Wedding Budget Planner and Vendor Payment Tracker

Wedding Budget Planner Excel and Vendor Payment Tracker — budget by category, every vendor contract and deposit, a payment schedule by due date, guest count and cost per guest, and a dashboard, in one workbook. Know what you planned, what you booked, what you still owe, and what each guest is really costing.

Built for couples who are done with five separate notes apps and a pile of contracts. If a vendor raised a per-guest price or the venue came in over estimate, this workbook shows the squeeze in one place instead of letting it surface in May.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (6 sheets):

- Budget by Category — every category with an estimated cost and the booked or actual cost, against the total wedding budget you enter at the top. Difference, percent of budget, status, and share of booked fill in by formula.

- Vendor Payments — every vendor contract: total, paid so far, remaining, next due date, status, and percent paid. Remaining and status fill in by formula.

- Payment Schedule — every deposit and balance by its due date: vendor, description, amount, paid yes or no, outstanding, and a running total of what has been paid. Outstanding fills in by formula.

- Guests and Cost per Guest — invited, RSVP yes and no, replies outstanding, expected headcount, and the real cost per guest: catering per guest, total booked cost per guest, venue per guest, and budget remaining, all by formula.

- Dashboard — total budget, estimated vs booked, the over-estimate amount, budget remaining, vendor contracts, paid and still owed, share of contracts paid, outstanding scheduled payments, vendors paid in full, expected headcount, cost per guest, biggest booked category, days until the wedding, booked cost by category, and still owed by vendor.

- Cover and How to Use — start here. Yellow cells are the only ones you edit.

EXAMPLE DATA (a wedding on June 12, 2027 in Phoenix, planned through October 31, 2026 — replace with your own numbers):

- Total budget 35,000. Estimates add to 32,000, leaving 3,000 unallocated. Booked costs already total 32,272 — 272 over the estimate — and transportation and the contingency line are still at zero.

- The venue booked at 13,900 against a 12,500 estimate, and catering at 7,650 against 6,800 after a per-guest price rise. Those two overruns ate most of the headroom.

- 11 vendor contracts totaling 32,057; 12,939.50 paid (40.4 percent); 19,117.50 still owed. Three vendors are paid in full: the dress, the officiant, and the stationery.

- 15 scheduled payments totaling 22,485; 18,855 still outstanding. The venue final balance of 5,560 lands on May 15, 2027.

- 168 invited, 141 yes, 19 no, 8 replies outstanding, 145 expected guests. Catering works out to 52.76 per guest; everything booked works out to 222.57 per guest.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Download the Excel file instantly after purchase.

2. On sheet 1, enter your total wedding budget in the yellow cell at the top, an estimate per category, and booked costs as you sign contracts.

3. On sheet 2, add one row per vendor: contract total and what you have paid. Remaining, status, and percent paid fill in by formula.

4. On sheet 3, list every deposit and balance by due date and mark it paid when it posts.

5. On sheet 4, keep the RSVP counts current. Sheets 4 and 5 turn them into cost per guest and the full picture by formula.

HOW THE NUMBERS WORK:

Difference is estimate minus booked, so a negative difference means the category is over estimate. Percent of budget is booked cost divided by the total budget you entered. Remaining per vendor is contract total minus paid so far. Outstanding on the schedule is the full amount until a payment is marked Yes. Expected headcount is RSVP yes plus half of the replies still outstanding — a planning estimate, stated as one on the sheet. Cost per guest is the relevant total divided by the expected headcount.

WHO IT'S FOR:

Engaged couples (and whoever is helping them plan) who want the budget, the vendor contracts, the payment dates, and the guest math in one honest workbook — without accounting software or a paid planning app.

PLEASE NOTE:

- This is a digital download. No physical item will be shipped.

- Works in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets (upload to Google Drive to open in Sheets).

- Example data is included (13 categories, 11 vendors, 15 scheduled payments, 168 invited guests). Replace it with your own numbers.

- The example is deliberately not a fairy tale: the couple is over their own estimate before everything is booked, and 19,117.50 is still owed. Your numbers will differ; the workbook's job is to show them as clearly.

- Category booked costs (32,272) and vendor contracts (32,057) differ by the 215 of favors bought outright with no contract — the workbook keeps both views because both are real.

- This is a planning tool only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Read every vendor contract; cancellation and payment terms vary.

- Due to the nature of digital downloads, refunds are not available. Message me before buying if you have a question.

Built by an accountant: B.S. Accountancy, ASU W. P. Carey, with revenue-reconciliation experience at Marriott and audit work at PwC.