How much will your wedding cost? Find out in half a minute.
Guest count, location and style: the calculator breaks the cost down line by line and shows you the price per guest. No sign-up.
The national average: hotels and event venues at $130 to $190 a head.
What most couples actually end up spending.
- Venue and catering$17,250
$150 a head (mid-size city)
- DJ$1,700
A DJ for the whole evening, $1,000–2,500
- Photographer$2,900
Full-day coverage, edited gallery
- Videographer$2,300
Footage of the day plus an edited film
- Flowers and décor$3,780
Bouquets, centerpieces, ceremony and reception styling
- Wedding dress$2,100
Gown and alterations
- Suit or tuxedo$400
Bought or rented, with shoes
- Wedding bands$1,900
Two rings (the engagement ring is not counted here)
- Cake and desserts$850
The cake and a dessert table
- Hair and make-up$600
Including a trial before the day
- Transport$900
A car for the couple, a shuttle for the guests
- Officiant and license$500
Marriage license, officiant, ceremony fees
- Invitations$450
64 printed invitations with postage
Save $401 on invitations. A digital invitation with RSVPs is $49 once, with no printing and no postage, and the replies collect themselves.
Once you start booking vendors, move this estimate into a real budget: the lines marked “per person” multiply themselves by the number of guests who have actually said yes.
Build your invitation and budgetBuild the invitation free in the wizard, and you pay for a plan only when you want to publish it.
The estimate is built from published industry studies and vendor price guides (last reviewed: August 2026). It is for planning, and your final number depends on the date, the venue and the vendors you book.
Where the money actually goes
The reception (venue, catering and drinks) eats about half the budget, and it is the one large cost that grows with every extra guest. That is why the guest list decides the final number more than the photographer or the flowers do. Ten fewer people in a mid-size city is around $1,500 of difference.
The other big lines are fixed: a photographer $2,000 to $4,500, a videographer $1,500 to $3,500, a DJ $1,000 to $2,500 or a band $3,500 to $7,000, flowers and décor $1,500 to $6,000. They barely move with the headcount, so their share shrinks the larger the wedding gets.
The difference location makes
The same wedding is not the same money in Ohio and in Manhattan. A seat at a small-town hall starts near $80 and rarely passes $130. In a mid-size city expect $130 to $190. In New York, California, Boston or Hawaii, plan on $200 to $300 a head, and a destination weekend adds travel on top.
Where the savings are easiest
The fastest saving is not in going without. It is in the lines charged by the piece. Invitations are the textbook case: printed for around 115 guests, with save-the-dates, envelopes and postage, they come to $400 to $800, and every extra household is charged again. A digital invitation is a one-off $49 whether you invite 50 people or 300, and the RSVP comes with it, so nobody has to be chased for an answer.
For the line items and the costs couples forget, read A wedding budget that holds: where the money actually goes. If you are still building the list, start with how to write a guest list without falling out with anyone.
Common questions
How much does a wedding cost?
For around 115 guests the realistic range is $25,000 to $45,000, or roughly $220 to $400 a head. Venue and catering is always the biggest line, usually about half the whole budget. Where you celebrate moves the number most: a barn or a family-run hall starts around $80 a head, a mid-size city runs $130 to $190, and in New York or California $200 to $300 a head is normal.
How much is a wedding per person?
Venue and catering alone runs from about $80 a head in small towns to $235 or more in a major metro. Once every other line is added, the all-in cost per guest lands somewhere between $220 and $400.
What is the biggest wedding expense?
The reception: venue, catering and drinks. It takes about half the budget and it is the only large cost that grows with every extra guest, which makes the guest list a bigger decision than any vendor you choose.
How much do wedding invitations cost?
Printed invitations with save-the-dates, envelopes and postage come to $400 to $800 for around 115 guests, and every extra household is charged again. A digital invitation is a one-off $49 however many people you invite, and the RSVPs collect themselves.
How much should I set aside as a buffer?
About 10% of the total. Something unplanned always turns up: vendor gratuities, last-minute guests, a make-up trial, transport for people coming in from out of town.