How to use the wedding budget calculator
- Enter your Total wedding budget and Guest count. The Cost per guest tile updates at once.
- Review the % of budget for each of the 13 categories and change them to match your priorities. They should add up to 100%. If they do not, the calculator says by how much, and Scale % to 100 fixes it.
- As you book vendors and pay invoices, type the amount in Actual spend. The line under it shows how far over or under that category is.
- Watch Spent so far and Left to spend, and use Download CSV to share the plan.
How the numbers work
Budgeted = total budget × percent ÷ 100
Cost per guest = total budget ÷ guests
Left to spend = total budget − actual spend
The typical split is a planning starting point, not a rule. Venue and catering usually take about half of the total. For scale, The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study of couples married in 2025 found an average cost of about $34,000, with 117 guests and $292 per guest.
Worked example with the default numbers
A $35,000 budget and 120 guests is $292 per guest. Venue and rentals at 25% is $8,750, and catering and bar at 25% is $8,750, or $73 per guest. Photography and video at 11% is $3,850, attire and beauty at 7% is $2,450, flowers and decor at 8% is $2,800, music at 6% is $2,100, rings at 3% is $1,050, and the buffer at 5% is $1,750. If the venue invoice comes to $9,500, that row shows $750 over and Left to spend drops to $25,500.
Limits and edge cases
- If your venue includes food and drink, set catering low and move those points to other rows.
- Small weddings have fixed costs, such as the license fee and officiant, that take a larger share than the percentages suggest. Use the Miscellaneous and Buffer rows for tips, alterations, vendor meals and the rehearsal dinner, and the tip calculator for vendor gratuities.
- Your numbers are saved only in this browser. Clearing site data erases them, so download the CSV as a backup.
- The honeymoon and guest travel are not included. To plan how much to set aside each month, use the savings goal calculator, and to see what a savings account adds, use the savings interest calculator.
Wedding budget questions people ask
How much does the average wedding cost?
The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study, which surveyed US couples married in 2025, reports an average cost of about $34,000 with 117 guests, or $292 per guest. Averages hide wide swings by city, season and guest count, so set your own total first and then split it.
How much of a wedding budget should go to the venue and catering?
Venue and catering are usually the two biggest lines and together often take about half of the total. The calculator starts each at 25%, with photography at 11%. If your venue includes food and drink, move points from catering to other categories.
What is the quickest way to lower the cost per guest?
Trim the guest list. Catering, bar, rentals and stationery all scale with headcount. At the default split, catering and bar cost about $73 per guest, so 20 fewer guests saves roughly $1,460 on food and drink alone, plus rentals and stationery. An off-peak date also lowers the venue price and some vendor rates.
Should I count wedding gifts in my budget?
No. Gift amounts are unpredictable and arrive after most bills are due, so plan the budget as if you will receive nothing. Treat any cash gifts as a bonus that can refill savings or cover the buffer.
Source: The Knot Worldwide, 2026 Real Weddings Study, survey of US couples married in 2025. The category split is this site's planning default, not a published benchmark.