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Bridal Shower Budget Calculator: What to Spend on Each Part

Enter your guest count and either a total budget or a per-guest target. Tick the categories you actually need, say how many hosts are sharing the cost, and get a dollar amount for each line, what the shower costs per guest, and each host's share.

Free · no signup · runs in your browser — nothing you type leaves your device.

Your shower

Sample numbers are filled in. Replace them with your own.

What are you paying for?

Untick anything you will not spend on. Edit a percentage to shift money between lines. The ticked percentages are scaled to add up to 100% of your budget.

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Your budget

Total budget
$0
Per guest
$0
Each host's share
$0
Guests
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Split by category

    How the numbers are worked out

    The calculator first fixes the total: either the total you typed, or your per-guest amount multiplied by the guest count. It then adds up the percentages of the categories you ticked and gives each one its percentage divided by that sum, times the total. The per-guest figure for each line is that dollar amount divided by the guest count, and each host's share is the total divided by the number of hosts.

    For example, with 25 guests and a $600 total, and every category ticked at the starting percentages, Food and catering is 27% of the total: $600 × 0.27 = $162.00, which is $6.48 per guest. Split between 3 hosts, the whole shower is $200.00 each. Untick Venue and the other eight categories share the money instead: Food and catering becomes 27 ÷ 85 of $600, about $190.59.

    About the starting percentages

    They are planning estimates we chose, not a survey and not a standard. Food is the biggest line because it is usually the largest single cost. If a friend is baking the cake, or you are using a free room, move the percentages or untick the line and watch the rest absorb it. If the hosts are not buying a group gift, untick "Gift from the hosts". What matters is that the lines add up to the money you really have.

    Where to save, and where not to

    Printed items are the easiest place to cut. A printable invitation, menu sign, food labels and favor tags that you edit and print at home cost a few dollars compared with custom stationery. A mimosa bar is cheaper than table service, and the mimosa bar calculator tells you how many bottles to buy so you do not overbuy. Food is harder to trim without guests noticing, so protect it first. The budget guide goes through the trade-offs line by line.

    Questions

    What is a good budget for a bridal shower?
    It depends on where you live, how many guests you invite, whether you cater or cook, and whether you are paying for a venue. Rather than quote an average, this calculator works backward from the number you can actually spend: enter the total, or the amount per guest you are comfortable with, and it splits the money across the categories you are using. A shower at home with no venue is a very different budget from a restaurant room, so untick Venue and the other lines share the money.
    Who pays for a bridal shower?
    There is no single rule. The maid of honor often hosts and the cost is commonly shared with the bridesmaids or with family. Agree it openly at the start. Enter the number of hosts in the "Split between" box and the calculator shows each host's share of the total, so everyone sees the same figure before anyone spends money.
    How does the split work when I untick a category?
    Each ticked category has a percentage. The calculator adds up the percentages of the ticked categories and gives each one its percentage divided by that sum. So if you untick Venue (15), the remaining 85 points are scaled back up to fill 100% of your budget. Nothing is dropped or double counted.
    Are the starting percentages a standard?
    No. They are our own planning estimates: food is the largest line, then the venue, then a gift from the hosts, with the rest in smaller slices. There is no official breakdown for bridal showers. Change any percentage to match your own plans, and the dollar amounts update as you type.
    Should I enter the total budget or the per-guest amount?
    Use the total if a number is already fixed, for example "the bridesmaids agreed on $600 together". Use the per-guest target if you are still deciding how many people to invite, because the total then moves with the guest count and you can see what each extra guest costs.
    Does anything I type leave my device?
    No. The math runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Close the tab and it is gone.

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