How to use the wedding cost calculator
- Enter the number of guests and the catering cost per plate.
- Fill in the other lines: venue, decor, clothes, jewellery, photography and the rest. Set any line to 0 to leave it out.
- Enter the months until the wedding, what you have saved and the return those savings earn.
- Enter a personal loan rate and tenure to compare borrowing the gap.
- Read the total, the cost per guest, the monthly saving and how much more the loan costs.
Budget breakdown: an example
300 guests at ₹1,200 a plate, with mid-range amounts for the other lines. These are illustrative figures, not quotes; costs vary widely by city and season.
| Line | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Catering | ₹3,60,000 | 20.3% |
| Venue | ₹3,00,000 | 16.9% |
| Decor and flowers | ₹1,50,000 | 8.5% |
| Clothes | ₹2,00,000 | 11.3% |
| Jewellery | ₹3,00,000 | 16.9% |
| Photography and video | ₹1,50,000 | 8.5% |
| Invitations | ₹30,000 | 1.7% |
| Make-up and mehendi | ₹60,000 | 3.4% |
| Music and entertainment | ₹75,000 | 4.2% |
| Travel and stay for guests | ₹1,00,000 | 5.6% |
| Gifts and return gifts | ₹50,000 | 2.8% |
| Total | ₹17,75,000 | 100% |
That is ₹5,917 a guest for the whole wedding. Jewellery is counted as spending here, though it keeps some value, unlike the rest.
Saving first or borrowing, by tenure
The same example, with ₹5,00,000 already saved and 12 months to go. Savings earn 7% a year, so the gap to fill is ₹12,38,855. Saving it takes ₹99,388 a month, ₹11,92,652 in all. Borrowing it at 14%:
| Loan tenure | EMI | Interest | You repay | More than saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | ₹1,11,233 | ₹95,944 | ₹13,34,799 | ₹1,42,147 |
| 2 years | ₹59,481 | ₹1,88,689 | ₹14,27,544 | ₹2,34,892 |
| 3 years | ₹42,341 | ₹2,85,426 | ₹15,24,281 | ₹3,31,628 |
| 4 years | ₹33,854 | ₹3,86,115 | ₹16,24,970 | ₹4,32,318 |
| 5 years | ₹28,826 | ₹4,90,704 | ₹17,29,559 | ₹5,36,907 |
A longer tenure lowers the EMI but adds interest. Processing fees and GST are not included. Compare loan offers with the personal loan EMI calculator.
How the cost scales with the guest list
| Guests | Catering | Total budget | Per guest | Save a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹15.35 L | ₹15,350 | ₹80,134 |
| 200 | ₹2,40,000 | ₹16.55 L | ₹8,275 | ₹89,761 |
| 300 | ₹3,60,000 | ₹17.75 L | ₹5,917 | ₹99,388 |
| 500 | ₹6,00,000 | ₹20.15 L | ₹4,030 | ₹1,18,642 |
| 800 | ₹9,60,000 | ₹23.75 L | ₹2,969 | ₹1,47,523 |
Catering at ₹1,200 a plate; every other line held at the example amounts. Catering rises in step with guests, while the cost per guest falls as fixed costs are shared. In practice the venue, decor and gifts also tend to grow with a larger list.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a wedding budget?
List each cost: catering (guests × cost per plate), venue, decor, clothes, jewellery, photography and the smaller items. With 300 guests at ₹1,200 a plate, catering alone is ₹3,60,000; with the other lines in this example, the total is ₹17.75 lakh.
What is the cost per guest at an Indian wedding?
It depends on the plate cost and how many fixed costs are shared across the guests. In this example the whole budget works out to ₹5,917 a guest, against ₹1,200 for the plate alone. Fewer guests means a higher cost per guest, because the venue, clothes and jewellery do not shrink with the list.
How much should I save each month for a wedding?
Take the budget, subtract what your savings will have grown to by the date, and divide the gap by what ₹1 a month grows to. For the ₹17.75 lakh example with ₹5,00,000 saved and 12 months to go at 7%, that is about ₹99,388 a month.
What is the EMI on a ₹10 lakh personal loan for a wedding?
At 14% a year over 3 years the EMI is about ₹34,178, and the total interest is ₹2,30,395. Rates on personal loans depend on your credit score, income and employer; processing fees and GST on them come on top.
How much more does a wedding loan cost than saving?
In the example, borrowing the gap of ₹12,38,855 over 3 years at 14% means repaying ₹15,24,281. Saving it over 12 months at 7% means putting in ₹11,92,652. The loan costs ₹3,31,628 more.
Is personal loan interest for a wedding tax deductible?
No. Interest on a loan used for personal spending, such as a wedding, is not deductible under the Income-tax Act. Only specific loans, such as a home loan or an education loan, carry deductions, and those have their own conditions.