Wedding Budget Planner

Who this is for

The wedding money on one page. One row per cost — venue, catering, dress and suits and the rest — with what was budgeted, what has gone as a deposit, when the balance falls due and what it finally cost, the difference worked out on each line.

Couples paying for a wedding, and the parents or friends helping, who want to know before the day whether the total is holding and which balances are still to come.

What this helps you track

• What each part of the wedding was budgeted at and what it actually came to
• Which deposits have gone and when each remaining balance is due
• The lines that are over and the lines that are under, and by how much
• What is left of the total you set aside once every actual is in

How to use it

1. Write the couple, the date and the total set aside at the top. The common cost lines are already listed; rename any of them, and add your own in the browser or workbook.
2. Enter a budgeted figure for each line before anything is booked. The sheet does not suggest one — it is whatever you have decided you can spend on that item.
3. As each supplier is booked, write the deposit paid and the date the balance is due, so the payment dates can be read off in order.
4. Fill in the actual column when the final figure is known and tick paid when it has gone. The difference column and the totals are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, subtract and add by hand.
5. Read the summary before booking anything new: what is left of the total is the honest figure for the next decision.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How much should each part of a wedding cost?

The sheet does not say, because it depends on where you are, how many people are coming and what matters to you. Enter your own budgeted figure for each line; after a few quotes the actual column will show where the plan needs to move.

What does the difference column show?

Budgeted minus actual. A positive figure means the line came in under what you set; a negative figure means over. The totals row adds the column up so the whole wedding's drift is one number.

Where do the deposits fit in?

The deposit is part of the actual, not separate from it. Record it so you know what has already left the account; the balance is the actual less the deposit, and the due date column tells you when it goes.

Can I add cost lines the sheet does not list?

Yes. The printed lines are the ones most weddings have, with a supplier column beside each; in the browser and workbook you can add as many rows as you need or delete any that do not apply.