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Wedding budget

How much does a wedding cost in the UK, by number of guests?

The price of a wedding doesn’t follow the guest list: the venue, the photographer and the outfits cost the same for 30 people or 200. Here is the likely budget for seven wedding sizes, from the most intimate to the biggest.

The maths, plainly

In short

  • Classic level, outside the big cities: £14,500 for 30 guests, £21,000 for 100, £30,200 for 200.
  • The average cost per guest falls as the list grows: £483 at 30 guests, £151 at 200.
  • One more guest costs £93 at classic level: a meal, drinks, a little décor.
  • Change the region, the season and the level in the free calculator.

The likely budget, by number of guests

GuestsSimpleClassicLuxuryPer guest (classic)
30£7,800£14,500£29,700£483
50£8,900£16,400£32,800£327
80£10,600£19,100£37,300£239
100£11,700£21,000£40,400£210
120£12,900£22,800£43,400£190
150£14,600£25,600£48,000£171
200£17,400£30,200£55,600£151

Each line is a cost per guest plus a fixed cost, by level, then adjusted by a region and season coefficient (outfits, rings and hair and make-up are excluded). Calibrated on published sector averages and expressed in pounds, rounded to the nearest hundred. Updated September 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

The questions people actually ask

What is the average cost of a wedding in the UK?
Around £21,000 for 100 guests at classic level, outside London and out of peak season. The figure moves a lot: £28,300 for the same wedding on a June Saturday in London, £18,900 on a March Friday elsewhere.
Why does the cost per guest fall as the guest list grows?
Because part of the budget doesn’t depend on the list: the venue, photography, outfits, rings and music. Spread over more guests, those fixed costs weigh less per head. The meal and the drinks, on the other hand, are paid per plate.
Do these prices include the honeymoon?
No. The honeymoon is a separate budget, usually decided later. The calculation covers the day itself: reception, suppliers, outfits, stationery, surprises.
Where do these figures come from?
From the Weddtap wedding budget calculator, calibrated on published sector averages and expressed in pounds. They are reference points to frame a project, to within 15%: only your suppliers’ quotes count.

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Once decided, the budget needs tracking

On your Weddtap page, the budget fills in as the quotes come in: what’s planned, what’s paid, what’s left. You see the gap instead of discovering it.

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