Wedding budget: what a wedding costs and how to make a budget that holds
Updated 6 October 2026 · Written by Lysela
What a wedding costs depends mostly on the number of guests and where you celebrate. According to the Swedish bank SBAB, couples who married between 2018 and 2023 spent 76,605 kronor on average, and those with more than 90 guests just over 200,000. A wedding at a manor or castle with 100 guests often costs more than that in food, drink and rooms alone, and with a photographer, music, flowers and outfits many end up at 500,000 kronor or more. Start with the total, work out the amount per guest and split it across the items below.
Try it yourself, no account neededWhat does a wedding cost?
The average says little about your wedding, because the cost grows with the guest list. This is how it looked in SBAB's survey. According to the bank SEB, the cost of a wedding has risen by 23 percent since 2022, so expect the same wedding to cost more today.
| Number of guests | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 10 | 6,830 kr |
| 10 to 29 | 31,905 kr |
| 30 to 59 | 64,679 kr |
| 60 to 89 | 133,000 kr |
| More than 90 | 200,452 kr |
SBAB, press release 7 June 2023 (Norstat, 300 respondents who married 2018 to 2023, in Swedish)
What does a larger wedding at a castle or manor cost?
Castles and manor houses usually sell a package per guest with dinner and drinks, and rooms for those who stay the night. Two examples from 2026: Haga Slott charges 2,825 kronor per person for the dinner package and 850 kronor per person for the room, with at least 70 guests. Noors Slott charges from 2,195 kronor per person for dinner and drinks, plus from 17,500 kronor to hire the castle for a weekend.
With 100 guests at Haga Slott who all stay the night, that comes to 367,500 kronor for dinner, drinks and rooms. The photographer, music, flowers, outfits, rings and transport come on top. A marquee wedding can cost even more: according to SEB, a large marquee with heating, toilets and furniture can cost around a million kronor.
Haga Slott, Slottspaketet (retrieved October 2026, in Swedish)
Making the budget, step by step
1. Set the total
What have you saved, what can you save before the day, and will family help? A third of the couples in SBAB's survey had help.
2. Work it out per guest
Divide the total by the number of guests on the guest list. If the venue you want costs more per head than that, it is usually the guest list that needs to get shorter.
3. Pick what matters most
Decide together which two or three things you want to spend most on, and where you can cut back.
4. Keep a buffer
Set part of the total aside for what comes up late, like extra hours at the venue or transport.
5. Record what you have paid
Update the budget whenever you pay an invoice, so you always see what is left.
A wedding budget template
Copy the items into a spreadsheet or a list and fill in two columns for each: what you plan to spend and what you have paid. Delete what does not apply to you.
Venue Food and drink Cake Music, band or DJ Decoration and flowers
Ceremony and officiant Outfits and shoes Hair and make-up Rings
Photographer and videographer Wedding coordinator Save the date, invitation and wedding website Transport and rooms for guests Buffer
Does the wedding end up costing more than planned?
Usually not, but the risk grows with the budget. In SBAB's survey, 64 percent said the wedding cost what they had planned and about one in five that it cost more. Of those who spent more than 200,000 kronor, 52 percent said it cost more than planned.
What most often breaks the budget is more guests than intended and extras added late. Settle the guest list early, and enter every quote in the budget as soon as you get it.
Lysela adds up the budget
At Lysela, Planning and budget is included in every tier. For each line on the list you note what it may cost and what you have paid, and at the top it adds up to planned, paid and left. You also see which of you is in charge of what, and what needs to be done next.
You pay once, SEK 795, SEK 1,795 or SEK 4,990 including VAT, and the site stays up for 12 to 18 months depending on the tier.
Common questions
What does a wedding for 100 people cost?
In SBAB's survey, weddings with more than 90 guests cost just over 200,000 kronor on average. In the castle examples above, dinner and drinks alone for 100 guests cost 237,000 to 282,500 kronor, and more with rooms, a photographer, music and outfits.
What is a reasonable wedding budget?
One you can pay without borrowing. Start from what you have and work out how many guests and which venue it covers, not the other way round.
What is the biggest cost?
For most couples it is the venue, the food and the drink, and all three grow with the number of guests.
How can we make the wedding cheaper?
Fewer guests saves the most. Other ways are a weekday or a date outside the high season, when many castles and venues charge less, and friends who help with what they are good at.