Wedding Budget Calculator NZ

This calculator helps you plan and control a wedding budget in New Zealand, an event that commonly blows out because costs creep in category by category and the guest list quietly grows. You enter your total budget and guest count, then a catering cost per head, since catering is charged per guest and is usually the single biggest driver of the final bill. From there you enter venue hire, photography and video, attire and rings, flowers and decor, and other costs such as music, cake and extras. As you adjust any figure the calculator instantly recalculates your total spend, the catering cost worked out as per-head cost times guests, your cost per guest across the whole event, and how much is remaining in your budget or how far over you have gone. This lets you see what happens if you add guests, upgrade the venue or trim the flowers budget, so you can make deliberate trade-offs rather than discover the overspend once invoices arrive. Because catering scales directly with numbers, the guest list is usually the most effective lever for bringing the total down. Use it while deciding guest numbers and suppliers, and revisit it as real quotes come in. Figures are for your own planning and will vary with your choices, so treat the total as an estimate to guide decisions, not a fixed quote.

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$1,400
remaining in your budget
Total spend$28,600
Catering (per head x guests)$9,600
Cost per guest (all in)$358

Catering is the guest count times the per-head cost, which is why the guest list is the biggest lever on the total. Adjust the categories to stay within budget. Estimate only, to support your planning.

How it works

The calculator works out catering as your guest count times the per-head cost, then adds the fixed category amounts for venue, photography, attire, flowers and other. The combined total is compared with your budget to show what is left or how far over you are. Because catering scales with guests, you can see immediately how trimming the guest list frees up budget for everything else.

Worked example

An 80 guest wedding at $120 a head is $9,600 of catering. Add a $6,000 venue, $4,000 photography, $4,000 attire, $2,000 flowers and $3,000 of other, and the total is $28,600. Against a $30,000 budget, that leaves $1,400 spare, and dropping to 60 guests would free up another $2,400.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a wedding cost in New Zealand?

It varies enormously with guest count, venue and style. The guest count is the biggest driver because catering is usually charged per head. This calculator lets you set your own figures and see the total.

Why do weddings go over budget?

Costs creep in category by category, and the guest list grows. Tracking each category against a total budget, as this calculator does, helps you make deliberate trade-offs rather than drifting over.

What is the biggest wedding cost?

Catering and venue are usually the largest, and both scale with guest numbers. Trimming the guest list is often the most effective way to cut the total.