Wedding Budget Calculator

This calculator splits your total wedding budget using common industry percentages: venue 40%, catering 25%, photography 10%, attire 8%, flowers & décor 7%, and other costs (music, invitations, favors) 10%. These figures are a starting framework, not a rule — every wedding's priorities are different.

Venue and catering typically consume the largest share of most wedding budgets combined, often 60–65% of the total. If a particular category matters more to you (photography, for example), it's reasonable to shift percentages toward it and trim elsewhere.

Example: a $20,000 total budget splits into $8,000 for the venue, $5,000 for catering, $2,000 for photography, $1,600 for attire, $1,400 for flowers, and $2,000 for everything else — adjust any category up or down to match your own priorities.

Destination weddings often shift money from venue (package resort) into travel line items — move percentages out of venue into "other" when comparing quotes.

Track deposits separately from this annual-style breakdown; many vendors require 25–50% upfront that does not change the total budget ceiling.

Worked example with $20,000 total: venue $8,000 (40%), catering $5,000 (25%), photography $2,000, attire $1,600, flowers $1,400, other $2,000.

Micro-weddings under 50 guests often invert the venue/catering split — a restaurant buyout may be 60% food and 10% venue compared to barn rentals where venue is 40% before decor. Re-map percentages after the first vendor quote. Micro-weddings under fifty guests invert venue versus catering — restaurant buyouts may be sixty-percent food and ten-percent venue versus barn rentals.

Hidden costs (marriage license, officiant travel, postage for invitations) fit in other/misc — $20,000 total with 10% other is $2,000, often tight once stamps and day-of tips are included. Marriage license, officiant travel, and invitation postage fit in other — $2,000 on $20,000 tightens once stamps and day-of tips land.

Twenty-thousand-dollar budget at default weights: ~$8,000 venue, ~$5,000 catering, ~$2,000 photography. Per-guest cost ($20,000 ÷ 150 ≈ $133) helps sanity-check venue minimums that require $10,000 food spend. $20,000 at defaults: ~$8,000 venue, ~$5,000 catering — $133/guest at 150 guests helps sanity-check venue food minimums before signing.