Wedding budget calculator
Set your total wedding budget and see it split across every category, the way a planner would allocate it, so you know what each part can cost before you book anything. It also shows the number couples actually hit, because weddings have a habit of finishing over the plan.
Typical range $30,000 – $34,500
- Venue & catering$13,500
- Photography & video$3,600
- Flowers & decor$2,400
- Music & entertainment$2,400
- Attire & beauty$2,100
- Planner / coordinator$1,500
- Stationery & invites$900
- Rings$900
- Contingency$900
- Cake & desserts$600
- Transportation$600
- Favors & gifts$600
- Total$30,000
What this assumes, and where it could be wrong
Every one of these is a place the number could be off. They are here because you should be able to check our working, not because we are hedging.
THE ALLOCATION IS OURS, NOT A SURVEY.
The high end of the range is a buffer, not a second estimate. Weddings finish over their opening budget more often than under it, so the calculator shows your plan and a realistic overrun above it. The buffer is ours; your discipline decides whether you hit it.
Guest count moves the number more than any other choice. Venue, catering, cake, favors, stationery, and rentals all scale with heads, so cutting the list is the single most effective way to cut the budget.
The average-wedding figures quoted across the web come from vendor and wedding-site surveys, not a government statistic. We do not repeat them, because a survey of the people selling weddings is not a neutral measure of what a wedding costs.
This is the wedding only. The ring and the honeymoon are separate decisions and are not in the default budget unless you fold them in.