Wedding Budget Planner (Free PDF)

Eight columns per line: the item, the supplier, the estimated cost, the actual cost, the deposit paid, the balance due, the date that balance is due and a tick for paid. Twenty-one categories are printed - venue, ceremony, catering, drinks, cake, photography, video, music, flowers, decoration, dress and alterations, suits, hair and make-up, rings, stationery, transport, accommodation, gifts and favours, honeymoon, insurance and licences, and one called something we have forgotten - with two blank rows for anything the list misses.

The deposit and balance columns are what make this different from a list of prices. Most wedding suppliers take a deposit months ahead and the rest shortly before the day, so the money that feels dealt with in spring is mostly still owed in August. Putting the balance and its due date in their own columns turns that into a date you can see coming rather than a surprise in the final month.

A six-line summary panel holds the budget you set, total estimated, total actual, deposits paid so far, still to pay, and whether you are under or over. Beside it is a ruled panel for what you would cut first, which is a much easier decision made calmly in advance than three weeks out. No currency symbol is printed, every cell is fillable, and it fits on one page in US Letter or A4.