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Wedding Budget Calculator (2026)
Split your wedding budget the way real couples actually spend it. Enter your total budget and guest count to get a category-by-category breakdown and your cost per guest.
Plan Your Wedding Budget
Used only for the cost-per-guest figure.
Total budget
Cost per guest
Venue and rentals (28%)
Catering, cake and drinks (24%)
Photography and videography (10%)
Flowers and decor (9%)
Music (6%)
Attire and beauty (6%)
Wedding rings (5%)
Wedding planner (5%)
Guest entertainment (3%)
Transportation (2%)
Stationery (1%)
Officiant (1%)
Venue + catering combined (52%)
Shares are adapted from The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study breakdown (survey of nearly 11,000 US couples married in 2025). The Knot’s published shares round to 101%, so venue and rentals is shown at 28% instead of 29% to make the allocation sum to exactly 100%. Treat the split as a starting plan, not a rule: move money toward the two or three categories you care about most.
How the Breakdown Is Calculated
Category amount = total budget × category share
Cost per guest = total budget ÷ guest count
Venue + catering combined = 28% + 24% = 52% of budget
Cost per guest = total budget ÷ guest count
Venue + catering combined = 28% + 24% = 52% of budget
Where a Typical Wedding Budget Goes (The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study)
| Category | Share | On a $35,000 budget |
|---|---|---|
| Venue and rentals | 28% | $9,800 |
| Catering, cake and drinks | 24% | $8,400 |
| Photography and videography | 10% | $3,500 |
| Flowers and decor | 9% | $3,150 |
| Music | 6% | $2,100 |
| Attire and beauty | 6% | $2,100 |
| Wedding rings | 5% | $1,750 |
| Wedding planner | 5% | $1,750 |
| Guest entertainment | 3% | $1,050 |
| Transportation | 2% | $700 |
| Stationery | 1% | $350 |
| Officiant | 1% | $350 |
| Total | 100% | $35,000 |
Worked Example: $35,000 Budget, 120 Guests
| Calculation | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per guest | $35,000 ÷ 120 | $291.67 |
| Venue and rentals | 28% × $35,000 | $9,800 |
| Catering, cake and drinks | 24% × $35,000 | $8,400 |
| Venue + catering combined | 52% × $35,000 | $18,200 |
| Photography and videography | 10% × $35,000 | $3,500 |
| All other categories | Remaining 38% | $13,300 |
The Knot’s 2026 study puts the average US wedding at $34,200 with a cost of about $292 per guest, so a $35,000 budget for 120 guests sits almost exactly on the national average.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study, covering nearly 11,000 US couples married in 2025, found an average wedding cost of $34,200 and a median of $24,000. Cost per guest averaged about $292. Location swings the total enormously: New Jersey averaged $57,000 while Idaho averaged $18,000.
About half. In The Knot’s breakdown, venue and rentals take 29% and catering, cake and drinks take 24%, for 53% combined. This calculator shows venue at 28% so the full allocation sums to exactly 100%, giving a combined venue-plus-catering share of 52%.
Cut the guest list first: cost per guest is about $292, so every ten guests removed saves roughly $2,900. Weekday dates and daytime receptions are the next biggest levers, followed by trimming the categories you care about least rather than shaving a little off everything.
Yes. Planners commonly recommend holding back 5 to 10% for overruns — extra guests, overtime charges, weather backup plans, and tips. If your budget is already tight, treat the guest entertainment line as your flex: it is the easiest category to shrink late.
The Knot counts them at about 5% of total wedding spending, and this calculator follows that convention. If you bought rings months earlier from a separate savings pot, just reassign that 5% to another category — the percentages are a planning starting point, not a rule.
The Knot’s published category shares round to 101%. To keep every dollar of your budget assigned exactly once, this calculator trims venue and rentals from 29% to 28%. Every other share matches The Knot’s published breakdown.
Disclaimer: Estimates only, for planning purposes. Category shares are adapted from The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study (US couples married in 2025); your actual vendor costs depend on location, season, and guest count. Not financial advice.
