Wedding Budget Calculator
Plan your wedding budget with recommended spending by category.
Enter your total budget to see how much to allocate for venue, catering, photography, and more.
Wedding budget planning allocates total spending across major expense categories, using industry percentage benchmarks to ensure no single cost balloon blows the overall budget.
Core formula: Category Budget = Total Wedding Budget × Category Percentage Remaining Budget = Total Budget − Sum of All Category Allocations
Industry-standard budget allocation percentages (US, 2025):
| Category | % of Total Budget |
|---|---|
| Reception venue & catering | 35–40% |
| Photography & videography | 10–12% |
| Music/entertainment (DJ or band) | 5–8% |
| Flowers & décor | 8–10% |
| Wedding attire & accessories | 8–10% |
| Officiant & ceremony | 2–3% |
| Invitations & stationery | 2–3% |
| Wedding cake | 2–3% |
| Transportation | 2–3% |
| Honeymoon | 10–15% |
| Rings | 3–5% |
| Tips & miscellaneous | 5–8% |
Average US wedding costs (2024 data):
- National average total: $35,000
- Urban areas (NYC, LA, SF): $50,000–$100,000+
- Smaller cities and rural: $15,000–$25,000
Worked example: Total budget: $30,000
| Category | % | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Venue & catering | 38% | $11,400 |
| Photography | 11% | $3,300 |
| Music (DJ) | 6% | $1,800 |
| Flowers & décor | 9% | $2,700 |
| Attire | 9% | $2,700 |
| Cake | 2.5% | $750 |
| Transportation | 2% | $600 |
| Honeymoon | 12% | $3,600 |
| Misc/tips | 6% | $1,800 |
| Remaining buffer | 4.5% | $1,350 |
Rule of thumb: Always keep 5–10% of the total budget as a contingency fund — unexpected costs (vendor price increases, weather tents, overtime charges) are nearly universal in wedding planning.