviously, you need to be selfish and put your needs first. We understand. Harry understands, too.”

“I, uhm,” your eyebrows twitched before they furrowed together, creating a dip at the top of your nose and crinkles to form at the corners of your eyes, “I don’t know. I know he sent one home for me. He drunk text me the other day, but, I don’t know if it’s something that I should accept right now? I mean, I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since we fought.”

Despite his face being printed on magazines and newspapers and photos being published online and shared by friends and family and the select fans that had the privilege of a follow from you, and despite having gotten on track to being friends and forgetting the past, you hadn’t found the courage within yourself to pick the phone up and have a proper conversation with him. Where you heard his voice. A voice that would soothe you to sleep, captivate you no matter the tone and no matter the topic of conversation, make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. A voice that you’d heard on a daily basis for 2 years, whether it be over the phone during the nights of the days you hadn’t had time to see one another or in a different room when he was in the bathroom and you were in the bedroom or whispered right into your ear as you cuddled on the sofa or curled up in bed.

You knew, as soon as you saw his face and heard his voice at the same time, you would be putty at his feet.

“I think you should come, (YN). Tie up those loose ends and really make your friendship official, you know? You need to see him now that you’re on track to being friends again,” Gemma said, a smile on her lips as she took a sip of the coffee and let the warm beverage cover her throat in a delicious coat, “the first person he’ll be looking for when we arrive is you.”

“What if it doesn’t go back to how it was before? What if I bottle it from nerves and end up ignoring him or say the wrong thing and I upset him?”

“It’s Harry we’re talking about here,” she smiled, reach across to grab your hand, squeezing it tightly, “you don’t need to be nervous around him.”

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