Wedding cost in Germany for 2026: realistic prices for venue, catering, photographer, DJ, dress and rings, a worked example for 80 guests and where to save.
The Eventadore team11 min readUpdated 26 October 2026
Translated from GermanRead the original
How much does a wedding cost in Germany? Add up the usual prices for 60 to 100 guests and in 2026 you will mostly land somewhere between €15,000 and €30,000 — smaller celebrations come in below that, castles and big cities above it. A good half of it goes on the venue, food and drink, which is why your guest count shapes the budget more than any other decision.
Below you will find realistic ranges for every item, as a rough guide for 2026: what pushes the total up or down, a worked example for 80 guests, and the places where you can save without regretting it later.
These are guide figures, not a price list. Roughly, in Germany:
Where you land within each range comes down mainly to four things: how many guests you invite, the day of the week, the season and the region. More on that further down.
Venues charge in one of three ways. Only once you know which can you compare two offers at all:
Also ask about what is not in the offer: final cleaning, staff after midnight, corkage (often €5–15 a bottle if you bring your own wine), setting up the day before, and rooms for guests. Almost everywhere, a Saturday between May and September is the most expensive day. A look at the venues in the search quickly shows you what is usual where you live.
You pay for food and drink for every single guest, so this item grows with your guest list. Rough ranges per person:
If the caterer comes from outside, service staff are often billed separately, frequently at €25–40 an hour per waiter. A drinks package is predictable; paying by consumption is cheaper if your guests drink little — but nobody knows that for sure beforehand. And remember your photographer and DJ: anyone working ten hours for you gets a meal too.
Styles, prices and the right questions for a caterer are in our guide to wedding catering.
With anyone who comes to you, the total is what counts: travel, an overnight stay and overtime quickly turn €1,200 into €1,600. On Eventadore, once you enter the place, the date and the number of guests, the cards in the search show what exactly that day costs, travel included; without a date you see a price range.
Coverage of the whole day, from getting ready to the first dance, mostly costs €1,500–3,500. If you only need the registry office and a couple shoot, you pay a few hundred euros. A videographer is around €1,200–3,000. Compare the hours, the number of edited pictures and the delivery time, and look at whole weddings from wedding photographers, not just their ten best shots.
A DJ with their own sound and lighting mostly costs €800–2,000 for an evening, and every hour beyond the agreed time is extra. What goes into that price is explained in our article on what a wedding DJ costs. A party band of four to six musicians is mostly €2,500–4,000, large line-ups with horns above that; a duo for the ceremony and reception starts at about €600. A photo booth for the wedding costs about €300–600 for the evening, depending on the type.
A celebrant mostly costs €800–2,000, including a first meeting, a speech written for you and the running order. Legally, only the marriage at the Standesamt counts in Germany: a symbolic ceremony comes on top of it and does not replace it.
Fees differ from place to place. Two examples: in Berlin, registering the marriage costs €45, a ceremony outside opening hours €80 extra, one outside the official rooms €75–150, and the marriage certificate €12 (service.berlin.de). In Münster, registering costs €72, and a Saturday adds €153 (stadt-muenster.de). With certificates and the slot you want, you will mostly pay €100–350; a special ceremony location such as a castle charges its own room hire on top.
If one of you does not hold a German passport, or you have documents from abroad, translations, certifications and possibly the exemption from the certificate of no impediment (Befreiung vom Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) are often added; the exemption costs up to €305 depending on income. Which documents you need is covered in our article on getting married in Germany. Fees can change; your Standesamt confirms what applies to you.
Save-the-date, invitation, menu, table and place cards: printed cards cost about €2–5 each depending on the print run, paper and finish, plus envelopes and postage. For 80 guests — around 40 invitations at one per household — you will mostly spend €300–1,000 on all the cards.
Lena and Jonas are marrying on a Saturday in June: the registry office in the morning, then a celebration for 80 guests at a Landgasthof (a country inn) with a hall, a menu and a DJ. Their bill could look like this:
Together that is €22,620, around €283 per guest. With a 10% buffer, the two of them plan for just under €25,000.
The same wedding on a Friday in May, with a €50 buffet instead of the menu, six hours of photography instead of eight, and flowers in season: hall €2,000, food €4,000, photographer €1,700, flowers €1,000. That is €4,000 less, so €18,620, or just over €20,000 with the buffer. If Lena and Jonas also invite 60 guests instead of 80, the total falls by almost €2,000 to about €16,600, or just over €18,000 with the buffer.
Saving pays where your guests will not notice — not where you will see it in the photos twenty years from now.
Don't save on the amount of food, on an experienced photographer, on the music that carries the evening — or on the buffer. And keep track: in the budget in your Planning you only type the total you want to spend; it adds up your suppliers' prices itself, split into Committed and In play. How to divide the total sensibly between the items is in our article on the wedding budget.
The photographer, music, outfits and rings cost almost the same as for 80 guests; it is mainly food, drinks and stationery that shrink. With the assumptions from the worked example you reach just under €19,000 plus the buffer; with a smaller room, a buffet and shorter photography, more like €12,000–15,000.
Usually €100–350 in all: registering (€45 in Berlin, €72 in Münster), certificates at around €12–15 each, and surcharges for a Saturday or a ceremony outside the office. With documents from abroad, translations and possibly an exemption from the certificate of no impediment are added. Your Standesamt will tell you the current fees.
Many suppliers ask for a deposit when you book and the rest before or on the day itself. On Eventadore the price is fixed the moment you add a supplier to your Planning. When you reserve, only the booking fee is held on your card, and it is charged only when the supplier says yes — it is already inside the price. You pay the deposit and the rest to the supplier directly; step by step in How paying works.
10–15% of the planned total. The buffer catches what is in no offer: tips, overtime, meals for the suppliers, postage, alterations to the dress and the guests who join after all.
Often, yes: many venues and some suppliers charge less on a Friday, a Sunday or a weekday than on a Saturday in summer. Bear in mind, though, that your guests will have to take time off for it. A Friday is often a good compromise.
