Wedding Budget Spreadsheet

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   Wedding Budget spreadsheet?
   Dows anyone know of a site where I can print a free wedding planning budget spreadsheet?

   • ANSWER:

     http://www.brides2wives.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=976

     That has a link to an excel/quatro pro spreadsheet that you can use.

2. QUESTION:
   Anyone know of a wedding budget spreadsheet in excel?
   I’ve found a few, and I know both the knot and brides.com have them, but the don’t really take into account some of the things I’ve removed. If you don’t know where I can find one, is there somewhere that says what percentage should be allocated where? So I can create my own?

   Thanks in advance!

   • ANSWER:
     We created our own spreadsheet – if you email me I can send it to you. It is fairly comprehensive and will at least give you an idea if you don’t want to actually use it.

3. QUESTION:
   Help with baby budget spreadsheet!?
   Great – you read articles about how you need to budget for a baby before you start trying for one and there are heaps of templates/spreadsheets online. The only probably is I have no idea how much each item costs approximately or how many of each you need. Has anyone completed one of these spreadsheets before? How much do we need to set aside for once-off costs (medical, cot, pram etc) and also ongong costs (nappies, wipes, and everything else they need?) Please help (my attempt at the “wedding budget” planner was a bit of a failer… I under-estimated how much everything costs) thanks

   • ANSWER:
     Well… it really depends on where you live and where you shop and what brands you get. I live in the USA. WITH insurance I payed about ,200 out of pocket (for both me and baby) for medical bills for the hospital, doctor and hearing doctor. After that it was about for each doctor visit (not including prescriptions that might come up) and he has had probably 10 visits so far (he is 14 months). His stroller I got for free from a friend (but they cost anywhere between for a very cheap one that you can’t use until baby sits up to about 0!!). His car seat was about . He grew out of it at 12 months (was too tall) and his second one was about 0 but will last him for a very long time. His crib was also free from a friend who found out she was having twins and wanted new matching cribs (lucky me!!). But they usually cost about 0-200. I spend about on diapers every month, about on wipes. They really don’t need a whole lot else! Clothes, books, a few toys, baby shampoo, lotion, etc. Stick to a minimum and buy stuff as you need it. It’s good to have things like infant tylenol, a thermometer, a bulb syringe, lots of cloth diapers (used as burp cloths), some blankets for swaddling, and a few other things like that around but really, they don’t need too much more than that! I survive just fine on about 0 a month just for baby. You will also need to factor in things like insurance and if you can’t nurse, formula (it’s expensive! The cheapest brand available in my area is a can and it only lasts a week! Thank goodness I nursed most of the time!).

     To get a more accurate measure I really suggest going to stores you plan on buying things in and bringing a notebook and maybe even a camera and writing down how much things cost! Then you will have a more accurate idea.

4. QUESTION:
   I want to create a macro in Excel that will convert euros to pounds in several cells. Is there a way to do it?
   I have set up a wedding budget spreadsheet in Excel and to keep up to date with currency conversion (getting married in Italy!) I don’t want to have to keep manually changing the various cells to convert into pounds. Need a macro to do this for me at the click of a button. Cheers

   • ANSWER:
     You do not want a macro for this, you just need to use simple formulas

     in cell a1 type ‘Exchange rate’

     In cell b1 enter the actual exchange rate

     In cell a3 enter ”Description’
     in cell b3 enter ‘cost £;
     in cell c3 enter ‘cost euro’

     in cell a4 start adding the items e.g. Wedding dres’
     in cell b4, enter the cost in £ e.g. 15000
     in cell c4 enter the formula ‘=b4 * $b’

     The ‘$’ means use a fixed cell reference

     you can copy this formula to all the cells in columvn c

     When the exchange rate changes, you just change the value in b2 and column c will update

5. QUESTION:
   What to budget in for wedding?
   What else do I need to budget in for the wedding? Here’s what I’ve got so far:
   *Dress
   *Wedding bands
   *Venue
   *Food
   *Minister
   *Musicians
   *Decorations
   *Flowers
   *Groom’s tux
   *Mother’s dress
   *Flower girl dress
   *Honeymoon

   PLEASE do not tell me to go to theknot.com. Been there, done that. I am creating my own spreadsheet for my budget and just want the basics.

   • ANSWER:
     Photographer
     Videographer
     Invitations
     Thank you cards
     Stamps
     Alcohol(if any)
     Is the wedding and the reception at the same place?
     Rentals(chairs, table cloths, tents)
     License
     Cake
     Hair/Make-up
     Gifts for wedding party and parents
     Rehersal Dinner(if his parents dont pay for it)
     favors

     and tons of other little stuff that come up, good luck and congrats

6. QUESTION:
   How are you paying for your Wedding?
   I’m finding it’s a good idea to do a monthly Wedding budget (based extra on money AFTER your major bills). What did you do? Gosh looking at this spreadsheet am I ever going to be POOR for a while….Well until 5/3/08 that is!
   My fiance & I are paying for everything ourselves mind you–Our folks are retired. I’m discovering lately more & more rely less on their family do to this awful economy.
   Poor to me is having 300.00 extra a check…don’t assume someone doesn’t have the money– as w/ all things it’s adjusting!

   • ANSWER:
     I am putting away a set amount every payday. And I am staying well within our means. It will be a modest wedding.
     My mother has offered to pay for the cake so that is an added bonus, since that was just another expense.

7. QUESTION:
   Help with Excel, please. I forgot how to put in equations…?
   Okay, so like 12 years ago, I took a class on how to use Microsoft Excel, but I guess I didn’t really pay attention, cause now I have no idea how to put in equations…
   I have a spreadsheet, for wedding budgets, and I have a list of budgets, and next to it a list of the actual spending…
   I want to be able to subtract the “actual spent” amounts from the sub-budgets I had previously set up, so I can see where I have gone over budget, and where I can cut more corners to stay in the budget….
   I know I can do this manually, but I figured this is exactly what this program was made for, right?
   So, can someone give me a quick “crash course” on how to do this on Excel.
   I really appreciate the help!
   I got it!!!!!
   Guys, thanks so much for your help!!!!
   And I am already headed toward being way over budget… Darn!
   Thanks for the help and good wishes!

   • ANSWER:
     When I’m having trouble with Excel I usually find the answer on this site :-

     http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/index.php

     Hope this helps.

8. QUESTION:
   wedding checklist please?
   ok ive been looking around yahoo answers for a wedding check list and i just keep finding “timed checklist” ie 3 months-do this and 2 weeks before-do that. Im not looking for this kind of check list. Im looking for a checklist that will help me check off everything that goes in a wedding

   bridesmaid dresses
   cake
   food
   flowers for ect ect
   wedding dress
   DJ
   food

   That kind of list. Im not getting married for like 2 years so i have plenty of time to plan. Im trying to set up an excel spreadsheet so me and my guy can sit down and work on a budget. Any help?

   • ANSWER:
     Go to www.theknot.com and sign up, its free. Its like the ultimate wedding planning website and will tell you everything you need to know, and they have message boards where you can talk to other brides to be!

9. QUESTION:
   what am i going to do with myself!!!?
   Hey all, i am now only 6months and 18 days from my wedding day!………woohoo! and im very much like monica from friends (very organised and a bit OCD about details!)

   the only problem is i am simply too organised! I started planning in september 2008, and when we started we made the decision to pay things off as we could afford them, effectively making our wedding debt free and easier to budget for. So that is wha we did……. the only problem is were now almost done!!!

   i have just been looking at my wedding spreadsheet (yes im THAT organised!) and i only have £2100 to spend, and £1000 of that is for food for a meal the day after our wedding! so effectively we only have £1100 to spend on the wedding (remaining church fee, dress alterations and final payment on videography)

   i am so glad i have done it this way as i have not been anywhere close to a bridezilla, iv been very organised and calm, and all my friends/family know me as a list maker so theyre used to my organised ways!

   but my problem is now that because we have such a small amount to pay i will have saved all of the money needed by february 2010, 3 and half months before my wedding! i really do not know what im going to do with myself for that month before the invites go out, all final details are confirmed and all the mayhem starts (organised mayhem!)

   could someone who has just got married or is so close to getting married let me know what the last few months are like? what you have to organised and finalise?! also do you think my suppliers would be happy to meet before the 2-4 week mark (most say this long)? to confirm all final details? im not thinking a stupid amount of time, just like 4-6 weeks? this would help me to fill in some dead time and make myself busy!

   please help me im one of these people who does not like chaos at the last minute if it can be avoided, i already have a rough plan of how i want my day to go, i just have to work out when i can finalise everything!

   thank you!

   • ANSWER:
     Well, once you’ve double checked you’re where you’re supposed to be at and have everything organized (I’m sure you have lists like theknot.com and etc) then you need to take a month and really just chill out and reflect. Don’t go bothering organizers because chances are your numbers are going to change, etc SOMETHING will change in those final 2 weeks. It always does. My numbers changed so many times. RSVP’s came back unexpected no’s= phone call. RSVP for too many (unexpected guests) = another phone call. Just make one final phone call whenever the vendor says they need to know by.

     You will spend a bit of time tracking down RSVP’s and making a list of who’s coming and who’s not.

     Also BIG HINT- I love being organized too and I wish I would of done this altho I didn’t think about it at the time. Print out a big list of your guests and make a spot to write down what they got you as a gift for after the wedding. As my husband and I were opening up stuff i quickly grabbed a random piece of paper and started scratching stuff down. But it would of been easier to track it with a list.

     The week prior, do a lot of spa treatments etc as it sounds like you’ll have paid the wedding off so treat yourself. Your skin will thank you as will your photos.

     Also BIG HINT is to go out and buy a bunch of thank you cards to be distributed to non-wedding guests. Some event planners I worked with a bit and so I gave their tip in a thank-you card. Plus I gave one to the pastor, etc. Have a little “reserve” ready because you never know who you’ll want to give a thank you card to. Have at least 10-15.

     Don’t forget to budget tips (pastor if you are having one, vendor gratuities, etc). Our tips alone were about 1000.

     I sounded exactly like you when I planned my wedding. Lists everywhere, everything running like a well oiled machine.

10. QUESTION:
    Touchy subject – tipping vendors?
    While working on our budget spreadsheet, my fiance noticed that I had added in tips for our photographer, dj, and pastor. I know that you are “supposed” to tip these people, but when my fiance questioned it, I really didn’t have a good reason to tell him.

    Why should we tip if they are already being paid for a service? Especially in the wedding industry where things are already considerably marked up? I mean, in general, I’m a good tipper while eating out and everything, but those servers are only making a couple of bucks an hour – they depend on it. It isn’t the same for a wedding, so why is it ‘expected’?

    Anyone not tip? Or not planning on tipping? Experiences?

    • ANSWER:
      With the exception of the restaurant for the reception which will add on a gratuity, all of my vendors work for themselves.
      So, since tips are not mandatory (they take the whole fee) here is my current thought. No tips will be given out at the wedding. That would mean that I would have to pre-decide and prepare what I think would be appropriate if they were to go above and beyond….too much thinking for me there.
      So, after the wedding, any vendor that went above and beyond will receive a personal thank you note for the service with the appropriate tip. The thank you note can also then be used by them as a reference.

11. QUESTION:
    Brides looking for help organizing their planning?
    If someone was to offer to meet with you just once or only a few times to help you organize your wedding planning, what type of things would you want them to help you with?

    Think about it from a new bride perspective, a bride that is half way through and a bride that is just totally overwhelmed and very close to the big day.

    It’s not a wedding planner…. just someone to help you put your head back on straight (for lack of a better phrase!!)

    some ex’s: customized checklists and timelines, draft a budget, customized spreadsheets, discuss etiquette..and the “right” thing to do is some cases, discuss ideas and planning for rehearsal dinner, honeymoon, favor ideas, color schemes, flowers, where to go to find what the bride is looking for, where to go to find more ideas bc the bride CANT find what she is looking for

    • ANSWER:
      In my experience so many brides have no idea how many options there are out there and they get overwhelmed. If it were me I would have a list of things that needed to be done for a wedding, organize a time frame that things need to be done and compile a list of vendors I feel are reliable. Discussing etiquette is another big thing. I’m always disgusted by the people on YA that do things that are completely against the rules of etiquette, but find that so many do it out of ignorance of how to act, not spite. Good luck.

12. QUESTION:
    Budgeting ideas?
    Hi, I need to put myself and my partner on a money diet. We are planning to get married in 2 yrs but as my parents livein Canada we want to also buy flights for themt o come over. Any ideas? Im unsure about spreadsheets ect but would also like to devise some sort of one to see where everything is going… We havent a high income at the moment as I am on mat leave.. Any ideas? I think it will be a Wed that we will marry as our plan is to do it on March the 11th2010. Thanks in advance adn Merry Christmas everyone!

    • ANSWER:
      I think your idea of using spreadsheets is a useful one. You need to sit down with your last few bank statements and devise a list of monthly outgoings. What money do you have to spend every month regardless e.g. rent, phone bill, electricity bill etc. Also include an estimate of how much you spend each month on food, clothes and leisure (remember these are estimates).

      Once you’ve compiled your list and figures make a lst of all your monthly incomings.

      Once you’ve done all this you’ll see how much you have to play with and you can spend/save it accordingly.

      Also think about where you shop for food etc and work out if there are any ways of making it cheaper i.e. bulk buying non-perishable items.

      On top of this make sure you open a savings account. A current account gives you little or no interest on any money you might have in your account. A savings account will at least make your spare cash work for you. Look at all the offers available right now and think about choosing an account that calculates interest daily so that should you need to take some of your savings for an unexpected event e.g. washing machine breask down then at least you don’t loose out overall.