Photography & events
Wedding Bartender Cost Calculator
Works bar cost, where the liability question matters more than the budget line.
Result
Wedding pricing varies by region, season and day of the week by more than most couples expect, so treat the defaults as placeholders and replace them with quotes you have actually been given. A Saturday in peak season in a major metro is a different market from a Friday in the off season. Consumption is deliberately front loaded rather than flat, because guests drink noticeably more in the first hour after the bar opens than later in the evening. A flat hourly assumption overstates a long reception and understates a short one. The comparison against a per head open bar is the useful output: per head pricing is a bet in the venue's favour on average and a convenience for you, and whether it wins depends on how much your particular guests actually drink. Note that a cash bar still costs you the bartenders and the setup fee, which is why its total is not zero, and that licensing and liability for serving alcohol rest with the venue or a licensed bar service rather than with you.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Bartender hours at their rate, plus the beverage cost under whichever arrangement applies, plus any corkage, glassware, ice and mixer charges. The arrangements differ fundamentally: an open bar on consumption, a package per head, a cash bar, or supplying your own alcohol with hired staff to serve it.
What moves the number
- Which bar arrangement applies.
- Guest count and expected consumption.
- Bartender hours and the staffing ratio.
- Corkage, glassware, ice and mixers.
Where this one goes wrong
Serving alcohol carries licensing requirements and liability that vary by state, and in many places a host or a venue can bear responsibility for harm caused by an intoxicated guest, which is why venues frequently require licensed and insured servers rather than allowing self-service. That is a legal matter rather than a budget preference, and it should be settled with the venue and, where there is any doubt, with an insurer or attorney. Hiring licensed insured bar staff is the normal answer.
Before you quote
- Confirm the venue's requirements on licensed and insured servers.
- Check state and local rules on service and host liability.
- Price corkage, glassware, ice and mixers, not just the alcohol.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Can we supply our own alcohol and pour it ourselves?
That depends on state and local law and on the venue, and many venues require licensed insured servers instead. Host liability for harm caused by an intoxicated guest exists in many places, which makes it a legal question rather than a budget preference.
Which bar arrangement is cheapest?
It depends on the guest list's consumption, since a per-head package can beat consumption pricing with heavy drinkers and lose to it with light ones. What the venue permits usually narrows the options before cost does.
What gets missed in a bar budget?
Corkage where you supply the alcohol, plus glassware, ice and mixers, which are frequently charged separately. Each is modest and together they are a meaningful addition to what looked like a settled figure.
The formula
drinks = drinking guests x (first hour rate + later hourly rate x remaining hours); open bar = price per head per hour x guests x hours
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How to use this calculator
- Guests. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 120.
- Guests who drink (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 75%.
- Bar arrangement. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Open bar, charged per head.
- Hours the bar is open. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.
- Drinks per drinking guest in the first hour. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 2.
- Drinks per drinking guest each hour after. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.2.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total bar cost, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Guests | 120 |
| Guests who drink | 75% |
| Bar arrangement | Open bar, charged per head |
| Hours the bar is open | 5 |
| Drinks per drinking guest in the first hour | 2 |
| Drinks per drinking guest each hour after | 1.2 |
| Open bar price per head per hour | $18 |
| Guests per bartender | 65 |
| Bartender rate per hour | $42 |
| Setup and pack down hours paid | 2 |
| Bar setup or corkage fee | $350 |
| Service charge | 20% |
| Tax | 8% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total bar cost main result | $15,212 |
| Bar cost per guest | $126.77 |
| Drinks | $10,800 |
| Bartenders | $588 |
| Bartenders needed | 2 |
| Drinks poured | 612 |
| Service charge and tax | $3,474 |
| The same party on a per head open bar | $15,212 |
The bar comes to $15,212, or $126.77 per guest. Your drinkers get through about 612 drinks costing $10,800, and 2 bartenders cost $588. The same party on a per head open bar would be $15,212.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only open bar price per head per hour, this is what happens to total bar cost. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Open bar price per head per hour ($) | Total bar cost |
|---|---|
| $9 | $8,214 |
| $14 | $12,102 |
| $18 example above | $15,212 |
| $27 | $22,211 |
| $36 | $29,209 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Guests
- A number, between 1 and 5000, starting at 120.
- Guests who drink (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 75%.
- Bar arrangement
- Choose from Open bar, charged per head, Open bar, charged on consumption, Beer and wine only, Cash bar, guests pay.
- Hours the bar is open
- A number, between 1 and 24, starting at 5.
- Drinks per drinking guest in the first hour
- A number, between 0 and 10, starting at 2.
- Drinks per drinking guest each hour after
- A number, between 0 and 10, starting at 1.2.
- Open bar price per head per hour ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500, starting at $18.
- Guests per bartender
- Too few bartenders shows up as a queue, not a saving.
- Bartender rate per hour ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500, starting at $42.
- Setup and pack down hours paid
- A number, between 0 and 12, starting at 2.
- Bar setup or corkage fee ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $350.
- Service charge (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 50, starting at 20%.
- Tax (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 30, starting at 8%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total bar cost | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Bar cost per guest | A money figure. |
| Drinks | A money figure. |
| Bartenders | A money figure. |
| Bartenders needed | A number. |
| Drinks poured | A number. |
| Service charge and tax | A money figure. |
| The same party on a per head open bar | A money figure. |
Keep going
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