Wedding Budget Calculator

The Knot's 2024 Real Weddings Study put the national average at about $33,000, with a typical guest count around 115. That works out to roughly $290 per guest. The number has crept up most years since 2020 as venue, catering, and floral prices have climbed faster than general inflation. Half of couples spend less than the average and half spend more, so treat the figure as a midpoint rather than a target.

Venue and catering together typically eat about 40% of a wedding budget because they are the only category that scales fully with both time and headcount. Per-plate dinners run $80 to $200 in most US markets, open bar adds $25 to $60 per guest, and venue site fees usually include staff, table service, and a multi-hour reception window. Cut the guest list and this line item drops faster than any other, which is why intimate weddings end up cheaper on every per-guest comparison.

A useful planning rule is $200 to $300 per added guest at a traditional reception. That covers the marginal cost of a plated dinner, a bar share, an extra centerpiece slot, a place setting rental, and the favor. Higher-end weddings push past $400 per guest once premium catering, top-shelf bar, and elaborate floral arrangements are involved. The calculator's per-guest figure makes this trade-off explicit, so trimming the list by 10 names is a quick way to see real-dollar savings.

Costs swing meaningfully by region. The northeast runs about 30% above the national average, driven by venue rents in metro New York, Boston, and DC, and by floral and labor costs that follow those markets. The west, especially coastal California, sits around 15% above average. The midwest tracks closest to the national figure and is the calculator's baseline. The south runs roughly 10% below, with the gap widest in smaller cities and rural counties where venues bundle catering at lower per-plate rates.

Real-world weddings almost always hit unexpected costs: last-minute alterations, vendor overtime when the reception runs late, a backup tent for weather, a forgotten permit, a higher-than-quoted tip pool. A 5% buffer on a $33,000 wedding is $1,650, which is roughly the cost of one of those surprises. Couples who skip the cushion routinely end up paying for overruns out of post-wedding savings or a credit card balance. Set the money aside in a separate account at the start of planning and treat it as untouchable unless something actually breaks.