What the bar really costs
How Much Does an Open Bar Cost for a Wedding?
By Jared Waterworth · Updated June 10, 2026 · 6 min read
The bar is where a budget quietly doubles. Price it by the bottle instead of by the head and you'll see exactly where, and how to pull it back.
The number
A wedding open bar typically runs about $15–$30 per guest for alcohol, plus roughly $150–$300 per bartender (one per 50–75 guests) and any corkage fee. For 100 guests over 5 hours, budget around $2,000–$3,500 all in.
Skip to the numbers
Use the bar cost calculator for your wedding.
The bar is one of the larger line items at a reception, and it's also one of the easiest to estimate once you break it into parts: the alcohol itself, the people pouring it, and any corkage your venue charges. Here's how those pieces add up. The drink cost calculator will total it for you.
Three buckets: alcohol, staff, corkage
Bar cost comes down to three buckets added together:
- Alcohol: bottles and beers needed × their unit prices.
- Staff: number of bartenders × hourly rate × hours worked.
- Corkage: the per-bottle fee × bottles you bring in (wine, liquor, and champagne).
To get the quantities, start with drinks per guest: 2 in the first hour and 1 each additional hour. Multiply by a crowd factor (0.75 for a light crowd, 1.0 for average, 1.25 for heavy), and optionally add a 10% buffer. A full bar splits roughly 50% wine, 30% beer, and 20% liquor; a beer-and-wine bar shifts to about 60% wine and 40% beer.
Handy conversions
- 1 bottle of wine = 5 glasses
- 1 beer = 1 drink
- 1 bottle (750ml) of liquor = ~16 cocktails
- 1 bottle of champagne = 6 toast pours
Pricing out 100 guests, 5 hours, full bar
Drinks per guest = 2 + 4 = 6, so 100 average-drinking guests need about 600 drinks. Split across a full bar:
- Wine: 300 glasses ÷ 5 = 60 bottles × $15 = $900
- Beer: 180 drinks = 180 beers × $2 = $360
- Liquor: 120 drinks ÷ 16 = 8 bottles × $25 = $200
That's about $1,460 in alcohol. Add two bartenders (one per 50 guests) at $40/hour for 6 hours = $480. The bar lands near $1,940 total, or about $19 per guest, before mixers, ice, glassware, and tax. If you're supplying the alcohol, layer corkage on top: at $15 per bottle for the 68 wine and liquor bottles, that's roughly another $1,020.
Open vs. cash vs. limited bar
The biggest cost lever is the bar style. An open bar means the host pays for everything: the most generous and the most expensive. A cash bar shifts drink costs to guests. A limited bar (beer and wine only, or a couple of signature cocktails) keeps things hosted while dropping pricey liquor. Many couples land on beer, wine, and one or two signature drinks, and that's the setup I recommend most; guests remember a generous pour far longer than the centerpieces.
Don't forget the extras
Mixers, ice (about 1–1.5 lbs per guest), garnishes, glassware, and tax are usually billed separately, so leave room for them. If you're buying your own alcohol, ask whether the venue charges corkage and whether you can return unopened bottles, which makes over-buying risk-free. To sanity-check the quantities before pricing them, the alcohol calculator works from the same rules.
Prices vary; the method doesn't
Bottle prices, bartender rates, and corkage policies differ widely by region and venue, so treat these figures as a planning starting point and adjust to local quotes.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an open bar cost for 100 guests?
For a 5-hour reception with an average crowd and a full bar, plan for about 60 bottles of wine, 180 beers, and 8 bottles of liquor. At $15/wine, $2/beer, and $25/liquor that's about $1,460 in alcohol; add two bartenders at $40/hour for 6 hours ($480) and you're near $1,940 total, roughly $19 per guest before mixers and tax.
How many bartenders do I need for a wedding?
A common ratio is about one bartender per 50 guests. For 100 guests that's two bartenders. More bars or a heavy-drinking crowd may call for an extra one to keep lines short.
Is an open bar cheaper than a cash bar?
An open bar costs the host more because you pay for every drink. A cash bar shifts the cost to guests, and a limited (beer-and-wine) bar is a middle ground that drops liquor entirely to control spend.
What is corkage and when does it apply?
Corkage is a per-bottle fee some venues charge when you supply your own alcohol. If you bring in your own wine, liquor, and champagne, multiply the number of bottles by the corkage fee and add it to your bar budget.
Sources
Last reviewed June 2026 by Jared Waterworth. Estimates use widely accepted wedding-planning rules of thumb — see how we estimate. Numbers vary by region, season, and vendor, so verify before you book or buy.