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Wedding budget calculator
Put in what you can spend and how many people you're inviting. You'll get a category breakdown and, more usefully, what one more guest actually costs you.
Only some costs move with your headcount. Catering, bar, rentals and stationery do. A photographer, a band and your rings cost the same whether eighty people come or a hundred and eighty. That gap is why trimming the guest list saves less than people expect — and why it still saves more than anything else you can cut.
| Category | Budget | Per guest |
|---|---|---|
| Venue & rentalsscalesSite fee is fixed, but tables, chairs, linens and space scale with numbers. | $9,450 | $78.75 |
| CateringscalesAlmost entirely per head. The single biggest lever you have. | $9,900 | $82.50 |
| Bar & drinksscalesPer head, and rises fast with an open bar. | $3,600 | $30 |
| Photography & videoSame price whether you invite 80 or 180. | $5,400 | — |
| Flowers & decorscalesCentrepieces scale with table count; ceremony flowers do not. | $3,150 | $26.25 |
| MusicA band or DJ costs the same regardless of headcount. | $3,150 | — |
| Attire & beautyDress, suits, hair and makeup for the two of you. | $3,150 | — |
| StationeryscalesInvitations, postage and place cards, per household. | $1,350 | $11.25 |
| Cake & dessertsscalesPriced per slice more often than not. | $900 | $7.50 |
| TransportCars for the wedding party. | $900 | — |
| RingsFixed, and easy to forget when planning. | $1,350 | — |
| Gifts & favoursscalesPer guest, and the first thing most couples cut. | $900 | $7.50 |
| ContingencySomething always comes up. Couples who skip this go over. | $1,800 | — |
Free, no card. Your numbers carry over and become a real budget you can track against as you book each vendor.
How to set a wedding budget
Start with the number you can genuinely spend, not the number you hope to spend. Add up what the two of you can save between now and the date, plus anything family has firmly offered — firmly meaning a figure said out loud, not a vague gesture toward helping. That total is the budget. Everything below is how it gets divided.
The guest list is the budget
Nearly every other decision follows from headcount. A hundred and eighty guests needs a bigger venue, more tables, more chairs, more food, more drink and more invitations than eighty. Couples usually pick a venue first and then discover the guest list they wanted doesn't fit inside what's left. Do it the other way round.
The calculator separates costs that scale from costs that don't for exactly this reason. When you're deciding whether to invite a fourth cousin, the question isn't what the wedding costs per head overall — it's what that one extra chair adds.
Where the money actually goes
Venue and catering together are usually close to half. Photography is the biggest fixed cost and the one couples most often regret under-spending on, because it's the only thing you keep. Flowers and decor are where budgets quietly inflate, since centrepieces multiply by table count.
Set aside a contingency of about four percent. It will get used. The final month produces alterations, postage, vendor tips, an extra hour of bar and a delivery fee nobody mentioned.
What people forget
Tips and service charges, which can add fifteen to twenty percent to catering alone. Postage, once you're mailing a hundred heavy invitations. The marriage licence. Alterations, which are rarely included in the price of a dress. Getting everyone home safely. Vendor meals — most contracts require you to feed the photographer and the band.
Tracking it afterwards
A budget you set once and never revisit becomes fiction by month three. What matters is the gap between what you've committed to and what you've actually paid, because deposits and final balances land months apart. Our planner tracks estimated, actual and paid as three separate numbers for that reason, and both of you see it update at once.
Common questions
How much should a wedding cost per guest?
In the US, roughly $150 at the modest end, around $275 for a typical wedding, and $500 or more for an upscale one. Those are national ranges — a city venue can double them, and a backyard reception can halve them. Work backwards from what you can actually spend rather than from an average.
What percentage of a wedding budget goes to the venue?
Venue and rentals usually take about a fifth of the total, with catering roughly the same again. Together they are close to half of most budgets, which is why the guest list drives everything else.
Does inviting fewer guests really save money?
Yes, but less than people expect. Only some costs scale with headcount — catering, bar, rentals, stationery, favours. Photography, music, attire and rings stay the same. The calculator above separates the two so you can see the real saving.
How much should I keep back for surprises?
Around four percent. Couples who do not set anything aside almost always go over, because the last month brings alterations, postage, tips and vendor overtime that nobody budgets for at the start.
Turn this into a real plan.
Save the numbers above and track them against what you actually book, alongside your checklist and guest list.
Start planning — free