How Many Glasses Do I Need For My Event?

We’re often asked for advice on how event planners can get the drinks right. How do they know how many glasses are needed? So we thought we’d try and help.

1.     How many guests do you have? The obvious place to start is with a head count.

2.     Ask yourself (or the client) “What does the day look like?”

3.     What is the event?

This can make a big difference to the glasses you need and the quantity you need, too.

Let’s say it’s a wedding.

Traditional weddings will fall into a structure so we’ll look at that in this example to show you what you need to consider.

Flutes:

Short reception with a top up – just enough.

Longer reception – aim for two per head.

Hi balls:

Short reception, half the number of guests (providing you don’t have a large number of children).

Long reception, one glass per head. For a hot day, double it! And make sure you provide water, too.

Laying the tables

Moving inside the venue or marquee you’ll need to lay up the tables. Depending on the approach of the event, most will opt for red and white wine glasses on the table. This is simple to factor into your hire; you’ll need one white and one red for each guest with maybe a dozen spares in case of accidents.

Champagne toast?

Many bride and grooms will opt for a toast with some Champagne, Prosecco or Cava so you’ll need extra flutes for that. One per head is fine for this (with a couple spare in case of breakages) so just factor it into your calculations.

Port for the cheese?

If you’re serving cheese boards, are the guests offering port? You might want to ask them and offer port glasses to go with the cheese table or offer them to guests.

The turnaround

At most weddings the room will be turned around after the official proceedings, which means a refresh of the tables. This can mean clearing all the glasses and giving all the guests a fresh drink.

Evening guests

The most obvious effect on your drinks service and catering is an influx of new guests. Are there going to be any extra invitees?

Catering for an event like a wedding requires good planning and glass hire is a key component.

Ask these key questions to help you calculate what types of glass you need and how many of them you’ll need:

·        Are you having reception drinks?

·        What reception drinks are you having?

·        How long is the reception expected to last? 

·        What time of year is it? (Will it be long and hot?) (If it’s Christmas will they want mulled wine?)

·        Do you need red and white wine glasses?

·        Are you having a toast?

·        Will you need port or brandy glasses?

·        Will there be beer on tap, or bottled beer?

·        Are there guests who might want to do shots?

·        How many evening guests are there?

·        What will the evening guests be drinking?

·        How long is the evening event?

·        Are there any features like a vodka ice sculpture, chocolate fountain, etc.

If you need any help hiring your glasses (for any event) then please do give us a call or email - www.platohire.co.uk