How Many Portable Restrooms Does Your Wedding Need?

Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting moments in a couple’s life. One wedding planning detail that most people don’t consider quite as exciting? Planning how many portable restrooms a wedding is going to need.

Normally, wedding planning is a beautiful way for a couple to share their love with friends and family. From the decorations and the dress to the day-of details, it’s all planned. But for any big event, planning for event restrooms is a must, too.

A big part of the wedding day (if not the biggest part!) is the location itself. Sure to be remembered forever, these range from backyards to big island blowouts. But two questions you’ll need to ask yourself as you’re planning:

Where will people go to the bathroom?
Do I need portable restrooms?

If you’ve booked a hotel, you may already have your answer: they can use the hotel’s facilities.

If, however, you’re planning for a more remote wedding location, like a family farm, a park, or gardens, or just to add more for a home event you’ll need to reserve wedding bathrooms.

(We know these details aren’t as romantic, but they are key to making sure your guests have a good experience!)

To help you get back to the fun of wedding planning, we’re going to help you sort out the details. A handy rule of thumb for event restroom planning is to consider the number of guests and how long your event is expected to last.

Planning Your Wedding Bathrooms By Number Of Guests

If you’ve already got your guest list planned, then figuring out the number of portable restrooms is fairly simple.

Portable Restrooms For Weddings With Less Than 50 Guests

For regular porta potties, you can expect to need between one and two. Given that guests drinking alcohol may need to go to the bathroom 30-40% more often, you may want to opt for 2.

Portable Restrooms For Weddings With 50 Guests Or More

If you are having a wedding with 50 guests or more, consider the following guidelines:

Weddings of up to 250 people: 2 portable bathrooms
Weddings of up to 500 people: 3 portable bathrooms
Weddings of up to 1,000 people: 5 portable bathrooms

Planning Your Wedding Bathrooms By The Event’s Length

Accounting for the number of people at your wedding is fairly straightforward. What happens if your event is going to last longer than 4 hours, though? Typically, that means your guests will need to visit the bathroom more than once. That changes the estimation for portable restrooms, which have a limited capacity.

Portable Restrooms For Weddings Less Than 4 Hours Long

If your event starts at 3p and you expect your guests to leave by 7p, the above estimates are still good.

Portable Restrooms For Weddings More Than 4 Hours Long

For events that are longer than four hours, you may need to consider some additional portable restrooms.

Longer weddings with 50 people: 2 portable bathrooms
Longer weddings with 100 people: 2 portable bathrooms should work.
Longer weddings with 250 people: 3 portable bathrooms should work.
Longer weddings with 500 people: Between 5-7 portable bathrooms, depending on the length.

An Alternative To Porta Potties For Wedding Events

We hope that was a helpful introduction to planning for portable restrooms for an upcoming wedding. While porta-potties are a straightforward solution, they are not the most elegant.

If you’re looking for a classier alternative, consider the luxury portable bathrooms from Elegant Johns. Perfect for small and large weddings, they are beautifully appointed and include everything you need to help make planning for your big day easier.