How Much Wine for a Wedding?
Quick Answer
About half a bottle per guest with the meal, plus 1 glass of fizz each for the toast
For 100 guests: around 50 bottles of wine for the meal and 17 bottles of fizz for the toast (6 × 125ml flutes per bottle).
Wedding Wine by Guest Count
| Guests | Wine for the meal (half bottle each) | Fizz for the toast (1 flute each) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 20 bottles | 7 bottles |
| 50 | 25 bottles | 9 bottles |
| 60 | 30 bottles | 10 bottles |
| 80 | 40 bottles | 14 bottles |
| 100 | 50 bottles | 17 bottles |
| 120 | 60 bottles | 20 bottles |
Meal bottles = guests ÷ 2. Toast bottles = guests ÷ 6, rounded up, because a 75cl bottle pours 6 flutes at 125ml (750 ÷ 125 = 6). So 100 guests need 100 ÷ 6 = 16.7, rounded up to 17 bottles for the toast.
The Maths Behind Half a Bottle Per Guest
Half a 75cl bottle is 375ml, which is 3 standard 125ml glasses. That matches the usual party rule of 2 glasses in the first hour then 1 per hour after, applied to a typical 2 hour wedding breakfast. Serving in 125ml glasses, each bottle pours 6; in 175ml glasses it pours about 4, so the same half-bottle allowance empties faster.
Half a bottle per guest is deliberately generous: typically only 40–60% of guests choose wine over beer, spirits or soft drinks, so the allowance builds in top-ups for the wine drinkers and headroom for speeches that overrun. If your crowd is light on wine, our wine calculator lets you set the percentage of wine drinkers, pour size and event length for a tighter number.
Red, White or Rosé?
A 50/50 red and white split works for most weddings. In summer, shift towards 40% red and 60% white or rosé, with rosé around 20% of the total; in winter, go 60% red. If the meal is chosen in advance, match the majority dish.
Do Not Forget the Rest of the Day
The table above covers the meal and toast only. For a drinks reception before the meal and the evening party, count those hours separately: the wine calculator handles any event length, the champagne calculator covers reception fizz, and the drinks per person guide gives per-guest quantities for beer, spirits and soft drinks so non-wine drinkers are covered too.