Free Wedding Budget Spreadsheet: the Wedding Budget Starter
A simple, free wedding budget spreadsheet that does the first hour of budgeting for you. Type your total budget and guest count once, and the Wedding Budget Starter splits it into 13 categories, works out your budget per guest and flags anything that goes over as quotes come in.
It's the same starting split as our free wedding budget calculator, in a file you can keep and update. Works in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Get the spreadsheet
What's inside
- Start Here tab: enter your names, date, total budget and guest count. It fills in days to go, budget per guest, your venue, catering, photography and buffer budgets, and how much is left.
- Budget tab: 13 editable categories with allocation %, budgeted amount, quoted or estimated cost, paid so far, money left and an On track, Near limit or Over budget status.
- Real benchmarks: average 2025 costs from The Knot 2026 Real Weddings Study (average $34,000, median $24,000, $292 per guest), so you can see how your numbers compare.
Screenshots use example numbers. Your download starts blank.
Make the most of it
Not sure what your total should be? Read our wedding budget breakdown by percentage, see worked examples for a $15K or $30K wedding, and check how to split wedding costs between families. Our wedding budget spreadsheet guide explains every column.
Want the full version?
The Wedding Budget Tracker ($7.99) adds a dashboard, 18 categories, a payment schedule with due-date alerts, an expenses log, monthly cash flow, quote compare, a guest-count what-if and three filled-in sample weddings. Planning everything? The Complete Wedding Planner adds the guest list, RSVPs, seating chart, vendors and an auto-dated checklist.
See the Wedding Budget Tracker on EtsySee the Complete Wedding PlannerFrequently asked questions
Is the wedding budget spreadsheet really free?
Yes. Enter your email and you can download it straight away. There's nothing to buy and no trial.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. There's an Excel file and a Google Sheets-friendly copy. Upload the Google Sheets copy to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.
What's the difference between this and the paid Wedding Budget Tracker?
The free Starter has 2 tabs: Start Here and a 13-category budget with quotes, payments and over-budget flags. The paid Wedding Budget Tracker adds 18 categories, a dashboard with a chart, a payment schedule with due-date alerts, an expenses log, monthly cash flow, quote compare, a guest-count what-if and three filled-in sample weddings.
Will you email me a lot?
No. If you don't tick the tips box, we only use your email to send the spreadsheet. If you do, we'll send occasional planning tips, and you can ask us to stop at any time.