Splitting your wedding budget: how to allocate money across the right categories
How many percent for catering, how much for the venue? An honest breakdown of the wedding budget by category.
You’ve agreed on a number, say €18,000. Congrats, the hardest part is done. Now comes the second question: how do you actually split that money sensibly? How much for food, how much for photos, how much for everything else?
There’s a classic rule of thumb that shows up almost everywhere, and it has a true core. But it’s not the full picture. Here’s the honest breakdown.
The classic split
Over the last few years, a few numbers have stabilised in German wedding reports. Roughly, you can split the wedding budget like this:
- 40 to 50 percent: venue, catering and drinks (combined)
- 10 to 15 percent: outfits (wedding dress, suit, shoes, accessories, styling)
- 8 to 12 percent: photographer and/or videographer
- 5 to 10 percent: wedding rings
- 5 to 8 percent: music (DJ or band)
- 3 to 5 percent: decor and flowers
- 3 to 5 percent: invitations, save-the-dates, stationery
- 3 to 5 percent: ceremony (registry office, celebrant)
- 2 to 3 percent: wedding cake
- 5 to 10 percent: buffer for the unexpected
Sounds like a lot of maths. It is. But this is just the starting point, not the final truth.
Why the rule of thumb is only a start
Nobody gets married “on average”. Maybe you want a three-course menu from a starred caterer, but only 30 guests, the split shifts entirely. Or you celebrate in your aunt’s barn (venue: €0) and have an elaborate food truck. Or music matters more than anything and you book an eight-piece band.
The first question to ask isn’t “what percentage do others spend on photos?” but: What matters most to US?
Each of you write down three items:
- Must be perfect, the things you want to remember in 20 years
- Should be good, important, but not the centrepiece
- Just needs to be solid, must be there, doesn’t need extra budget
The top three can get generous budgets, even above “average”. The rest can be streamlined.
An example with €18,000
To keep it concrete, here’s a real split for a couple with 70 guests who care about good food, a great photographer and a beautiful venue:
| Line item | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Venue (rental) | €1,800 | 10 % |
| Catering (food, 70 × €65) | €4,550 | 25 % |
| Drinks (70 × €35) | €2,450 | 14 % |
| Photographer (8 hours) | €2,200 | 12 % |
| Wedding dress + suit + styling | €2,000 | 11 % |
| Wedding rings | €1,500 | 8 % |
| DJ | €900 | 5 % |
| Flowers + decor | €700 | 4 % |
| Celebrant | €600 | 3 % |
| Stationery | €350 | 2 % |
| Cake | €300 | 2 % |
| Buffer | €650 | 4 % |
| Total | €18,000 | 100 % |
In this split, catering and drinks dominate (39 % combined), followed by the photographer. A couple who prefers DJ over band, simpler food or cheaper rings can shift €2,000 to €4,000 into a better venue or a longer photography day, for example.
Take the buffer seriously
The most common budget mistake: no buffer, or the buffer gets “repurposed” before the wedding. Plan at least 5 to 10 percent extra, roughly €900 to €1,800 on €18,000.
What the buffer typically goes to:
- Dress alterations more expensive than estimated
- Aunty’s spontaneous florals that “only cost a little extra”
- Tips for service staff (often forgotten!)
- Accommodation for parents and the wedding party
- Guest favours that get added late
- One last catering extension because five more guests RSVP’d
If you don’t spend the buffer, wonderful. Spend it on a better honeymoon.
Common splitting mistakes
Mistake 1: forgetting drinks. Many caterers quote per-person food prices, without drinks. A drinks package quickly runs €30 to €40 per person. On 70 guests that’s €2,100 to €2,800 extra.
Mistake 2: not planning tips. Service staff, photographer, DJ and celebrant usually get a small tip. At a big wedding that easily adds up to €200 to €500.
Mistake 3: skimping on outfits, then topping up. The cheap wedding dress gets expensive with alterations, a second pair of shoes for the party, a bolero for the church. Budgeting realistically saves stress later.
Mistake 4: underestimating the final month. In the last four weeks before the wedding, experience shows two to three smaller line items pop up nobody thought of. Leave money for them.
What Marrily takes off your plate
Splitting rarely gets done in 10 minutes, couples usually play with their own lists for one or two weeks until the numbers work. Marrily handles it for you: on sign-up you enter your total and guest count, and Miri distributes the budget automatically across 13 predefined categories, with realistic values for Germany in 2026.
You can adjust every category with a slider, and Miri shows you live whether you’re still in range. And every new vendor you add is automatically compared: is the offer below, within, or above budget? So you never feel like you’re losing the overview, even when your €18,000 suddenly becomes €19,300 because your aunt brings her cousins after all.
