Free template
Wedding budget spreadsheet template
Free wedding budget spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets — every line item couples actually pay for, with columns for estimated, actual, and paid. Below, a quick comparison of when a sheet works and when our live calculator saves you hours.
Download the template
- Download the CSV — opens in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.
- Open a blank Google Sheet, then File → Import → Upload the CSV above.
What's in the template
50+ rows organized into 9 categories, with columns for estimated, actual, paid, and notes. Categories: venue, catering and bar, photography and video, attire and beauty, florals, music, stationery, transportation, officiant and legal, planning, gifts and favors, and a contingency row at 8–10% of total.
The 6 line items spreadsheets always forget
- Service charge on catering and venue — usually 18–24% on top of the listed price.
- Gratuity — separate from service charge at most venues, another 18–22%.
- Overtime — almost every wedding runs 30–60 minutes long. Budget 1 hour of overtime for every vendor.
- Marriage license + officiant — small but always missed.
- Postage — invitation suites are often two-stamp. RSVP envelopes need stamps too.
- Welcome bags + wedding party gifts — easy to spend $800–$1,500 here without budgeting it.
Spreadsheet vs live budget calculator
A spreadsheet is fine if you only need to track numbers in one place. A live calculator beats it once your planning gets real:
- Pre-filled 2026 benchmarks. Our wedding budget calculator seeds every line with city-level pricing — you start with realistic numbers instead of guessing.
- Live recalculation. Change guest count from 100 to 130 and every per-guest line (catering, bar, rentals, stationery, favors) updates automatically. Sheets need every formula rewritten.
- Linked to your vendor list. The full Wedding Planner Central workspace ties each line item to the vendor quote, deposit schedule, and contract — so "florist" isn't just a number, it's a tracked relationship with payment milestones.
- Reality check. Run your numbers through the wedding budget reality checker to see where you're under- or over-spending vs comparable weddings.
Use both
Download the spreadsheet for the offline backup and to share with parents who prefer Excel. Use the live calculator for the active planning and the reality check. When you outgrow both — usually around 5+ vendor quotes — move into the full workspace.