How to build a wedding planning spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel.

A wedding planner spreadsheet needs four tabs in one workbook: a budget, a guest list, a vendor list and a timeline. Set it up in the first month of planning. It needs no formula harder than a sum and a count.

This page has no file to download. The column names for each tab are listed below. Three of the tabs can also start from a CSV template on Aisle, linked in that tab's section.

The Budget tab has one row per line item and eight columns: category, line item, estimated cost, actual cost, deposit paid, balance due, vendor and notes.

Group the rows by category, in roughly this order: Venue, Catering, Planning, Photography, Videography, Florals, Music, Attire, Stationery, Transport, Accommodations, Paperwork, Contingency, Other.

Below the last line item, add three things:

• A sum row for the estimated and actual columns.
• A contingency target: a second row showing 15% of the estimated total (the destination wedding budget breakdown gives 10 to 15%).
• The difference between actual and estimated on each line, so an overage shows at a glance. With estimated cost in column C and actual cost in column D, that is =D2-C2.

Update the tab weekly, so a drifting category shows while there is still time to correct it.

To start with the categories filled in, import Aisle's wedding budget spreadsheet template, a CSV that opens in Google Sheets or Excel. It uses its own categories and columns, and its contingency share is lower than the 15% here.

The Guest list tab has one row per guest. The columns are first name, last name, side (one partner's, the other's or mutual), invitation address, invitation sent date, RSVP status, plus-one name, dietary requirements, accommodation, transfers needed and notes.

Keep RSVP status to three values: attending, not attending and pending. (Yes, no and pending work as well, provided the formula uses the same word.) Four counters at the top of the tab then stay current: yes, no, pending and total invited. The first three pull from the RSVP column with COUNTIF, and the total is the three added together. With RSVP status in column F and the counters to the right of the notes column, the yes counter is =COUNTIF(F:F,"attending").

Colour the rows by status: green for yes, red for no, yellow for pending. In the last six weeks you will check this tab daily. For a wedding abroad, sort by accommodation or by transfers to see who is still unaccounted for.

Aisle's wedding guest list template is laid out differently, with one row per household, and comes as a CSV for Google Sheets or Excel.

The Vendors tab has one row per vendor. The columns are category (venue, catering, photographer, florist and so on), vendor name, contact person, email, phone, the date the contract was signed, deposit paid (amount and date), balance due (amount and date), arrival time on the day and contract notes.

To track payments, give each due date a cell of its own and add a column for whether the balance is paid. Filter to unpaid balances, sort by due date, and the next payment is the top row. Enter each due date on the Timeline tab as a task too.

In the last month this tab becomes the source of truth. Your planner should have a copy, and you should be able to find any vendor's contact and contract status in under thirty seconds.

The arrival times are the start of the wedding-day schedule. Aisle's wedding day timeline template has a sample schedule to set them against.

The Timeline tab has one row per task and five columns: phase, task, due date, owner and status.

• Phase: Foundation, Vendors, Design, Detail, Finalising or Week-of.
• Owner: you, your partner, your planner or a member of the wedding party.
• Status: not started, in progress or done.

For the tasks themselves, mirror the 18-month destination wedding checklist, which has eight phases to this tab's six, and add a column for anything specific to your destination or to cultural requirements. To import a task list instead of typing one, Aisle's wedding planning checklist template is a CSV grouped by months before the wedding.

When planning feels overwhelming, filter this tab to tasks that are not started and due in the next 30 days.

A wedding venue comparison spreadsheet is one more tab, with one row per venue and one column per question, so every venue is judged on the same points. Once you sign a contract, move that venue to the Vendors tab.

The estimated total is what makes the comparison fair. If one venue quotes a hire fee with catering on top and another a price per guest with everything included, they only line up once both are multiplied out to the same guest count. It is your estimate, not the venue's quote, so label it that way.

If you are still collecting candidates, browse wedding venues on Aisle and add each one you like as a row.

For wedding planning, Google Sheets is the better choice when more than one person will edit the spreadsheet, and Excel is the better choice when you already work in it. The tabs and columns in this guide are the same in both.

Numbers is fine if you both use only Apple devices.

To build a wedding planning spreadsheet in Google Sheets, start a blank spreadsheet, add a sheet (Google's word for a tab) for each of the four lists and type its column names across row 1. Then:

1. Freeze the header row. Click View > Freeze and choose 1 row.
2. Add dropdowns. Select the RSVP status cells from row 2 down, click Insert > Dropdown and enter attending, not attending and pending. Do the same for phase and status on the Timeline tab. COUNTIF only counts cells whose wording matches.
3. Colour the rows. Select the guest rows from row 2 down, click Format > Conditional formatting and choose "Custom formula is". With RSVP status in column F, the rule =$F2="attending" colours every attending row. Add the red and yellow rules the same way.
4. Import a template. To use one of the CSV templates, click File > Import, upload it and choose to insert it as a new sheet.
5. Share it. Click Share, enter your partner's email address and choose Editor. Add your planner the same way.
6. Protect the Guest list tab. Click Data > Protect sheets and ranges, pick the sheet and restrict editing to you and your partner. Your planner can still read it.

A wedding Excel spreadsheet uses the same four tabs and column names as the Google Sheets version; only the menus differ. COUNTIF is written the same way and, as in Google Sheets, is not case sensitive.

1. Freeze the header row. Select cell A2, then View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.
2. Add dropdowns. Select the RSVP status cells from row 2 down, then on the Data tab choose Data Validation, select List in the Allow box and type the options into the Source box, separated by commas.
3. Colour the rows. Select the guest rows from row 2 down. On the Home tab choose Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules > New Rule, pick "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" and enter =$F2="attending".
4. Import a template. Open the CSV from File > Open, or bring it in from the Data tab with From Text/CSV.
5. Share it. Save the workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint, then select Share in the upper-right corner. In the desktop app, Microsoft lists a Microsoft 365 subscription as a requirement for co-authoring.
6. Protect the Guest list tab. On the Review tab choose Protect Sheet. It applies to everyone who opens the workbook, and Microsoft says it prevents changes to locked cells and is not a security feature.

Update the spreadsheet weekly, then twice a week as the wedding approaches. Put a recurring 30-minute slot in the calendar for it. The routine exists to catch drift early: a category running 20% over its estimate shows up in a weekly check and gets missed in a monthly one.

Each time, enter new quotes and payments on the Budget tab, mark replies on the Guest list, update contract and payment status on Vendors, and mark finished tasks done on the Timeline.

Share the workbook with your partner and, if you have one, your planner. A planner should be able to read the Budget and Vendors tabs, because they will notice things you miss, but usually should not edit the guest list, which avoids confusion over who is coming. Keep the file in a shared folder with your other planning documents.

The four-tab structure also works in Notion, which fits better when you want material that does not belong in a grid kept in the same place: ceremony scripts, vendor quotes, inspiration boards. A Notion database can be shown as a table, a board or a calendar, which suits the Timeline tab.

A dedicated planning tool is the step after that. Aisle's planning dashboard handles the budget, guest list, vendors and timeline together, along with the wedding website, RSVP tracking and guest communication. Guests reply on the website, so nobody retypes RSVPs, and the spreadsheet work carries over: Aisle's guest list accepts a pasted list or a CSV or Excel file.

The spreadsheet is still the simplest place to start. Build it, use it for a month, and move to a tool only if you find it limiting.