Loan Wedding Cost Estimator
A wedding budget is seven smaller budgets wearing a dress. Enter the guest count and your per-category figures — every one editable — and see the real total, the per-guest cost, and the contingency nobody plans and everybody needs.
Defaults are 2026 US mid-range planning figures. A 10% contingency is added at the end — vendor overtime, rentals forgotten until the week of, and tips live there. Rings, rehearsal dinner and honeymoon are traditionally separate budgets and are not in this total.
How it works
Catering scales with the guest list (guests × per-guest); the other categories are flat budgets you set. The total adds a flat 10% contingency over the subtotal — the industry-standard buffer for the costs that only appear in the final month. Per-guest cost is the most honest number on the page: it converts every "just ten more people" conversation into dollars, because ten more people is never just catering — it is tables, rentals, invitations, cake size and favors too, which is what the contingency quietly approximates.
Formula & worked example
Formula: Total = (guests × catering per guest) + venue + photo/video + attire + flowers/decor + music + cake, plus a 10% contingency on the subtotal. Per-guest cost = total ÷ guests — the number that prices every addition to the guest list honestly.
Worked example: 100 guests at $75 catering: $7,500 catering inside a $23,500 subtotal (venue $5,000, photo $3,500, attire $2,500, flowers $2,500, music $1,800, cake $700), plus $2,350 contingency = $25,850 total, $258.50 per guest.
When to use this
- Setting a wedding budget from categories instead of a single guessed total.
- Guest-list negotiations that need a dollars-per-guest figure.
- Comparing two wedding scales (50 vs 150 guests) on identical category assumptions.
- Building the savings target for the day (pair with the Savings Goal Calculator).
How to use it, step by step
- Set the honest guest count — the one after the hard conversations.
- Enter catering per guest from a real quote or regional norm.
- Fill each flat category with your quote or a researched allowance.
- Read the total, then the per-guest cost for list-trimming conversations.
- Re-run as quotes arrive; swap allowances for real numbers category by category.
What the inputs mean
| Input | What it is | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | Headcount driving catering and rentals | 50–150 typical |
| Catering per guest | Food, drink and service per head | $40–$100+ in 2026 |
| Flat categories | Venue, photo, attire, flowers, music, cake budgets | Your quotes or regional norms |
Another worked example
An intimate wedding: 50 guests, catering at $60 a head ($3,000), a $3,500 venue, photo $2,800, attire $1,800, flowers $1,500, music $1,200, cake $500. Subtotal $14,300 + $1,430 contingency = $15,730 — and note the per-guest figure, $314.60, is higher than the big wedding's: fixed costs spread over fewer chairs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 100-guest wedding cost?
On the mid-range defaults here: $7,500 of catering inside a $23,500 subtotal, plus $2,350 contingency — $25,850 all-in, or $258.50 per guest. National surveys put the average wedding near $30,000, with the median meaningfully lower.
What is the largest wedding expense?
Usually the venue-plus-catering block. Here, catering ($7,500) and venue ($5,000) together are $12,500 — over half the subtotal. It is why the guest list is the budget: cutting 20 guests at these defaults saves about $1,650 once contingency follows.
Why add a 10% contingency?
Because the last month of every wedding generates costs the plan never listed: an extra hour of venue time, rental delivery fees, tip envelopes, a second hair trial. Planners carry 10–15% as a matter of professional routine; the estimator builds in 10%.
What is a realistic per-person catering cost?
Full-service catering with bar service commonly runs $70–$100+ per guest in 2026 US pricing; limited-service or restaurant buyouts can land at $40–$60. The per-guest field takes your actual quote — use it.
What is NOT in this total?
Engagement and wedding rings, the rehearsal dinner, the honeymoon, marriage licence fees, and gifts for the wedding party. Couples who count them in "the wedding" usually add $5,000–$15,000 depending on the honeymoon.
🎯 Saving toward the date?
You have the target — the Savings Goal Calculator works out the monthly deposit that actually lands it by the wedding month.
What's the quickest lever on a wedding budget?
The guest list, because it moves catering, rentals, invitations, stationery, favors and cake size together. At the defaults, trimming 20 guests saves about $1,650 all-in. The second lever is the day: Saturday-evening pricing is the peak of the week for venues and caterers alike.
How should we handle costs this estimator doesn't list?
Rings, licence, rehearsal dinner and honeymoon are traditionally separate budgets — keep them separate in your planning too, or add them into the venue line here if you want one all-in number. Just don't count them twice when the honeymoon fund gets its own savings goal.