Wedding Budget Calculator
Your total is fixed costs plus per-guest costs times the guest list — so the guest count moves the number more than anything else.
Plan an Australian wedding budget by guest count. The total is your fixed category costs — venue, photography, attire, rings, flowers, music and the rest — plus per-guest catering and drinks × the number of guests. See a full 2026 category breakdown and the true cost per guest, with every line editable. AUD, 2026 estimates.
Estimates from typical AU 2026 wedding prices — costs vary by city, season and supplier, so use your own quotes.
How the wedding total is worked out
Fixed costs plus per-guest costs
The total is two parts added together. The fixed costs — venue hire, photography and video, attire, rings, flowers, music, celebrant, stationery, transport, cake, hair and makeup, and a misc/contingency line — don't change with the guest list. The per-guest costs — catering and drinks — are multiplied by the number of guests. So the formula is simply fixed costs + (catering + drinks) × guests. Venue and catering together typically come to about half the whole budget.
Worked examples
With the default lines — about $25,100 in fixed costs and $165 per guest (catering $125 + drinks $40) — a 100-guest wedding comes to about $41,600, or roughly $416 per guest. Drop to 80 guests and it's about $38,300 — right on the national average. Notice the cost per guest rises as numbers fall, because the fixed costs are shared among fewer people. Every line is editable, so swap in your own quotes.
Where a wedding budget actually goes
Australian weddings cluster their spend into a handful of big lines and a long tail of smaller ones:
- Venue & catering — about half the budget. The venue is a large fixed cost and catering scales with every guest, so together they dominate. Catering runs around $125 a head, drinks another $40.
- Photography & video — around $3,500. One of the top few lines, and a fixed cost that doesn't move with guest numbers.
- Attire and rings — roughly $3,500 and $3,000. Dress, suit and the rings are one-off costs you can scale to taste.
- Flowers and music — about $2,000 each. Both flex a lot: a DJ costs less than a band, and seasonal flowers cost less than imported blooms.
- The smaller lines — celebrant, stationery, transport, cake, hair and makeup. Individually a few hundred dollars each, but they add up, so keep a misc/contingency line (about $1,500) for the surprises.
Because the biggest lines are venue and catering, that's where the decisions that move the total live — the guest count and the venue choice matter more than trimming any single small category.
How to bring the budget down
The guest list is the biggest lever
Because catering and drinks are charged per head and the fixed costs are shared across everyone, the guest count pulls the total in two directions at once. Trimming from 120 to 80 guests saves roughly $6,600 in catering and drinks alone — before any effect on venue size — and it's the single most powerful thing you can change.
Then the date and the venue
An off-peak date (winter, a weekday, or outside spring/autumn peak) unlocks lower venue and supplier prices. A venue that includes catering often beats hiring a bare space plus a caterer once you count staff and hire. Keep flowers seasonal, keep stationery digital where you can, and pick a DJ over a band if the music budget is tight.
Keep a real contingency
Weddings overrun on the small stuff — extra hire items, a final headcount that creeps up, day-of tips. A misc/contingency line of about $1,500 (roughly 4% of a $38,000 budget) absorbs the surprises so they don't blow the plan. Edit every line in the calculator to see which trade-offs actually move the total.
❓ Frequently asked Frequently asked questions
How much does a wedding cost in Australia?
The average Australian wedding costs roughly $38,000 for about 80 guests, according to Easy Weddings' 2026 survey. Venue and catering together make up around half of that, with photography, attire and rings the next biggest lines. The total splits into fixed costs — venue, photography, attire, rings, flowers, music and the rest — plus per-guest costs (catering and drinks) that scale with the guest list. Every figure here is an editable estimate, so replace our defaults with your own quotes.
How much per guest for a wedding?
Each additional guest typically adds about $165 — roughly $125 for catering and $40 for drinks. But the total cost per guest is higher than that, because the fixed costs (venue, photographer, attire) are spread across everyone: at 100 guests a $41,600 wedding works out to about $416 per guest, and that figure rises as the guest list shrinks because the fixed costs are shared among fewer people. Trimming the guest list is the single biggest lever on the total.
What is the biggest wedding expense?
Venue and catering are the biggest expense by a wide margin — together they usually account for about half of the total wedding budget, because the venue is a large fixed cost and catering scales with every guest. Photography and video, attire and rings are the next biggest lines. Because venue and catering dominate, choosing a cost-effective venue and a shorter guest list moves the total more than trimming any of the smaller categories.
How can I reduce my wedding budget?
The most powerful lever is the guest list: because catering and drinks are per-head and the fixed costs are shared, fewer guests cuts both the per-guest total and the cost per head. After that, choose an off-peak date or a venue that includes catering, keep flowers and stationery lean, and set a realistic misc/contingency line (about $1,500) so surprises don't blow the budget. Edit every line in the calculator to see which trade-offs move the total most.
How much should I budget for photography?
Budget around $3,500 for combined photography and video at an Australian wedding, though experienced photographers in the capital cities can run higher and shorter coverage runs less. It's usually one of the top three or four categories after venue and catering. Because it's a fixed cost rather than a per-guest one, it doesn't change with the guest list — so it becomes a larger share of the total on a smaller wedding.
Where these figures come from
There's no single official price for a wedding — it depends on your guest count, city, season and suppliers. The figures below are 2026 ranges drawn from typical Australian wedding pricing and industry surveys; they are approximate and vary from one supplier to the next, so treat them as a planning guide and use your own quotes.
- Average total — about $38,000 for roughly 80 guests (Easy Weddings 2026 survey). Venue and catering together are about half the budget.
- Per-guest costs — catering around $125 a head and drinks around $40, so each guest adds about $165.
- Fixed lines — venue ~$6,000, photography and video ~$3,500, attire ~$3,500, rings ~$3,000, flowers and music ~$2,000 each, with smaller lines (celebrant, stationery, transport, cake, hair and makeup) a few hundred dollars each.
- Contingency — keep about $1,500 (roughly 4%) for surprises.
Last checked: July 2026. All prices are indicative and vary by guest count, city, season and supplier. This is a planning estimate — get current quotes from your own suppliers before you commit.
Select the question that matches where you are right now.
The headline number is your estimated total: fixed category costs plus per-guest catering and drinks × the guest count. The breakdown shows where each dollar goes, and the cost per guest tells you what each head really costs once the fixed lines are shared out.
Use it to set a realistic budget and to sanity-check supplier quotes. If a caterer's quote is well above $165 a head, ask what's included; if the venue quote is high, weigh it against the whole ~50% that venue and catering usually take.
It's not a fixed quote. It doesn't price a specific venue, a designer dress, or day-of extras, and it can't know your city's peak-season loading. Suppliers set their own prices and minimums.
The per-guest figure is the whole total divided by the guest count — so it's higher than the $165 marginal cost, because it includes each guest's share of the fixed costs.
Four things move the total the most: the guest count, the venue, the catering standard, and the date.
Every guest adds catering and drinks, and a bigger list can force a larger, dearer venue. It's the single most powerful number on the page.
Together about half the budget. A venue that includes catering, or an off-peak date, can shift the total more than any small line.
Plated vs shared, band vs DJ, imported vs seasonal flowers — each choice scales a line up or down. Peak season and Saturday dates cost the most; a weekday or winter wedding costs less across nearly every supplier.
A few decisions cut the bill without cutting the day short.
Fewer guests cuts per-head catering and drinks and can drop you into a smaller venue. It's the biggest saving available and it's fully in your control.
A weekday or winter wedding unlocks lower venue and supplier prices across the board — often 10–20% on the big lines.
Seasonal flowers, a DJ over a band, digital stationery and a simpler cake each shave a line without touching the parts of the day guests remember.
A wedding is one line in a bigger life budget. Price the rest of the plan too.