Wedding Budget Calculator
Split your total budget across every wedding category using percentages you control, log what you actually spend, and see the cost per guest. Send the link to your partner so you are both editing the same plan.
The big two numbers
Allocation by category
Edit a percentage and the dollars update instantly. Rename a category, add your own, or delete what does not apply. The Actual column is for real quotes and deposits as they land.
“Over / under so far” compares only the categories where you have entered an actual amount, so a half-finished budget does not pretend to be under.
The link carries the whole plan — renamed categories, every percentage, every amount spent. Whoever opens it can edit and re-share, so reopen the latest link before you save over it.
How to use this calculator
1. Start with the number you can genuinely spend
Put the honest all-in figure in the budget box — the ceiling, not the hope. Then enter the guest list as it stands today. Those two numbers produce the cost per guest, and every later argument about flowers is really an argument about that one figure.
2. Move percentages, not dollars
The twelve categories are seeded with the split most planners use as a starting point. Nudge a percentage and every dollar figure re-derives instantly, so you can see what an extra 4% on photography costs the flowers before you promise anything to anyone. Rename a line, add one, or delete what does not apply to you.
3. Log the real numbers as they arrive
Each time a quote is signed or a deposit clears, type it into the Actual column. The row shows whether that category came in over or under, and the summary keeps a running total of how far ahead or behind the whole wedding is. That is the difference between a budget and a wish list.
4. Watch the allocation total
The running allocation figure warns you the moment the percentages cross 100%, and tells you how much is still unassigned when they fall short. Normalize to 100% rescales every category proportionally when you would rather the plan balance exactly than argue about which line loses a point.
Wedding budget FAQs
How much of a wedding budget goes to the venue and catering?
Venue and catering is almost always the single largest line, and 40% of the total is the figure most planners start from. Formal, plated, high-guest-count weddings drift up toward 45%, while backyard or restaurant weddings can land nearer 30% and free the difference for photography or music. This calculator seeds 40% and lets you drag it anywhere you like.
What is a realistic cost per guest?
Divide the total budget by the head count and you get the number that actually drives every decision. A $35,000 budget for 140 guests is $250 per head; the same $35,000 for 70 guests is $500 per head and buys a noticeably different evening. If the per-guest number looks impossible, cutting the list is usually more effective than trimming twelve categories by a few percent each.
Do the percentages have to add up to 100%?
No, and it is useful that they do not. Deliberately allocating 92% leaves an unassigned buffer, and allocating 104% shows you exactly how far over you are before a single deposit is paid. The running total is displayed at all times, and the Normalize to 100% button rescales every category proportionally when you want the plan to balance exactly.
How much should I set aside for contingency?
Between 4% and 10% of the total. Contingency is not padding — it is the line that absorbs the vendor overtime, the extra shuttle, the alterations nobody quotes for, and the gratuities that are easy to forget. Small budgets need a larger share, because a single surprise is a bigger fraction of the whole; that is why the micro-wedding preset carries 8%.
Can I share this budget with my partner?
Yes. The share link encodes the whole document — your renamed categories, every percentage, and every amount you have actually spent — so whoever opens it sees the identical plan and can edit and re-share it. Your own copy is kept in your browser and is never overwritten when you open somebody else's link.