120 guests · evening wedding · 6 hours · seated dinner · mixed bar. Computed with the engine professional crews use, not a rule of thumb.
Wedding
What a 120-guest wedding bar needs
≈ 2344 bar serves for 120 guests over 6 hours on a mixed bar with a seated dinner. Water covers bar and table, still and sparkling.
Wine (all types)45 bottles
Sparkling (toast)20 bottles
Beer180 units
Non-alcoholic beer2 cases
Spirits (all bottles)61 bottles
Soft drinks & mixers38 cases
Water615 bottles
Team on shift12 people
Ice320 kg · 160 bags
Free numbers from the same engine the full planner runs. Pro turns them into the exact order per product, cocktail ingredients, glassware and one shopping list.
Those 2344 serves do not arrive evenly: the opening hour is the fastest, about 454 serves, because every guest wants a first drink at once; over hours 2–6 the bar settles into a steady 378 serves an hour. The totals above already carry this curve, so the bar is stocked for the surge, not for the average.
Field note: a second bar is not half a team twice
Splitting one crew across two stations leaves both short. When Green Jar runs two simultaneous bars the floor is 3 bartenders, 2 barbacks, 3 runners and 1 glass cleaner, whatever the per-guest table says. Large events already above those numbers see no change.
Adjust it to your event
Same engine, live. Change the crowd, the bar or the hours and recalculate.
Guests
Seated dinner served?
Bar service
Duration
Wedding
Frequently asked questions
How much alcohol do I need for 120 guests at a wedding?
Plan for about 2344 bar serves over 6 hours. On a mixed bar that becomes roughly 45 bottles of wine, 180 units of beer, 61 bottles of spirits and 38 cases of soft drinks and mixers, plus 615 bottles of water.
How much wine do I need for a wedding dinner of 120 guests?
A 750 ml bottle pours 6 glasses of 125 ml. With a seated dinner, plan 1 glass of white and 1 of rosé per guest plus 1 bottle of red per 25 guests: 45 bottles for 120 guests.
How many bar staff do I need for 120 guests?
3 bartenders at the recommended level and 12 people in total, counting barbacks, runners and glass collectors plus 3 dinner runners for the seated service. The comfortable level for the same event is 13.
Plan your full bar: bottles, cocktails, shopping list.
The free calculator gives staff, ice and totals. Pro turns them into the exact order per product and one Excel your supplier can read.