Bad and Boozy: How to Supply Alcohol for Less Than $500

Our Custom Koozie Wedding Favors!

Hey you! I knew the alcohol article would get your attention haha. Some of you may be thinking, "We've spent more money than that on alcohol at my Uncle Ron's 50th birthday party." That may be true, but what's also true is that there's a mathematical formula to help you calculate the exact quantity of alcohol to order for your wedding! Keep reading to find out how it works!

First, let's start by just putting this out in the open. If an open bar is important to you, and you want beer, wine, liquor, etc, go for it! Just know, it does not come cheap. Many people overthink when planning for alcohol, because let's be honest, it's a key component of your reception. I've found often throughout the wedding planning process that less is more. I decided to keep it simple and have only two types of beer, a few types of wine and one signature mixed drink. Honestly, it was perfect.

The two beer brands we chose were the two most popular crowd pleasers: Yuengling and Miller Lite. The next decision was cans versus bottles. Bottles taste better, but cans won't shatter into pieces all over the dance floor if someone accidentally drops one. Clearly, taste came first over safety haha but as far as I know, not one bottle was broken, so it all worked out in the end!

Moving along to quantity, there are of course 24 bottles in a case. We ordered nine cases of Yuengling and 10 cases of Miller Lite, which gave us a total of 456 beers. The alcohol calculator called for us to only have 360 beers for 150 people with a 4 hour reception - in combination with red & white wine and liquor (our one signature drink). However, we knew that we would have some guests who would drink well over the 4-6 drink suggestion, so we overcompensated. See how it was calculated in the image below!

As far as wine goes, we are fans of the 19 Crimes brand. We had a variety of their reds as well as some cheaper Barefoot Red and White wines. Between Brad and I, as well as our parents, we were able to pick up bottles here and there as they went on sale. It's easy to store wine ahead of time since it does not need to be refrigerated!

Next, our signature drink was extremely easy and cheap to make! I purchased only one bottle of Deep Eddy's Vodka and mixed it into a 3 gallon, self-serve drink dispenser. I mixed in water and the squeezy Crystal Light Berry Sangria mix, and finally, it was topped with fresh fruit! Et voila! A low calorie, low sugar and low cost signature drink! -Plus it was self serve, so it kept the drink lines down at the bar. Many women like aunts and grandmothers, for example, really enjoyed the sangria!

Self Serve Sangria, Sweet Tea and Lemonade

In conclusion, you have to know your guests so that you can estimate how many are beer, wine and/or liquor drinkers, so you can determine the right number of alcohol for your wedding. I ordered my alcohol online through Total Wine and More in Towson. I placed and paid for the order online, then sent my brother in law to pick it up the night before the wedding. They are an amazing company because they offer tons of coupons for their wines and even their liquors! Unfortunately, it's a rare event to come across a coupon for beer, but luckily it's so cheap to begin with! At the very bottom of this article is my receipt from Total Wine and More, where I purchased the beer and bottle of Deep Eddy's for our sangria. Here's to you, love and your future wedding! CHEERS!!!

xoxo

Gabby