I was all about the wedding bells after getting engaged in June, but after seeing some of these wedding venue quotes, it’s more like alarm bells.
"Ding-dong" has been remixed to "cha-ching" – and I need help.
I don’t even know how to begin wedding planning. What are the first steps? What do I need to prioritize first? Which tasks are pressing – and which can wait a year or two?
I decided to enlist the help of an AI assistant. Taking it one step further, I thought it’d be interesting to see which chatbot – Gemini Advanced or ChatGPT Plus (i.e., ChatGPT 4o) – is the better wedding planner.
I’m planning on have my wedding in the summer of 2026 – sometime between August and September. Besides that, I don’t have anything else nailed down, so I asked both Gemini and ChatGPT to give me a to-do list based on the following prompt:
“My wedding is between August 2026 and September 2026. Give me a to-do list of things to do for the remainder of 2024, 2025, and 2026 for a 100-guest wedding.”
Both kicked off their lists accurately: setting a budget is a crucial first step. However, the problem with Gemini's response is that it recommends venue hunting before drafting a guest list. You can't search for wedding places without having a rough idea of your guest count. One of the first things venue coordinators ask is, "How many people are coming to your wedding?"
Interestingly, ChatGPT wants me to take the early-bird approach. It recommended booking my venue in 2024 and finalizing other vendors (e.g., florist, entertainment, and photographers) in 2025. Gemini, on the other hand, is OK with both being booked in 2025. ChatGPT wants me set up a registry in 2025 and obtain a marriage license in 2025; Gemini, on the other hand, is fine with me procrastinating on the former until 2026 — and mentions nothing about a marriage license.
To be fair, though, ChatGPT didn't mention anything about honeymoon planning.
Both agree that 2025 is the year I should go wedding dress shopping and send save-the dates. In 2026, both advise to send out invitations and confirm bookings with vendors.
ChatGPT offered helpful tips that I hadn't considered before, including using a folder or binder to organize quotes, contracts, and ideas in one place and creating a wedding-day timeline.
Winner: ChatGPT
I was curious to see if Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus could help me find a bang-for-your-buck venue within my budget (i.e., $20,000).
After searching the far corners of the internet, I found some venues, at less than $20,000, that offer all-inclusive packages, including the DJ and master of ceremonies, limousine service, florist, cake, and photographer.
As such, I tested Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus to see if they could find these locations with the following prompt:
"Find a venue that falls within my budget of $20,000 that offers a complete wedding package. The venue should be located in Queens, Long Island, or within the Hudson River Valley area at most. My guest count is 100. My wedding is in 2026, with a preference for months between August and September. Sunday weddings are OK, as well as Saturday weddings. It doesn't matter whether it's daytime or nighttime."
These are wedding venues that I've seen during my research that offer gorgeous, visually stunning weddings without demanding exorbitant expenses.
Pavilion at Sunken Meadow State Park does, indeed, have a complete wedding package, with a starting price of $18,000. I'm not sure if Bourne Mansion and Larkfield have complete wedding packages, but the latter quoted me $110 per-person for a 100-guest afternoon wedding, which comes with food and a wedding cake. Including the $1,500 ceremony fee, that comes out to a subtotal of $12,500.
Did it miss other budget-friendly venues I've discovered during my research? Yes, but it's on the right track.
Gemini, on the other hand, shocked me — and not in a good way. Gemini is a Google-owned service, so I thought it'd be able to tap into its vast treasure trove of information to beat ChatGPT. Instead, Gemini delivered a rather disappointing, lazy answer.
Leonard's Palazzo is a wedding venue I've received a personalized quote for while venue hunting. They do not offer a complete wedding package, but while throwing in the food and the cake, they quoted me about $16,000 for a 100-guest ceremony and reception. Not bad!
The Manhattan-based recommendations are a head scratcher because they're not in my desired region. (At least Andaz 5th Ave is within the ballpark of my budget.)
And then, Gemini had the audacity to say, "I hope this helps!" Is it trolling me?
Winner: ChatGPT
Both Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus can "read" PDFs and screenshots, making them ideal AI assistants for making sense of confusing pricing charts (as well as the small-text taxes and gratuities within them that need to be tacked on to the base cost).
Here's an example of one of the many charts I ran into while venue shopping:
I decided to test Gemini and ChatGPT's ability to make calculations based on the above PDF.
"Check out this 2025 wedding price list. Based on a date between August 2025 and September 2025 on Sunday at noontime, and a guest list of 100 adults, calculate the full total. We will have the ceremony on site. Include the administrative fee, NY sales tax, suggested gratuities, and bridal attendant fee."
Gemini Advanced offered a total of $21,017 while ChatGPT Plus posted $20,568.69. Why are the totals different? The former added the bridal attendant fee of $400 in the subtotal before tacking on the 22% administration fee.
ChatGPT, on the other hand, applied the 22% administration fee only to the base cost (i.e., $130 x 100 guests) and ceremony fee — and then it added the $400 bridal attendant fee. Based on how other venues have quoted me, it seems like ChatGPT's calculation is more accurate.
Winner: ChatGPT
I asked Gemini and ChatGPT to generate an image of a wedding reception concept based on the following prompt:
"My fiancé and I are tech journalists who are, of course, obsessed with tech, including laptops, phones, VR headsets, gaming, XR glasses, etc. We also love space, and we’re leaning toward some sort of celestial vibe for our wedding. Generate an image of a wedding reception beautifully conveys this wedding theme and design."
ChatGPT delivered one image and nailed what I'm looking for. Gemini churned out three, and only one of them, just the first one, caught my eye.
ChatGPT, however, generated the most eye-catching image.
Winner: ChatGPT
Finally, we asked Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus for wedding favor ideas.
"My fiancé and I want to get cheap tech-product wedding favors. Give us 10 techy wedding favor ideas that will delight our guests."
Customized USB Drives:
Portable Phone Chargers:
LED keychains
Earbuds
Smartphone PopSockets
Mini Bluetooth Speakers
Touchscreen Gloves
Digital Photo Frames
VR Cardboard Headsets
Fitness Tracker Bracelets
Personalized USB drivers
Mini Bluetooth speakers
Phone Ring Holders
Custom Phone PopSockets
Portable Power Banks
LED Flashing Badges
Selfie Ring Lights
Miniature LED projectors
Card-Sized Multitools
Wireless Charging Pads
Portable phone chargers, earbuds, mini bluetooth speakers, and fitness tracker bracelets caught my eye on ChatGPT's list. Similarly, on Gemini's list, mini bluetooth speakers, portable power banks, and wireless charging pads grabbed my attention.
Unfortunately for Gemini, ChatGPT won this round, too.
Winner: ChatGPT
ChatGPT Plus mopped the floor with Gemini Advanced in this face-off. To my surprise, ChatGPT had more thoughtful, research-based responses compared to Gemini.
ChatGPT Plus costs $20 month; Gemini Advanced is also $20 a month.
