For couples buying their own alcohol
The BYOB shopping list
Exactly how much beer, wine and spirits to buy for 50 to 250 guests, how much ice, and which mixers go with what. This is the list our bartenders give couples, published in full rather than hidden in a download.
Before you buy anything
Check what your venue allows. Many Dallas-Fort Worth venues require BYOB, others require licensed bar service, and some have an exclusive vendor. That answer determines your entire bar plan, and it is the cheapest question you will ever ask.
What Shaker requires for a BYOB event
Bartenders and the supplies package are required for all BYOB events. Bartenders are $50 an hour, staffed one per 75 guests, and the supplies package is $275.
That requirement is practical rather than commercial. A bar with no pour spouts, no ice bucket, no water dispenser and nobody staffing it is the version of BYOB couples regret, and it is where the savings go: into a queue, a mess and a liability.
The supplies package covers
- Coolers
- Plastic cups
- Ice serving bucket
- Tongs
- Cocktail napkins
- Straws
- Pitchers
- Serving tray
- Tip jar
- Water dispenser
- Garnish bowls and plates
- Bar towels
- Pour spouts
The three things couples forget
Not the alcohol. Nobody forgets the alcohol. It is always these:
- Mixers. Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, sweet & sour, cranberry, orange, pineapple and grapefruit juice, plus ice, cooler rental and disposables. This is the package BYOB couples most often forget. $7 per guest through us, or bought yourself; either way, a spirits bar without sweet and sour, cranberry and grapefruit juice can pour about four drinks.
- Ice, and then more ice. $25 per 50 lb. Ice does two separate jobs at a bar, chilling stock and going into drinks, so one bag covers neither.
- Citrus and garnishes. $50 for lemons and limes. Every cocktail on a wedding bar wants one, and a garnish-free margarita photographs like a mistake.
How much alcohol should you actually buy?
This is Shaker’s own recommended shopping list, the one the team gives couples. It assumes a 4 hour event, average 2 drinks per hour per person, which is the normal shape of a wedding reception. Drink less than that and you will have stock left; drink more and you will want the next column up.
If you are pouring beer and wine only
| Buy | 50 guests | 100 guests | 150 guests | 200 guests | 250 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beer (cases) | 6 | 12 | 18 | 21 | 24 |
| Wine (cases) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
If you are pouring a full bar
| Buy | 50 guests | 100 guests | 150 guests | 200 guests | 250 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beer (cases) | 6 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 |
| Wine (cases) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Vodka (bottles) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Whiskey (bottles) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Tequila (bottles) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Rum (bottles) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gin (bottles) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Scotch (bottles) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Two things in that table surprise people, and both are deliberate. Full bars need less beer than beer-and-wine bars at the same guest count, because spirits take some of that drinking. And tequila flattens out at the top end where vodka and whiskey keep climbing.
What counts as a case
- A case of wine is 12 × 0.75L bottles, or 6 × 1.5L bottles.
- A case of beer is 24 beers.
- Spirits are 1L bottles.
Worth being precise about, because a case of wine is either 12 bottles or 6 depending on the size, and buying the wrong one halves your wine.
Ice, by what your bar is pouring
| Your bar | Ice needed |
|---|---|
| Beer and wine only | 1 lb per person |
| Beer, wine and signature cocktails | 2 lb per person |
| Full bar with mixed drinks | 2 lb per person |
Note where the jump happens: adding signature cocktails to a beer and wine bar doubles the ice, because shaken drinks consume ice as an ingredient as well as needing it to keep stock cold.
Which mixers go with which spirits
| If you are pouring | Buy these mixers |
|---|---|
| All liquors | Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Dr. Pepper |
| Gin, vodka, scotch | Tonic water, Soda water, Club soda, Topo Chico |
| Gin, tequila, vodka | Cranberry juice, Grapefruit juice, Orange juice, Pineapple juice |
| Tequila, vodka, whiskey | Margarita mix, Sweet and sour, Fresh lime juice |
If your guest count is between two columns, or your crowd drinks nothing like the average, ask us and we will size it to your list. Bartenders also stock the bar through the night rather than opening everything at once, which is what keeps unopened bottles returnable rather than opened and worthless.
Is BYOB actually cheaper?
Often, but not always. It moves the alcohol to retail cost, which wins when your guests drink modestly and you can buy well. It stops winning when you over-buy, when you want a broad spirits selection, or when your store will not take back unopened bottles. You can ask us to quote both, and you can compare them against your own guest count rather than in the abstract.
Or you can hand the whole thing to us
Shaker holds its own liquor license. Keep that in mind before you spend a Saturday in a liquor store with this page open on your phone, because it means we can buy the alcohol for you. You are not obliged to work out quantities, order it, store it, or get it to the venue at all.
Both ways of working are normal here, and the license is what makes the first one possible:
- We supply the alcohol. Priced per guest in the bar packages, which is what the beer, wine and spirits listed in each package mean. Nothing on this page is your problem.
- You supply the alcohol, we bartend it. That is BYOB, and it is what this page is for.
BYOB at a glance
- Bartenders $50/hr, required
- Supplies package $275, required
- Mixers package $7/guest, optional
- Ice $25 per 50 lb
- Lemons & limes $50
Want the list sized to your wedding?
Send us your guest count and what you want poured, and we'll tell you what to buy.