How Much Wine You Need for a Wedding？

Weddings are indeed bliss. It is one of the best days we always look forward to. It’s a grand celebration of two people who commit to love each other for the rest of their lives.

And there’s thrill and excitement. But of course, there’s much to do, like making a guest list, choosing the best cake, picking the best suit and gown, and catering to a wine bar.

Are you one who wants to seal up your wedding day with a wine toast? If that’s the case, you might ask how much wine you need to prepare for the upcoming nuptials. In this article, we covered anything about wine for a wedding. So, stay in the loop and keep on reading!

How Much Wine Should You Prepare for a Wedding?

Whether planning a grand wedding reception for 200 guests or wanting a private, intimate wedding, knowing how much wine you need ahead of time is essential. Let’s be honest. Wine running out at a wedding can be a huge disaster.

And on the contrary, excessive wine leftovers can ruin the wedding budget. So, calculating how much wine you should prepare for a wedding is a great help. It will ensure you have enough wine for every wedding guest without hampering the overall budget.

Let’s answer one of the most highly asked questions on the web. So, how much wine should you prepare for your wedding? Before going on the ride, there are two crucial things to remember before calculating how much wine is needed for your big event.

1. The Number of Wedding Guests

The first thing to consider concerning planning and buying wine is the number of guests attending on your big day. This is the overall tally of people dining at the wedding reception, plus you and your partner.

And, of course, there’s no need to break down the wedding guests on your lists as young children, beer drinkers, non-drinkers, or heavy drinkers. What you need to get is the overall headcount.

2. The Wine Allocation Per Wedding Guest

And second, it will be helpful to know the wine allocation per guest. This allocation shows how many bottles of wine you would like each wedding guest to have.

Generally speaking, the most frequent answer you would get is ½ or 0.5 wine bottles per person. But of course, this familiar figure might change depending on your preference and budget, plus the drinking habits of your wedding visitors. But if you’re unsure of this wine allocation, you could add up to 10%.

Another word of advice is to work out the question on how much wine you need for a wedding to let around two to three glasses per wedding guest for the reception’s first hour. Afterward, you can allot two glasses of wine for every succeeding hour.

Further, the amount of wine on your wedding day can vary depending on the guests you invite, like many children or wedding guests who don’t like alcohol or wine.

Wedding Wine Formula

Here’s a wedding wine formula you could apply when preparing and buying wine for a wedding. For the standard wine offering, you can allot at least ½ bottle of wine for each wedding guest. On the other hand, for a more generous offering, at least 2/3 bottle of wine is required.

Formula: (The Number of Wedding Guests) x (Wine Allocation)= Total Number of Wine Bottles

To get a glimpse of how you would apply the formula, here are a few examples that showcase how much wine to cater for a wedding celebration.

Illustration #1:

Imagine having around 200 wedding guests sitting at the dining table at your wedding reception. On top of that, there are a lot of passionate wine lovers in the crowd. And if you prefer to be generous, here’s what you can do.

• 200 x 2/3 (0.66)= 133 required wine bottles

Illustration #2:

Here’s another wedding scenario you could picture in your mind. You have invited over 300 guests who all waited at the wedding receptions. It’s likely a mixed crowd, so you prefer to offer enough wine for the meal. Here’s the formula you could apply.

• 300 x ½ (0.5)= 150 required wine bottles

Of course, the question of how much wine you need for a wedding is something that cannot be answered on a strict mathematical formula. It can always change depending on many factors.

You can decide depending on the number of wedding guests you invite over, the type of crowd, your preference, and the overall budget. If you’re still unsure how much wine you need for the wedding, here’s our recommendation.

You can always add up by multiplying the guests by 110% or 1.1. Based on general observations, most wedding couples overthink shortchanging their guests rather than overspending on the wedding.

Do you feel you don’t want to fret about wines on your upcoming nuptials? If that’s the case, it will be better to allot and spend extra money. Trust us, this extra money would be for the better.

Besides, it will be best to inquire about the wedding venue and wine suppliers’ policy about unopened or unused wine bottles. Maybe there’s a refund, or you can negotiate according to your needs.

How Much Should You Spend on Buying Wine for a Wedding?

When budgeting the money for your wedding wine, here are a few things you must remember. First and foremost, the cost of wedding wines will always depend on the kind you serve.

For example, you will likely spend more if you prefer to have champagne toast wine than red or white blends.

The second factor would be the wine allocation or how much wine is served to each wedding guest. Most wedding couples decide to have an open wine bar. In this scenario, the wedding couple might spend more money because wedding guests drink and consume more wine.

Thirdly, you might consider your wedding list. How many guests will be there for the wedding? If you have a big crowd for your wedding celebration, there’s a higher chance that you’ll be spending more.

Lastly, you might want to consider your whole budget for the wedding. You can not spend more on wine when you have other pressing needs. Make a budget for the wine after spending money on essential items like the bride’s gown, the bridal and Mens wedding bands, and even food for the guests. After this, you can consider making a budget for the wine. 

However, if you are planning to spend more on entertainment like wine and cocktails, you can easily cut down on food and other edibles. In the end, it all boils down to your guests and how you want to entertain them. 

On top of that, if you’re hosting other wedding activities like engagement parties and bridal showers, there’s also an increased chance of spending more. But ultimately, the cost of wine for your wedding day will depend on how much you want to pay.

How to Save Money When Buying Wine for a Wedding?

No matter how much your budget is for the wedding, you’re still probably thinking of ways how you could save enough money for the wine.

Saving money for wedding wine depends on a lot of things. But here are a few things one should weigh if they want to spend less and keep more.

Generally, it will always be better to buy by the wine case. In most areas, this could allow you to have a considerable discount. So whenever possible, take advantage of this deal. In addition, you may opt to buy larger bottles of wine.

Large bottles will be beneficial not only during the time you buy them, but they can save you from substantial corkage fees.

And lastly, a simple tip would be to sign up for the wine retailer’s mailing list and newsletter. This stuff could update you on the best wine deals and promotional sales.

How Early Should You Buy the Wine for a Wedding?

To be sure, it is always better to buy the wine before the wedding date as much as possible. In this instance, you should store the wine inside a dark within ten to fifteen degrees Celsius room temperature. The wine can be ruined if stored in a warm or humid area.

What are the Tips to Buy the Right Amount of Wedding Wine?

Remember that you needn’t break the bank to have the best wines on your wedding day. You can save! To help you buy and serve the right amount of wine for your wedding day, here are a few tips we collected for you.

1. Plan ahead of time

If you want the best and highest-quality wines for the big day, it will be helpful to plan early. The rule of thumb would be the earlier you book a wine reservation, the better.

Plus, it can give you and your partner enough time to shop around and compare wine brands. That way, you can find excellent wines at the best deal. Also, it would give wine retailers the time to ship and deliver your wine bottles.

2. Go for a wine tasting

While it may be the same type of varietals, the wine taste can vary depending on its origin, harvesting process and techniques, and grape growing conditions. So, if you have ample time, go for a wine tasting to have what you want on your wedding day.

3. Buy all the wines at once

Based on experience, it will be best to place a massive order of wine for the wedding. Doing this can save you money.

Most of the time, when you buy more significant amounts of wine, you can apply for a bulk discount from wine retailers. So, the end goal would be the larger your reservation, and the more significant your savings would be.

Final Thoughts on Wedding Wine

Since all weddings have a budget, people are always curious about how much wine they must prepare and buy for a wedding.

The truth is there is no rigid, strict, or fast rule on the amount of wine needed for the wedding matrimony. But in case you don’t know where to start, you can always use and refer to our wedding wine calculator.