How Many Glasses Should I Hire? Your guide by event type
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How Many Glasses Should I Hire for a Party, Wedding, or Event in Melbourne?
Planning a party, wedding, or special event in Melbourne can be exciting, but there are a lot of logistics to think about from catering to décor to guest lists. One critical detail that is often overlooked is determining how many glasses to hire. While it may seem straightforward, getting this right can prevent stress on your drinks caterer and slow up service for your guests at your party/event.
Here are some things to consider when deciding how many glasses you’ll need to hire for your event.
1. Understand the Type of Event
The number of glasses you’ll need depends largely on the type of event you’re hosting. A formal wedding will require more glassware than a casual backyard birthday party.
- Weddings: If you're planning a sit-down dinner, guests will need different glasses for each course and drink. This could include water glasses, wine glasses (both red and white), champagne flutes, and perhaps even cocktail glasses.
- Cocktail Parties: At a cocktail event, most guests will typically have just one or two glasses for the night, so the number of glasses required per guest will be lower compared to a formal dinner.
- Casual Events: For a more relaxed gathering, you might only need one or two types of glassware, such as beer or wine glasses.
2. Number of Guests
A general rule is to have at least 1 of glass type per guest. If your event involves cocktails, wine, champagne, and beer, you’ll need multiple glass types, potentially up to 4-5 glasses per guest. Here’s a rough guide to help:
- One Drink Type (e.g., wine only): Plan for 1 glasses per guest (to account for breakage and guests switching glasses - and some guests not drinking at all.
- Multiple Drink Types (e.g., wine, cocktails, beer): Plan for 2-3 glasses per guest.
- All-inclusive events with various drinks and a sit-down meal: Plan for 4-5 glasses per guest.
3. Length of the Event
The longer the event, the more glasses you’ll need. For shorter events, one glass type per drink option might suffice, but if you’re planning a full-day event or wedding, you’ll want to ensure there are extras.
4. Type of Drinks Being Served
The types of drinks being served are an essential consideration when hiring glassware:
- Water Glasses: Every guest will need a water glass regardless of the other drink options.
- Wine Glasses: If you’re offering both red and white wine guests can opt for a all purpose wine glass to simplify things.
- Champagne Flutes: Essential for weddings and formal events, especially if there’s a toast.
- Cocktail Glasses: If you’re offering cocktails, you’ll need an appropriate number of cocktail glasses, depending on how many of your guests are likely to drink.
- Beer Glasses: If offering beer at your event, you may want to offer pot or pint glasses - but in Australia most guests are likely to just drink direct from the bottle.
5. Breakage and Spares
Even with the best of plans, accidents happen. People drop glasses, and glassware can get lost or misplaced. To be safe, always hire 10-20% more glassware than your guest count estimates. This ensures you won’t run out and gives you a cushion in case of breakage - and won’t slow up drinks service from staff having to wash up!
For instance, if you are expecting 150 guests and plan for 3 glasses per person, hiring around 500 glasses (including spares) is a good rule of thumb.
6. Order well in advance especially on key dates like Grand Final, Cup Day and Christmas and End of financial year parties!
It goes without saying but many leave hiring glassware to the last moment. We stock large quantities of glass types but at times can book out of some items so best to get in early.
Remember, it’s always better to have too many glasses than too few!