Free Tool · No Signup · Real Regional Data
Estimate vendor and venue costs by region. Pick a city, set your guest count, choose your style — get a category-by-category budget in seconds.
Estimated wedding cost
For a classic & traditional wedding of 120 guests in US National Average
≈ $275 per guest
Estimates blend regional industry averages with your guest count and style. Real costs vary by venue and season — use this as a starting budget, not a final quote.
City by city
Baseline cost for a typical 120-guest classic wedding. Use the calculator above to fine-tune for your guest count and style.
| Rank | City | Avg. wedding cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City, NY | $76,900 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $62,500 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | $55,300 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $53,200 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $49,800 |
| 6 | Chicago, IL | $45,700 |
| 7 | Miami, FL | $44,100 |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | $41,600 |
| 9 | San Diego, CA | $41,200 |
| 10 | Denver, CO | $36,400 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $35,200 |
| 12 | Austin, TX | $34,800 |
| 13 | Atlanta, GA | $32,100 |
| 14 | Nashville, TN | $31,600 |
| 15 | Dallas, TX | $30,700 |
| 16 | Phoenix, AZ | $28,900 |
| 17 | Minneapolis, MN | $28,100 |
| 18 | Charlotte, NC | $27,400 |
| 19 | Jacksonville, FL | $25,700 |
| 20 | Indianapolis, IN | $25,300 |
Read the numbers
Wedding costs in the US swing wildly by region. A 120-guest wedding in New York City regularly clears $75,000 before tips; the same wedding in Indianapolis lands close to $25,000. The driver isn't taste — it's venue rental rates, labour, and floral supply chains.
Within any one city, the next biggest swing is style. A "classic" wedding in our calculator uses standard regional pricing. "Upscale" assumes you're hiring a planner, going with premium florals, and choosing a higher-end venue. "Luxury black-tie" assumes a top-tier venue, top-tier vendors, and the kind of guest experience your friends will be telling each other about for a decade.
Use the calculator as a directional anchor, then quote three actual venues in your city before locking the budget. The line that always overshoots is venue and catering — get it pinned first.
Get the most out of it
Don't get caught out
The calculator includes a 4% buffer line — these are the costs that buffer is for.
Most venue and catering quotes don't include service charges. Add 15–22% on top of the catering total before you commit. That alone can be a $4,000–$6,000 surprise on a 120-person wedding.
Licence fees vary by state ($25–$100). Officiants typically expect $100–$300 as a tip in addition to their fee. Build a $250 line into your budget.
Dress alterations average $300–$800. Suits run $50–$200. Steaming, pressing, and emergency tailoring on the day add another $100–$200.
Save-the-dates and invitations both need stamps — about $1.10 each — plus envelope addressing if you outsource ($1–$3 per envelope). 100 invites can hit $600 in postage and assembly alone.
Photographer, videographer, DJ, planner — most expect to be fed. Vendor meals are often a discounted plate but still $35–$60 each. Multiply by your vendor count.
Shuttles for guests, valet at the venue, getaway car for the couple. Even a single shuttle for 50 guests runs $600–$1,200 for the evening.
One line you don't need
After your photographer line is set, a wedding QR code from Eventoly turns every guest's phone into a contributor to your shared album. No app, no logins, unlimited uploads in original quality.
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FAQ
The 2024–25 national average sits around $33,000 for a wedding of roughly 120 guests, based on aggregated industry data from major wedding planning platforms.
Three factors: venue rental rates (driven by real estate prices), labour costs (catering staff, hair and makeup, planners), and floral availability. NYC, San Francisco, and Boston cost roughly 2x what mid-size Sun Belt cities cost for the same wedding.
Venue and catering combined typically eat 50% of the budget. That's the lever with the biggest impact — choosing an all-inclusive venue versus a bare-shell venue can swing the total by tens of thousands.
Yes. The standard moves: keep the guest count below 75, choose a non-traditional venue (a restaurant buyout, an Airbnb estate, a state park lodge), do a Friday or Sunday date, and skip videography. Couples regularly hit $15K–$20K with 60 guests in mid-cost regions.
The estimates blend regional industry averages with your specific guest count and style. They're a strong directional anchor — within roughly 15–20% of what you'll actually spend at a typical venue. Real quotes from your shortlisted venues will narrow it further.
Book off-peak (November–April, or Friday/Sunday in summer). Use seasonal flowers grown locally. Skip favours — they end up in the bin. Hire a day-of coordinator instead of a full-service planner. Self-print or e-print save-the-dates.
Catering and bar: 18–22% (often built into service charge). Photographer/videographer: $50–$150 each, or a percentage if you loved the work. DJ: $50–$150. Hair/makeup: 15–20%. Officiant: $100–$300. Transport drivers: 15–20%.
For couples, often yes — destination weddings average 30–40% smaller guest counts because not every guest can travel. For guests, no — they're effectively paying for a holiday. Factor in your guests' costs when deciding.
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