How does the wedding budget planner work?

You set a total target budget, then add line items grouped into categories such as venue, catering, photography and flowers. For each item you record an estimated price and, once booked, the actual price. The planner sums everything, compares your committed spend against your target, tracks how much you have paid versus what is still owed, and shows your cost per guest. All maths happens live in your browser as you type.

What is the difference between estimated and actual cost?

Estimated is your early guess or quote for a line item before you book it. Actual is the confirmed price once you sign a contract. The planner uses the actual figure when it is set and falls back to the estimate otherwise, so your running total stays realistic whether or not every supplier is locked in. Actual costs that exceed the estimate are highlighted so overspends are easy to spot.

How does payment tracking work?

Each line item has a Paid field where you record deposits and instalments as you pay them. The planner subtracts paid amounts from the effective cost to show the outstanding balance per item, a portfolio-wide still-to-pay figure, and the percentage of your wedding that is already settled. A one-click tick marks an item as fully paid.

Can I see which payments are coming up?

Yes. Add a due date to any line item and the Next payments due panel lists the soonest unpaid items, counting down the days. This makes it easy to plan deposit deadlines and final balances so nothing is missed in the months before the big day.

How is cost per guest calculated?

It divides your total committed spend (actual where set, otherwise estimated) by the guest count you entered. Because catering and venue costs scale with headcount, cost per guest is one of the most useful figures for deciding whether to trim the guest list or adjust the menu to hit your target.

Is my wedding budget private, and can I export it?

Completely private. Nothing is uploaded; your plan is saved only in this browser using local storage, so it is still here when you return on the same device. You can export a CSV at any time to open in Excel or Google Sheets, share with your partner or wedding planner, or keep as a backup.

Wedding Budget Planner

Planning a wedding means juggling dozens of suppliers, deposits and deadlines while keeping one eye on a number that never seems to stop growing. This wedding budget planner turns that chaos into a single, living view: a target you set, a breakdown by category, estimated prices that firm up into actual costs as you book, and a clear running tally of what you have paid versus what is still owed. It is built for couples, parents and wedding planners who want a real budget tool — not a static spreadsheet template — that updates the moment you change a figure.

How it works

Start by entering the couple, the wedding date, your guest count and the total budget you are aiming for. From there you add line items grouped into the categories that make up most weddings — venue and catering, photography and video, attire and beauty, flowers and decor, music, rings, cake, transport and a contingency buffer. For each item you record an estimated price first, then the actual price once a supplier is confirmed. The planner always uses the actual figure when present and the estimate otherwise, so your committed total is honest even when half your suppliers are still quotes.

As bookings turn into deposits and final balances, you log payments in the Paid field. The planner then shows three things at a glance: how your committed spend compares to your target (under or over budget), how much you have already settled, and exactly what remains to be paid. Add a due date to any item and the Next payments due panel counts down the soonest deadlines so a forgotten final balance never derails the plan. A live cost-per-guest figure helps you decide whether trimming the guest list is the fastest route back under budget.

Pressed for time? The Auto-split budget button seeds a complete starter breakdown using typical category shares — roughly 40 percent to venue and catering, 12 percent to photography and so on — which you can then adjust line by line. Everything auto-saves in your browser, and a one-click CSV export hands you a clean file for Excel, Google Sheets, or sharing with a partner or planner.

Example

A couple sets a 20,000 budget for 80 guests. Auto-split seeds the categories, then they refine: venue hire comes in at 6,000 (estimated 5,500, so flagged as over), catering at 4,000, photographer at 1,800, dress at 1,200. Their committed total lands at 19,200 — about 240 per guest and 800 under target. They have paid two deposits totalling 4,000, leaving 15,200 still to pay, with the venue final balance due in 45 days showing at the top of the upcoming-payments list. One CSV export later, the whole plan is in a shared spreadsheet for both families.

Use this alongside the event-budget-planner for non-wedding events and the general budget-planner for everyday finances. Everything is calculated in your browser — no figures are ever uploaded or stored on a server.