The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings Study, covering 10,474 couples who married in 2025, reports an average cost of about $34,000 for around 117 guests, or $292 per guest. Zola's 2026 First Look Report, based on more than 11,500 couples marrying in 2026, puts it at $36,000 with an average of 145 guests. The Wedding Report, which models every wedding in the country, gives a mean of $32,899 for 2025 but a median of just $18,231.
Those differences are method, not mistakes. The Knot and Zola survey members of their own platforms, who skew toward couples who plan online and use registries. The median from The Wedding Report is the better guide to what a typical couple spends: well under the platform averages. Quote the source with any number you use, and never mix figures from different surveys as if they measured the same thing.
Zola's 2026 category averages are a useful starting point: venue about $8,600, catering about $6,900, flowers and décor about $6,300, bar about $5,500, photography about $4,400, a planner about $4,000, video about $4,000, the dress about $2,000, music about $1,600, hair and makeup about $1,000 and cake about $900.
Zola also found that hidden costs average about $3,300, roughly 9 percent of the budget, and that three quarters of couples hit unexpected fees. Service charges, taxes, overtime, delivery, alterations and last-minute rentals are the usual culprits. Build a contingency line of at least 10 percent from the start.
The Wedding Report's 2025 averages by state range widely: Hawaii about $53,400, Massachusetts about $49,300, California about $46,300 and New York about $42,000, against Texas about $31,600, Florida about $31,000 and Mississippi about $23,400.
Cities push it higher still. Zola's 2026 figures for a 150-guest wedding run from about $48,600 in Denver to about $66,800 in Los Angeles and nearly $99,500 in Manhattan. Treat any regional average as a way to compare places, not a prediction for your own bill: a quote for your date and guest count is worth more than any average.
Zola estimates each additional guest adds roughly $150 to $300. Cutting 20 guests can therefore take thousands off the total, and it is usually painless compared with cutting the venue or the photographer.
Zola's 2026 survey found 88 percent of couples contribute their own money (29 percent pay for everything themselves), and 71 percent receive financial help, with both families contributing in about seven in ten of those cases. Agree early who is contributing and whether it comes with expectations about the guest list.
Zola's 2026 survey of 720 newlyweds found 73 percent tip the caterer, 71 percent tip hair and makeup, 70 percent tip the photographer and 67 percent tip the DJ or band. Typical guidance is 16 to 20 percent for catering and bar staff and hair and makeup, 15 to 20 percent for drivers, and a flat amount of roughly $50 to $200 for photographers, DJs, florists and officiants.
Zola suggests setting aside 5 to 10 percent of the total budget for tips, and recommends checking each contract first, since some already include a service charge.
Marry off-season or on a weekday, trim the guest list, and ask venues what is included before you price extras. Get every deposit and balance date in writing and put each in your plan: with ten vendors it is easy to miss one. MarryHQ's budget tracks estimates against actual costs, with deposit and balance dates for each supplier.
Tasks, guests, budget, and suppliers in one place, free to start.