250 guests · evening wedding · 6 hours · seated dinner · mixed bar. Computed with the engine professional crews use, not a rule of thumb.
Wedding
What a 250-guest wedding bar needs
≈ 4813 bar serves for 250 guests over 6 hours on a mixed bar with a seated dinner. Water covers bar and table, still and sparkling.
Wine (all types)94 bottles
Sparkling (toast)42 bottles
Beer375 units
Non-alcoholic beer3 cases
Spirits (all bottles)125 bottles
Soft drinks & mixers77 cases
Water1282 bottles
Team on shift19 people
Ice650 kg · 325 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 4813 serves do not arrive evenly: the opening hour is the fastest, about 931 serves, because every guest wants a first drink at once; over hour 2 the bar settles into a steady 777 serves an hour; through hours 3–4 the pace eases to around 776 an hour as the crowd winds down; through hour 5 the pace eases to around 777 an hour as the crowd winds down; through hour 6 the pace eases to around 776 an hour as the crowd winds down. 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 250 guests at a wedding?
Plan for about 4813 bar serves over 6 hours. On a mixed bar that becomes roughly 94 bottles of wine, 375 units of beer, 125 bottles of spirits and 77 cases of soft drinks and mixers, plus 1282 bottles of water.
How much wine do I need for a wedding dinner of 250 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: 94 bottles for 250 guests.
How many bar staff do I need for 250 guests?
5 bartenders at the recommended level and 19 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 21.
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.