Photography & events
Wedding Cost Calculator
Builds a wedding budget, where guest count moves almost every line at once.
Result
Wedding pricing varies by region, season and day of the week by more than most couples expect, so treat the defaults as placeholders and replace them with quotes you have actually been given. A Saturday in peak season in a major metro is a different market from a Friday in the off season. The distinction between guest driven and fixed cost is the most useful thing here. Photography, attire, flowers and the planner cost the same for eighty guests as for a hundred and sixty, so cutting the list saves the per head costs only. That is why the marginal figure is much lower than the average per guest figure, and why couples who cut twenty guests expecting a proportional saving are disappointed. Gratuity is applied to service vendors rather than to everything, and tax to goods and consumables, because applying either across the whole budget overstates it considerably.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Each category costed and totalled, with the per-guest figure shown alongside so the effect of the list is visible. Catering, bar, rentals, stationery, favours, cake and transport all scale with heads, which means the guest count is the single input that changes the whole budget rather than one line of it.
What moves the number
- Guest count, which multiplies most categories.
- Date and day of week, which move venue and vendor pricing.
- Venue inclusions against what must be hired separately.
- Service charges and tax, which stack on top of quoted prices.
Where this one goes wrong
Service charges and sales tax are the two additions that break budgets, because catering and venue quotes are commonly stated before both and the combined uplift on the largest line in the budget is substantial. Ask for every quote gross of both. The other omission is the contingency: something will need solving in the final fortnight, and a budget with no slack in it means that solution comes out of something else that was already planned.
Before you quote
- Ask for every quote inclusive of service charge and tax.
- Decide the guest list before committing to a venue.
- Hold a genuine contingency rather than allocating every dollar.
Questions
About this calculator
What is the biggest lever on a wedding budget?
The guest count, because catering, bar, rentals, stationery, favours, cake and transport all scale with heads. Reducing the list moves every one of those at once, where every other saving moves a single line.
Why do quotes come in higher than expected?
Service charge and sales tax, which are commonly quoted separately and stack on top. On the largest lines in the budget the combined uplift is substantial, which is why every quote should be requested gross of both.
How much contingency should a wedding budget hold?
Enough that a problem in the final fortnight does not have to be funded by cancelling something planned. Something always needs solving, and a budget allocated to the last dollar turns a small problem into a choice nobody wanted.
The formula
total = per guest costs x guests + fixed vendor fees + gratuity on service vendors + tax on food, drink and rentals + contingency
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How to use this calculator
- Guests. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 120.
- Venue per guest ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $45.
- Venue rental fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $4,500.
- Catering per guest ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Bar per guest ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $32.
- Photography ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $4,200.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total wedding cost, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Guests | 120 |
| Venue per guest | $45 |
| Venue rental fee | $4,500 |
| Catering per guest | $95 |
| Bar per guest | $32 |
| Photography | $4,200 |
| Videography | $2,800 |
| Music, DJ or band | $1,800 |
| Flowers and decoration | $3,500 |
| Attire for both, including alterations | $3,200 |
| Hair and makeup | $900 |
| Tables, chairs, linens and tent | $2,400 |
| Invitations and stationery | $600 |
| Cake and desserts | $700 |
| Transportation | $800 |
| Planner or coordinator | $2,500 |
| Officiant and licence | $450 |
| Rings, gifts and favours | $2,800 |
| Gratuity on service vendors | 18% |
| Tax on food, drink and rentals | 8% |
| Contingency | 10% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total wedding cost main result | $62,769 |
| Cost per guest | $523.07 |
| Cost of adding one more guest | $229.48 |
| Costs that scale with the guest list | $20,640 |
| Costs that do not change with the guest list | $31,150 |
| Tax and gratuity | $5,272 |
| Contingency | $5,706 |
| Saved by cutting ten guests | $2,295 |
| Before tax, gratuity and contingency | $51,790 |
This wedding comes to $62,769, which is $523.07 per guest. Only $20,640 of it actually scales with the guest list, against $31,150 of vendor fees that do not. Each additional guest costs $229.48, so cutting ten saves $2,295.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only venue per guest, this is what happens to total wedding cost. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Venue per guest ($) | Total wedding cost |
|---|---|
| $23 | $59,632 |
| $34 | $61,200 |
| $45 example above | $62,769 |
| $68 | $66,048 |
| $90 | $69,184 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Guests
- A number, between 1 and 5000, starting at 120.
- Venue per guest ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $45.
- Venue rental fee ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500000, starting at $4,500.
- Catering per guest ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $95.
- Bar per guest ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 2000, starting at $32.
- Photography ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $4,200.
- Videography ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $2,800.
- Music, DJ or band ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $1,800.
- Flowers and decoration ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $3,500.
- Attire for both, including alterations ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $3,200.
- Hair and makeup ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $900.
- Tables, chairs, linens and tent ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $2,400.
- Invitations and stationery ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $600.
- Cake and desserts ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $700.
- Transportation ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $800.
- Planner or coordinator ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $2,500.
- Officiant and licence ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $450.
- Rings, gifts and favours ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $2,800.
- Gratuity on service vendors (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 40, starting at 18%.
- Tax on food, drink and rentals (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 30, starting at 8%.
- Contingency (%)
- Almost every wedding runs over. Budgeting nothing for it means the overrun lands on a credit card.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total wedding cost | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Cost per guest | A money figure. |
| Cost of adding one more guest | A money figure. |
| Costs that scale with the guest list | A money figure. |
| Costs that do not change with the guest list | A money figure. |
| Tax and gratuity | A money figure. |
| Contingency | A money figure. |
| Saved by cutting ten guests | A money figure. |
| Before tax, gratuity and contingency | A money figure. |
Keep going
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