Wedding budget in Canada: average cost and HST in CAD

A wedding in Canada costs about $30,000 to $32,000 on average in 2025 and 2026, in Canadian dollars. That figure is a starting point, not a target. Where you marry, how many guests you invite and which province's sales tax you pay all move it by thousands.

This guide gathers the averages from four Canadian sources and dates each one. It shows where the money usually goes and how HST or GST changes a vendor's quote. It also covers Ontario and Alberta in detail, and the other provinces more briefly.

The short answer: what a Canadian wedding costs

Source	Date	What it says
RBC	20 January 2026	About $32,000 in 2025, with most weddings between $30,000 and $40,000, and upwards of 25% more in Toronto or Vancouver
Bridebook	updated 28 July 2026	An average of $30,000, with a range for each category (the table below)
BMO	8 July 2026	Canadians expect a wedding to cost nearly $19,000, and a guest spends about $1,530 to attend
WealthNorth	updated 6 October 2026	Sales tax and gratuities are added to most vendor quotes, catering above all, and Toronto and Vancouver cost more than the rest of the country

The gap between BMO's figure and the other two is the most useful number here. BMO's survey with Ipsos asked 2,503 Canadians what they think a wedding costs, and the answer was close to $19,000. RBC and Bridebook report what weddings actually come to, about $30,000 to $32,000. Most couples start planning with the lower number in mind, so they're over budget before the first quote comes in.

BMO's estimate breaks down like this: food and drink $4,884, the venue $4,201, attire $2,951, travel $2,834, decor $1,713, photo and video $1,648, and entertainment $1,603. Read it as a picture of expectations, not of prices.

Where the money goes

Bridebook's Canadian ranges, for a wedding near its $30,000 average:

Category	Typical range (CAD)
Venue	$8,000–9,500
Catering	$7,000–8,500
Rings	$4,500–7,500
Photography	$1,500–2,500
Videography	$1,500–2,500
Wedding dress	$1,500–2,500
Flowers	$1,000–2,000
Officiant	$500–1,000
Suit	$500–1,000
Transport	$500–1,000
Decor	$500–2,000
Music	$500–1,500
Cake	$500–700
Stationery	$300–600
Hair and makeup	$300–1,000
Favours	$250–750
Honeymoon	$5,000–8,000

Venue and catering together take about half the budget, and both are charged per guest. That makes the guest count the biggest lever you have. Our cost per guest guide shows how to work out what each extra guest really adds.

Rings and the honeymoon are on the list, but many couples budget them separately. Decide early whether yours are inside the wedding total or beside it, so you don't count them twice. The honeymoon budget guide covers the trip as a budget of its own.

How HST and GST change a vendor's quote

Most Canadian vendor quotes don't include sales tax. A venue that quotes $9,000 sends a bill for more, and the extra depends on the province you marry in. The rates are set federally and provincially; these are from the Canada Revenue Agency's rate table, in effect since 1 April 2025:

Province or territory	Sales tax on most wedding services
Ontario	13% HST
Nova Scotia	14% HST (15% before 1 April 2025)
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island	15% HST
Quebec	5% GST plus 9.975% QST
British Columbia	5% GST plus 7% PST where PST applies
Manitoba	5% GST plus 7% RST where RST applies
Saskatchewan	5% GST plus 6% PST where PST applies
Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	5% GST only

In the provinces with a separate provincial tax, it doesn't land on every service the same way, so ask each vendor which taxes their quote leaves out.

Three things to check on every quote:

1. Is tax included? Write each quote down before tax and after tax, and compare vendors after tax. A small vendor under the GST registration threshold may not charge it at all, which can make a higher quote the cheaper one.
2. Is there a service charge? Caterers and venues often add a mandatory 15 to 20% service or administration charge. In Canada, GST/HST is charged on a mandatory or pre-set service charge, because it's part of the price, while a tip you choose to give is not taxed. In 2022 the Tax Court of Canada ruled that an Ontario banquet hall's mandatory 15% "tip" was taxable. So on a catering bill, the tax is charged on the food and the service charge.
3. Which province's tax applies? Sales tax follows where the service is provided. Marry in Alberta while living in Ontario, and the venue charges GST, not HST. A vendor who travels to you charges for where they work.

Here's how it adds up on a catering quote in Ontario: $8,000 of food plus an 18% service charge is $9,440, and 13% HST on that brings it to about $10,667. That's a third more than the quote's headline figure. Budget the after-tax number from the start.

Tips you hand over on the day are separate from the service charge, and they aren't taxed. Our tipping guide has the usual amount for each vendor, and the final payments guide covers the balances due in the last weeks.

Wedding costs in Ontario

Ontario has the country's most expensive wedding market in Toronto, and the highest sales tax west of the Atlantic provinces.

• Tax. 13% HST on nearly everything: the venue, catering, the photographer, flowers, rentals and the DJ. On a $30,000 pre-tax budget, that's about $3,900.
• Toronto and the GTA. RBC puts weddings in Toronto upwards of 25% above the national average because of venue costs. On RBC's $32,000, that's $40,000 or more for a similar wedding. Venues outside the city, in Niagara, Prince Edward County or cottage country, often cost less per guest. Guests' travel and hotels then cost more, so count both.
• Season. Saturdays from June to October are the most in demand, and many venues charge their highest minimum spend then. A Friday, a Sunday or a date in May or November is often cheaper for the same room.
• The licence. Ontario's provincial fee is $75, and each municipality adds its own, so the total varies by city. Toronto's own pages list it at $160 to $180, with no HST. Our legal paperwork guide covers Ontario's licence, officiant and certificate step by step.

Wedding costs in Alberta

Alberta's lower sales tax is the clearest saving in the country.

• Tax. 5% GST and no provincial sales tax. On a $30,000 pre-tax budget, that's $1,500, about $2,400 less than in Ontario.
• Calgary, Edmonton and the mountains. Weddings in the cities cost about the national average. A wedding in Banff, Canmore or Jasper costs more: mountain venues and hotels charge resort prices in summer, and guests pay for travel and lodging. Some mountain venues have their own rules and fees for ceremonies on park land, so ask before you book.
• Season. Summer is short, and June to September dates go first. Winter weddings in the mountains are popular too, so the cheaper season there is spring and late fall.
• The licence. Alberta's marriage licence has a $40 government fee, and the registry agent who issues it adds a service fee of their own, so prices differ between agents. It's valid for three months.

The other provinces

The national average is a fair starting point everywhere. What changes is the tax and how much local venues charge.

• British Columbia. Vancouver costs about what Toronto does, according to RBC, and Whistler and Vancouver Island are popular for destination weddings. You pay GST, plus PST on the goods and services it covers.
• Quebec. GST plus QST comes to almost 15%, about the same as the HST provinces. Montreal costs less than Toronto or Vancouver for comparable venues.
• The Atlantic provinces. 15% HST (14% in Nova Scotia) is the highest in the country, though venues and catering often cost less than in the big cities.
• Manitoba and Saskatchewan. GST plus a provincial tax on some services. Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon are usually below the national average.
• The territories. GST only, but most goods and many vendors come from the south, so travel costs often take back what the tax saves.

How many couples marry in each province, and how that changed through the pandemic, is in our marriage in Canada data page, from Statistics Canada's own table.

How to build your budget in Canadian dollars

1. Start from what you can spend, not from the average. Add up your savings, what you can put aside before the date and any family contributions you've agreed. Our guide to setting a wedding budget walks through it, and our guide to who pays for the wedding covers asking family.
2. Take off the tax first. Divide your total by 1.13 in Ontario, 1.05 in Alberta or your province's rate. The result is what vendors can quote before tax. Leave a further 5 to 10% buffer.
3. Split it by category. The free budget calculator splits a total into the usual categories in CAD (pick it from the currency list) and shows the cost per guest.
4. Check the guest count against it. If the venue and catering come to $150 per guest after tax and service, 120 guests is $18,000 before anything else. The calculator's what-if shows how many guests the budget allows.
5. Write every quote down after tax and service. When a quote comes in, put its full price beside the category's line. Compare that, not the headline number.

Keep it in Linenfold

The free budget calculator works without an account and keeps your figures in your browser. To keep the budget with the rest of the wedding, create a free account and save it. Your total and the amount for each category come with it.

In the app, the budget tracks planned against actual for each category, and the headcount what-if shows what the guest list costs. Complete adds the payment log, with every deposit and balance by vendor and who paid it, as well as who's chipping in, with each family's pledge against what they've paid. It also has the final payments and tips planner for the last weeks.