Wedding budget and who-pays template
A $30,000 wedding for 120 guests is $250 per guest, and our starter split puts $13,500 (45%) toward venue & catering.
Enter your total and guest count. You get a starter split by category, a family split, and a template to keep.
No account. What you type stays on this page: nothing is stored or sent.
$30,000
About $250 per guest, all costs included.
By category
Who pays
Download the templates
What couples report spending
- The Knot: $34,000 on average and 117 guests, for US couples married in 2025.
- Zola: $36,000 on average and 145 guests, for couples marrying in 2026.
These are their surveys, not our numbers. They are averages, so your area and guest count can land far from them.
How it works
- Each category gets a share of your total, rounded to whole amounts. Rounding goes to the buffer, so the lines add up to your total exactly.
- Who pays turns each person's share into an amount that adds up the same way.
- Start your budget in the planner when you want to track real costs and payments.
What we assume
- The category shares are our own starting point, the same one the planner uses. They do not come from the surveys above.
- Venue & catering is split 40 / 60 between Venue and Catering.
- The 50 / 25 / 25 who-pays split is only a sample. Use your own.
Sources: The Knot Worldwide, 2026 Real Weddings Study (February 18, 2026); Zola, 2026 Wedding Trends: First Look Report (2026). Updated October 2026.
Questions
Are these percentages what weddings really cost?
No. They are our starting point, not survey data. Prices change a lot by place and by what matters to you, so move the numbers once you have real quotes.
Who is supposed to pay for what?
There is no rule that fits every family. Traditions differ by culture and country, and many couples pay for some or all of it. The useful step is to agree on amounts early and write them down, which is what the who-pays split is for.
How do I open the template?
It is a CSV file. In Google Sheets choose File, then Import, and upload it. In Excel, open the file directly. Totals are formulas, so they update as you type. Save it as a Sheets or Excel file to keep the formatting you add.
What is the difference between this and the planner budget?
This page gives you a quick split and a file to keep. The budget in the planner is free too, and tracks estimates, costs, payments and due dates, and saves in your browser.