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The question was popped, the answer was yes, and now you’re ready to plan your dream wedding. Which means it’s probably time to set up a meet-and-greet between your vision board and your bank account.

Wedding costs can add up quickly, and if you’re just winging it, it’s easy to get carried away. Using a wedding cost calculator as you work through the planning process can help you manage your money better and create a more realistic budget.

Read on for a breakdown of the costs you can expect as you prepare for your big day.

How Much Will My Wedding Cost?

The cost of a wedding depends on several factors, including where you live, your wedding date, and the size of your guest list. If you go all-out with a big bridal party, designer duds, and a reception for 200-plus, your bill could be significantly more than the current median of $10,000. If you decide to go with a simple ceremony at City Hall, on the other hand, followed by a modest dinner with a few friends, your total spend will likely fall way below the typical wedding cost.

What Does the Average Wedding Cost?

The most recent SoFi survey found that the median wedding cost is $10,000. But again, that number can vary widely.

Studies have found that couples who live in the South typically spend a bit less on their wedding, while those who live in bigger cities, particularly in the Northeast, can expect higher costs. Trying to match or exceed the standards set by others in your social group can also affect your bottom line.

The popular wedding website The Knot says couples who live in the South typically spend a bit less on their wedding, while those who live in bigger cities, particularly in the Northeast, can expect higher costs. Trying to match or exceed the standards set by others in your social group can also affect your bottom line.

Recommended: Is It Smart to Finance a Wedding?

What Goes into a Wedding Cost Calculator?

A wedding cost calculator uses average wedding costs to help couples break down the expenses they can expect to encounter as they plan their wedding. This budgeting tool can assist couples and their families in prioritizing how they want to spend their money. (Is a designer dress a must? Is a buffet or sit-down dinner a better choice? How many guests can you really afford?)

You also can use a wedding calculator/budget as a checklist to ensure you’ve covered all the details, so there aren’t any surprises (or unexpected wedding expenses) as you close in on the big day.

How to Calculate Wedding Costs

To keep things in perspective and set reasonable priorities, you may want to start by designating a certain percentage of your overall budget for each cost category. A $2,000 dress, for example, would be 10% of a $20,000 budget. A $10,000 reception (venue, catering, music, etc.) would take up 50%. That would leave you 40%, or $8,000, for the rest of your costs (the tux, flowers, photography, etc.).

Knowing the average costs for various categories can also help you fine-tune your budget and save for your wedding. Here’s a look at some of the most common wedding expenditures.

Before the Big Day

You can count on racking up some wedding bills long before you hear wedding bells. (Which is why it can be helpful to use a spending app as soon as you start planning.) Here are some costs you may incur early on in your preparations:

Save the Date Cards: If you want to let your guests know waaay ahead that your big day is coming up, sending “save-the-date” alerts can help. Postcards generally cost 20-55¢ each; refrigerator magnets can range from 30¢ to $1.60. (Costs per item typically go down when you order more.)

Invitations: Two major factors will affect the cost of sending out wedding invitations: An elaborate invitation or one that’s designed just for you will cost more than a standard design. And, of course, you’ll pay more for invitations and postage if you have a large guest list. (Don’t forget to put stamps on the RSVP cards included in each invite.) You could end up paying from $2 to $10 for each invitation and postage.

Wedding Planner: How much would you be willing to pay to hand over some of the stress of planning your wedding to a professional? U.S. couples spend an average of $1,500 for their wedding planner’s services, but your price may vary depending on your planner’s expertise and level of involvement, and the size of your wedding.

Marriage Ceremony

Though it’s what the big day is all about, and the reason friends and family have gathered, it can be easy to overlook the actual wedding ceremony when budgeting. Here are some costs to keep in mind:

Marriage License: This document, which authorizes a couple to marry, can cost anywhere from $20 to $150. You can get your exact cost by calling the issuance office in the county where you plan to marry. In some states, you may be able to lower the cost by taking a marriage preparation course.

Officiant Fee: The officiant is the person who is legally authorized to perform your ceremony. It can be the minister at your church or someone who performs weddings as a full-time or side gig. Officiant fees can vary from about $250 to $800.

Ceremony Venue: Unless you exchange vows at the same location as your reception, you’ll likely have to budget a separate amount for this venue, whether it’s your church, the beach, a private garden, or a public park. The cost will depend on the location and how long you use the space. (Even if it’s a public place, you may have to pay for a permit to hold your ceremony there, or a by-the-hour rental fee.)

Churches typically ask for a “donation,” which can be a mandatory amount or pay-what-you-wish deal. Unless you’re headed to the courthouse, be prepared to pay between $300 to $1,000-plus for a ceremony venue.

Decorations: The cost of decorating for your ceremony will depend on how elaborate you want to get — and what your venue will allow. Keeping it simple with a flower arrangement at the altar could be $60 to $450. But adding ribbons and flowers to the pews, petals in the aisle, or a flowered archway can bump this portion of your floral budget to over $1,000.

Ceremony Music: You’ll likely want to have some kind of live music at your ceremony — maybe a soloist, the church organist, a quartet, or a band. The cost for music can vary significantly depending on how big you go, and can range from $200 to $400 per hour.

Reception

The reception is typically the largest wedding expense and can include several subcategories — from food and entertainment to decorations and, of course, the cost of renting the venue where guests will gather to celebrate. According to WeddingCalculator.com, the average reception ranges from $4,000 to $20,000.

Some all-inclusive venues charge one price for catering, decorations, and more. If you have to hire multiple vendors, though, you’ll need to keep these separate costs in mind:

Venue: Depending on the size and location of the hall, country club, restaurant, etc., you can expect to pay $2,500 to $7,500 just to rent the space for your party.

Catering: The cost of feeding your guests will depend on what you serve (appetizers or a full meal) and how it’s served (buffet or by a waitstaff). Costs generally range from $30 to $80 per guest. You may have to pay extra to rent serving equipment or pay waitstaff at some venues.

Drinks: If you decide to offer an open bar with unlimited alcoholic beverages, you can expect to pay $10 to $20 per person per hour, or more.

Entertainment: Couples often argue over whether to hire a DJ or band — and cost can be the deciding factor. A DJ might charge $450 to $1,250, depending on their popularity, equipment, and how long they’re expected to keep the party going. A live band generally charges a bit more, from $750 to $1,500 for about two hours. (You may have to pay more if you have to rent sound or lighting equipment.)

Decorations: If you decide to add decorations to the venue (with ribbons, confetti, balloons, etc.), you will likely have to pay extra — from $100 to $1,000. A floral centerpiece for each table might incur a separate cost, so it’s important to be clear about what’s included in your package.

Recommended: Wedding Gift Etiquette

Wedding Cake

The cake you choose for your wedding is about much more than dessert. Cutting the cake is a fun tradition and it can be a great photo opp. Design, size, the number of tiers, and delivery can all impact the cost, but plan to pay $3 to $8 per person. The average cost of a cake is about $500.

Photographer/Videographer

If you’re hoping to capture the best moments of your wedding, you may want to make the photographer, and maybe videographer, one of your budget priorities. Depending on the package you choose, you can expect to pay from $1,500 to $3,000 for wedding photos. A videographer can cost $1,000 to $2,500.

Flowers

We covered the cost of using flowers to decorate for the ceremony and reception above. Here are some other costs to consider:

Bridal Bouquet: The bride’s flowers are in the spotlight throughout the day — in photos, during the ceremony, and even at the reception. For the bouquet of your dreams, you can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $350.

Boutonnieres for the Guys: If the groom will be wearing a suit or tux, a boutonniere is almost a must, and it will run from $10 to $50. Multiply that price by the number of men in the wedding party if Dad and the other guys will get them, too.

Bridesmaids Bouquets: These smaller bouquets typically cost $25 to $100 each.

Corsages: Corsages, which can be a nice way to recognize special family members and friends, may cost $15 to $30 each.

Petals for Flower Girl: A bundle of rose petals for the flower girl to scatter can cost $20 to $25.

Bride’s Wedding Outfit

The bride’s ’fit — the dress, veil, shoes, jewelry, and more — often takes up a significant amount of the wedding budget. The bride’s wedding dress alone can cost, on average, $1,000 to $4,000. And that’s before alterations (typically $125 to $250).

Groom’s Wedding Outfit

The groom’s gear generally reflects the formality of the wedding, but most men still wear a tux or suit. Purchasing a new tux can cost $500 to $1,000. And tailoring may cost extra. Renting a tux can cost $200 or more.

Wedding Party Costs

Traditionally, members of the wedding party pay for their own outfits, but there may be other expenses you decide to cover if you want to help out with the cost of being in your wedding.

For example, if you’re hiring someone to do the bride’s hair and makeup (average cost: $300), and you choose to include the bridesmaids, you can expect to pay about $150 per person. As with most wedding-day costs, however, you’ll likely encounter a wide range of prices.

Transportation

If you and your wedding party hope to travel in style on your wedding day, you want to look into renting a limo, horse-drawn carriage, party bus, or some other type of transportation. Couples spend an average of $750 for wedding day transportation, but costs will vary based on location, how many vehicles you need, and how many hours you need them.

Wedding Insurance

Once you start budgeting for your wedding, you may decide it makes sense to purchase insurance to protect your investment. Wedding insurance can cover you for several worse-case scenarios. The cost of this type of special-event coverage depends on what you decide to include in your policy. The average cost of a wedding insurance policy is $275.

Total Wedding Cost Example

Until you start making calls and getting price quotes, it will be challenging to get even a rough estimate of how much your wedding will cost in total. But the sooner you start filling in some of the blanks on your budget, the sooner you’ll be able to prioritize where you want your money to go — and get a better idea of what the final bill will be.

Here’s an example of what a couple with a budget of $14,000 and a guest list of 50 might come up with.

How to Save Money on Your Wedding

How can you keep your dream wedding from totaling up to a nightmare cost? Here are a few ways to lower the bottom line:

Ask Friends and Family for Help

Do you know someone who’s great at taking photos? Is your cousin an amazing singer? What about a friend who’s a talented baker and cake decorator? If you can find people you trust to take the place of pricier pros, you may be able to reduce some costs — or avoid them entirely.

Eliminate Some of the Extras

If you can do your own hair and makeup, get yourself to the wedding, and/or design and print your own invitations (or go paperless), you may be able to cut some costs without asking for help.

Downsize the Guest List

This can be a tough one, but trimming your guest list is a sure way to trim costs. Consider asking your friends to leave their kids at home, or gently telling your guests that you’re keeping the plus-ones to a minimum.

Go Off the Beaten Path

Choosing an off-peak wedding date; an unusual (and therefore more affordable), wedding venue; or a wedding dress from a department store or consignment shop can save you big bucks.

Recommended: Free Credit Score Monitoring

The Takeaway

Wedding costs can get out of hand quickly, so it’s a good idea to start your planning with a realistic budget. Then, as you go through the planning process, you can use your budget tracker to stay on top of your actual costs — and stay in sync with your other financial goals. In our example above, wedding costs totaled $14,000 for an event with 50 guests. That number covered the invitations, ceremony, reception with wine bar and buffet dinner, DJ, flowers, cake, and the bride’s and groom’s formalwear.

With SoFi’s money tracker app, you can set budgets, categorize your spending, monitor your credit score, and keep an eye on any upcoming bills — all for free.

FAQ

What is a realistic budget for a wedding?

A realistic wedding budget will be different for every couple. The average wedding cost is about $29,000, but that amount can vary significantly depending on the size of the wedding, the location, and other factors.

Is $10,000 a reasonable wedding budget?

You may have to be pickier about splurges than a couple with more to spend, but by setting your priorities early and using a budget tracker, you can get a strong start on sticking to your $10,000 wedding goal.

How do I pay for a wedding I can’t afford?

There are a few different ways you can pay for a wedding if you don’t have enough cash in the bank. One popular option is to take out a personal loan to pay for wedding expenses. Another is to apply for a credit card with a 0% introductory interest rate, which will allow you to pay off the balance interest-free for up to 18 months. Or you might consider waiting until you’ve saved enough to pay all your costs without borrowing.

Photo credit: iStock/Arisara_Tongdonnoi

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An options chain is like a menu of all the available options contracts for a specific security. The options chain, or options matrix, shows the listed puts, calls, the expiration dates, strike prices, and volume and pricing information for the underlying asset, within a given maturity.

An options chain provides detailed quote and price information, and is usually divided into calls vs. puts and categorized by expiration date.

Understanding the Options Chain

To understand what an options chain is, you first need to understand how options trading works. With this knowledge, you can build options trading strategies and attempt to profit in the market.

Options may allow you to profit on movements in the price of an underlying asset that you don’t own directly, by giving you the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a stock or other asset at a certain price (the strike price) at a certain date in the future (expiration date). But options trading strategies can be quite risky and are typically undertaken by experienced investors.

While options can get quite complex, there are basically two kinds of options: calls vs. puts.

Calls are options that allow you to buy a stock at a preset price (the strike price) until some point in the future (the expiration date), while puts give you the ability to sell an option at a specific price until the expiration.

Call Options

A call option is a contract that typically allows an investor to buy 100 shares of an underlying stock or other security at the strike price. A call option can be appealing because it gives an investor a potential way to profit from a stock’s increase in price without having to pay the full price for 100 shares.

The investor pays what’s known in options terminology as the “premium” on each share, which is typically much less than the current price of the stock.

Put Options

By contrast, a put option is a contract that allows the investor to sell shares at a certain price at a specified time in the future. The seller of the put option has the obligation to buy the shares from the put buyer, if the put buyer chooses to exercise the option.

If call options are a way to profit from a stock going up in price without having to own the stock itself, then put options are a way to profit from the fall of a stock’s price without having to short the stock (i.e. borrow the shares and then buy them back at a lower price).

In-the-Money and Out-of-the-Money Options

Options can be “in the money” (ITM) or “out of the money” (OTM). The terms refer to the relationship between the options strike price and the market value of the underlying asset.

Knowing the difference between being in or out of the money allows the options holder to gauge whether they might see a profit from their option, and to decide if and when to exercise the option.

•   A call option would be in the money if the strike price was lower than the current market price of the underlying security. An investor holding such a contract could exercise the option to buy the security at a discount and sell it for a profit right away.

•   An out-of-the-money call option would be when you purchase an options contract that would allow you to buy a stock at a price higher than it is trading at right now. That means the option doesn’t have any intrinsic value. Any value the option has is based on the possibility that the price of the underlying security will go up in the future.

The reverse applies to puts. A put would be in the money if the strike price is higher than the current market price of the underlying security, and out of the money if the strike price is lower.

What Is an Options Chain?

Option chains are basically charts that list different options and the information that differentiates them. The options chain can vary, depending on who is providing it, but some of the terms can include:

•   the strike price

•   last price

•   trading volume

•   the bid

•   the ask

•   net change

Once you understand basic options concepts like calls vs. puts, an options chain will be pretty easy to read.

Then you can move on to more complicated options trading strategies like options trading straddles.

Options Chain Example

Here is a hypothetical example of an options chain for Company ABC.

Calls for January 27, 2023

Options chains aren’t standardized, so your options chain provider may include more or less information.

Additional information could include more detail on price fluctuations, such as percentage price changes. Some sites include information on the characteristics of the option itself, such as implied volatility.

Reading the Options Chain

Once you understand the terms listed in the options chain, it’s relatively easy to decode. Reading from left to right in the hypothetical options chain above:

•   Contract name: Just as the fictional ABC company has a stock ticker, options have an alphanumeric identifier. For instance, “ABC230127C00240000” refers to an option to buy ABC shares by January 27, 2023 for $240. In other words, this is a call option with a strike price of $240 that expires on January 27, 2023.

•   Last trade date: The date and time when the option was last traded.

•   Strike: The price at which the option may be bought (calls) or sold (puts) before the expiration date.

•   Last price: The most recently traded or posted price of the option.

•   Bid: The highest price someone is willing to pay for the option.

•   Ask: The lowest price someone is willing to sell the option.

•   Change: How the price has changed since the close of the previous trading session.

•   Volume: The number of options contracts traded the most recent day that trading has been open.

•   Open interest: These are the options contracts that haven’t been closed — meaning exercised (i.e. the stock has been bought or sold at the pre-arranged price) or otherwise settled.

How Options Chains Can Help You Trade Options

Options chains are a key tool in trading options. How they directly lead to options trading depends on how the specific brokerage you use utilize options chains, and how certain factors might fit into a trader’s overall strategy.

For example, an experienced trader would be able to gauge the market in terms of price movements and higher and lower liquidity. These are key points to know for efficient trade executions and potential profitability.

For example, a trader wanting to assess market conditions for the first call option in the matrix above, might consider the last price, the bid, ask, and net change.

Any brokerage that allows you to trade options will provide the type of information seen in an options chain, as it is necessary for options to be priced and for investors and traders to make informed decisions about options trading.

Brokerages typically also have various deposit and educational or knowledge requirements for options trading as well.

The Takeaway

Options are highly complex derivatives, and investors need to be skilled and experienced enough to digest a series of critical data points in order to have an effective options strategy. One tool that can be effective for traders is using an options chain, or options matrix.

An options chain is similar to a master list of available options contracts for a specific security (the underlying). It shows the puts, calls, expiration dates, strike prices, and volume and pricing information for the underlying asset. By reading these charts, traders can decide which options fit their strategy.

If you’re ready to try your hand at options trading, SoFi can help. You can trade options online from the SoFi mobile app or through the web platform. And if you have any questions, SoFi offers educational resources about options to learn more.

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