How Many Coffee Drinks to Plan for a Wedding

Couples ask me for a number per guest, and I understand why. But I've poured enough weddings to know coffee doesn't arrive evenly. It arrives in waves: after the ceremony, after dinner, and when the cake comes out. What matters is whether the bar can handle the wave.

Start with the pace of the bar

Every drink on our cart is made by hand on a La Marzocco Linea Mini, one shot at a time, with steamed milk poured to order. That's the point, and it's also the constraint. In practice a single barista makes 60 to 80 drinks in an hour depending on the mix (an americano is faster than a lavender oat latte).

So over a three-hour service window, one barista can pour somewhere around 180 to 240 drinks. For most weddings under 100 guests, that's more than enough: not every guest orders, and the ones who do spread out across the window.

When one barista is enough

One barista works well when:

• You have up to about 100 guests.
• The bar is open across a longer stretch (cocktail hour through dessert, say) rather than one tight slot.
• Coffee is one option among several, alongside the regular bar.

In that setup, the longest anyone waits is a few minutes at the peak, and because guests order from their phones (more on that below), they're not standing in a line while they wait.

When to add a second barista

We suggest the two-barista setup when:

• You have more than about 100 guests.
• You expect a rush: a late-night coffee bar after dinner for 150 people, or an espresso bar at the ceremony exit where everyone walks past at the same moment.
• Your service window is short and you want everyone served inside it.

Two baristas roughly double the pace. The second barista is also the main thing that moves a quote up, so I'd rather you decide on it with your guest count in hand than guess. We cover the price side in how much a wedding coffee cart costs in Seattle.

Why there's no line at our cart

The usual wedding coffee problem isn't the number of drinks, it's the crowd at the bar. We solved that differently. At every event, guests scan a small QR card at their table and order from their phone. A live tracker shows each drink moving from "being made" to "ready," and the guest gets a text the moment theirs is done. First names go up on the bar.

So the 60 to 80 drinks an hour still get made one by one, but nobody is standing around waiting for them. Guests stay at their tables, on the dance floor, or outside with the view, and walk up only when their name is called. It changes how a big guest count feels.

Timing matters as much as count

Where the bar sits in your timeline shapes how many drinks get made:

• Ceremony exit or cocktail hour. The biggest single wave of the day. Guests are fresh, it's often mid-afternoon, and most of them say yes to a latte. This is where a second barista earns its keep for larger weddings.
• After dinner and with cake. A steadier flow. Expect more decaf, hot chocolate and matcha here, and more guests coming back for a second drink.
• Late night. Lower volume, high appreciation. A cortado at 10 p.m. is the drink people remember.

If you'd like help choosing the window, send me your timeline with your quote request. My favorite stretch to pour is the ceremony exit, when everyone is happy and nobody has had coffee since breakfast.

Don't forget the non-coffee drinkers

Roughly a slice of any guest list won't want espresso, especially in the evening. That's why the menu always includes ceremonial matcha, chai lattes and hot chocolate, with decaf espresso on request, oat milk for dairy-free guests, and housemade vanilla and other syrups for anyone who likes it sweet. Kids tend to find the hot chocolate on their own.

Common questions

How many drinks will 100 guests actually order?

It varies with the time of day and how long the bar is open, but one barista over a normal window comfortably serves a 100-guest wedding. The question we focus on isn't total drinks, it's whether the peak moment is covered, and at 100 guests it is.

Can one barista handle 150 guests?

Over a long, relaxed window, sometimes. If 150 guests will want coffee in the same hour, no. For 150 guests we recommend the two-barista setup so the wait stays short.

Do guests have to line up at the cart?

No. Guests order from their phones by scanning a QR card at their table, and they get a text when their drink is ready. They walk up only to collect it.

Should the coffee bar be open the whole reception?

It doesn't have to be. Many couples pick a window, such as cocktail hour or dinner through cake. Longer windows mean more drinks and more barista time, which affects the quote, so choose the stretch where coffee matters most to you.

What if more guests want coffee than we expected?

We keep pouring. There's no per-drink charge, so a popular bar doesn't change your price. The only thing that would is deciding in advance that you want a second barista.