Best Champagne for a Wedding: Toasts, Magnums & What to Actually Buy

Nobody remembers the exact Champagne at a wedding. They remember whether there was enough of it, and whether the speeches were toasted with a full glass or an apologetic dribble. So let us solve the real problem first: the maths, the budget, and how to keep the bubbles flowing without bankrupting the honeymoon.

01

The only sum that matters: how much do you need?

This is the question that actually keeps couples up at night, and the answer is simple arithmetic. A standard 75cl bottle gives you about six flutes; a magnum, being two bottles in one grander vessel, gives you about twelve. From there it depends on how much of the day runs on bubbles:

• Toast only: one glass per guest. Divide your headcount by six for bottles.
• Welcome drinks too: budget one bottle per three guests (about two glasses each).
• Flowing all day: roughly half a bottle per guest, and your wallet will feel it.

Always add about 10% for breakages, top-ups and the uncle who treats a wedding as an open bar. Here is the ready reckoner:

Figures include a rounding buffer. “Flowing” assumes sparkling is the main drink, not served alongside wine and a bar.

02

Magnums: a wedding’s secret weapon

Magnums are not just for showing off, although they do that beautifully. The 1.5-litre format holds two bottles’ worth, pours about twelve glasses, and is genuinely the connoisseur’s choice: with less air relative to wine, Champagne ages more slowly and gracefully in magnum, giving finer bubbles. They also mean fewer corks to pop during a frantic toast.

03

The smart-money strategy: splurge then save

Here is the single best piece of advice in this whole guide. Spend on the toast, save on the flow. The toast is the photographed, remembered moment, so pour something genuinely good there. But for the welcome drinks and the long reception, when guests are chatting and topping up and not paying their bubbles the slightest attention, a quality alternative sparkling does the job for a fraction of the price.

“After the first glass, very few guests can tell a mid-priced Champagne from a good Cava, especially three canapés deep.”

Pour real Champagne for the speeches; pour something clever for the rest. Done across 100-plus guests, this one decision can save you hundreds of pounds without a single person noticing.

04

What to pour at each moment of the day

A wedding is not one drinks occasion but four, and the clever couple matches the fizz to the moment:

• Arrival and welcome drinks: keep it light. A crisp Crémant, English sparkling or Blanc de Blancs goes down beautifully while everyone is mingling.
• The toast: the one moment to spend. Your best Brut Champagne, poured fresh.
• The meal: a fuller style (Blanc de Noirs or vintage) stands up to food, though many couples switch to still wine here to save.
• The cake: the insider trick, a bone-dry Brut fights with sweet cake. A Demi-Sec pairs far more happily with dessert.

05

Best Champagne for the toast, by budget

Go for a Brut: dry, crisp and crowd-friendly, it is what the overwhelming majority of weddings pour. Where to land depends on budget:

• Supermarket hero (around £16): Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny has out-medalled bottles three times its price. Lidl’s own-label Champagne is the other reliable bargain. Buy early, across several shops if need be, as quantities are capped.
• The clever middle (£35 to £45): Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve punches well above its price; Taittinger and Pol Roger Brut Réserve are elegant all-rounders.
• The splurge: Bollinger Special Cuvée or Louis Roederer Collection for real depth, or a prestige cuvée for the no-expense-spared flourish.
• For a rosé toast: Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé is the romantic classic; Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé is the connoisseur’s pick.

For the full rundown of value bottles, see our guide to the best Champagne for the money, and for the prestige end, the best Champagne overall.

06

Best fizz for the flowing reception

This is where you save the real money. Excellent alternatives, served once the toast is done, keep the bubbles flowing without the Champagne price tag:

English sparkling deserves special mention: made the same way as Champagne and often beating it in blind tastings, it is a patriotic, brilliant choice, see English sparkling vs Champagne.

07

Buying Champagne as a wedding gift

If you are a guest rather than the host, the brief is different: you want something that looks special and feels personal. A magnum of a good non-vintage makes a generous statement; a gift set with flutes or an engraved bottle adds a personal touch; and a vintage Champagne from the year the couple met, or their wedding year, is the thoughtful flourish that always lands. For a full breakdown of presentation, price tiers and personalised options, see our dedicated guide to the best Champagne for gifts.

08

Serving it, and buying it for less

Get the bottles to 7 to 9°C, a few hours in the fridge or twenty minutes in an ice-and-water bucket, never the freezer. Pour at a 45-degree angle, filling each flute about two-thirds, and line up the toast pours just before the speeches so the bubbles are lively. Keep a few spare bottles chilled out of sight. To keep the bill down: ride the supermarket 25%-off-six deals, use sale-or-return from merchants like Majestic or The Wine Society, play the corkage with magnums, and buy ahead, good non-vintage keeps happily for a year or two.

Wedding Champagne, answered

How much Champagne do I need for 100 wedding guests?

For a toast alone, about 17 standard bottles or 9 magnums (one glass per guest, six glasses per bottle). If Champagne flows throughout the day, plan for roughly 50 bottles, around half a bottle per guest, and add 10% as a buffer.

How many glasses are in a bottle of Champagne?

A standard 75cl bottle pours about six flutes at toast size. A magnum (1.5 litres) gives around twelve, and a jeroboam (3 litres) about twenty-four.

Do I need real Champagne, or will Prosecco do?

A smart compromise wins: pour real Champagne for the toast, then switch to Prosecco, Cava, Crémant or English sparkling for the reception. After the first glass, most guests cannot tell, and the saving across a big wedding is substantial.

What is the best Champagne for a wedding toast?

A Brut is the standard. On a budget, Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny (around £16) is a medal-winning steal; in the middle, Charles Heidsieck or Taittinger; for a splurge, Bollinger or a prestige cuvée.

Are magnums worth it for a wedding?

Yes. They look spectacular, the Champagne ages more gracefully in them, there are fewer corks to pop, and if your venue charges corkage per bottle, magnums can halve that cost since each counts as a single receptacle.

How much Champagne per person for a wedding?

For a toast, one glass per person (a sixth of a bottle). For welcome drinks, about two glasses each (a bottle per three). If it is the main drink all day, plan for around half a bottle per guest.

Full glasses, happy speeches, and change left for the honeymoon. Cheers, and congratulations.