For a single welcome toast, allow one bottle per six guests — nine bottles for 50 people. If champagne is being drunk through the evening rather than raised once, allow half a bottle per adult, which is 25 bottles for 50 guests. A two-hour drinks reception sits between the two, at roughly 20 bottles.
The reason people get this wrong is that they plan for one scenario and end up hosting another. Work out which of the three you are actually running before you count bottles.
A standard 75cl bottle holds six 125ml flutes. That is the figure every calculation below rests on. Pour into wide coupes, or pour generously, and you will get five — which is how a carefully counted order quietly runs 20% short.
For a toast specifically, glasses are filled less full than for drinking, so a bottle stretches closer to six or seven servings. That is why the toast numbers are so much lower than the evening ones.
| Guests | Toast only (1 glass each) |
Drinks reception (2–3 glasses, ~2 hrs) |
All evening (half bottle each) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 4 bottles | 8 bottles | 10 bottles |
| 50 | 9 bottles | 20 bottles | 25 bottles |
| 100 | 17 bottles | 40 bottles | 50 bottles |
| 150 | 25 bottles | 60 bottles | 75 bottles |
Add roughly 10% on top of whichever column applies. Bottles get knocked over, a few guests arrive thirstier than planned, and running out at the wrong moment is far more memorable than a couple of spare bottles.
These are averages, and averages hide a lot. Push the number up if it is a long evening with no other drinks on offer, if the room skews towards confident drinkers, or if the event runs past about four hours. Pull it down if you are also serving wine and beer, if a meaningful share of guests are driving or not drinking, or if the champagne is strictly for the toast and something else carries the rest of the night.
One practical note: if you are serving champagne only for the toast, do not leave it out. Guests will keep drinking it while it is in reach, and your nine bottles become fifteen before anyone makes a speech.
A magnum holds 1.5 litres — twelve flutes, exactly two standard bottles. For large gatherings they are worth considering for three reasons: fewer bottles to open, a better look on a top table, and slower ageing thanks to the lower oxygen-to-wine ratio, which matters if you are buying ahead.
The trade-off is handling. A magnum is heavy, harder to pour cleanly, and needs a bigger ice bucket. For a toast where speed matters and several people are pouring at once, standard bottles are usually easier. Browse standard 75cl bottles or larger formats.
Champagne shows best at 8–10°C. That is about three hours in a fridge, or 20 to 30 minutes in a bucket of half ice, half water — which is considerably faster than ice alone, because water conducts heat far better than air gaps between cubes.
Chill what you will open in the first hour and keep the rest cool but not cold; you can move bottles into the bucket as you go. Chilling 25 bottles at once is usually impossible anyway, and champagne that has been chilled, warmed and chilled again is worse for it.
For a large wedding, order six to eight weeks ahead so quantities and specific cuvées can be confirmed. Corporate events need about two weeks. In London, same-day delivery means genuine last-minute top-ups are still possible — useful insurance if the evening runs longer than planned.
Nine bottles for a toast only, around 20 for a two-hour drinks reception, and 25 if champagne is drunk all evening. Add about 10% in each case.
Six 125ml flutes from a standard 75cl bottle, or five if poured generously or into wide coupes. A magnum gives twelve.
About three hours in the fridge, or 20 to 30 minutes in a bucket of half ice and half water. Aim for 8 to 10°C; colder than that mutes the aroma.
Magnums usually cost slightly more per litre than two standard bottles. You buy them for presentation, fewer openings and slower ageing rather than for savings.
Browse all champagne or see how champagne delivery works — same day across London, next day UK-wide. More serving and quantity answers are on our questions answered page.
Deliveries are to over-18s only under our Challenge 21 policy. Please drink responsibly, and make sure there is something good to drink for guests who are not.
