The shares come from Bridebook's 2026 report, the same figures behind the average wedding cost UK. A wedding budget spreadsheet will not chase a venue for you. It will stop a quote landing in a tab you never open again.
Download the wedding budget spreadsheet
The sheet has one row per category, the typical UK share, and four columns you fill in: what you were quoted, what you have paid, when the rest is due, and who it is with. Download the wedding planning spreadsheet (CSV). In Google Sheets, choose File, then Import, then Upload, and pick the file. In Excel, open it. Either way you are working on your own copy.
| Category | Typical share | Quoted | Paid | Due date | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue hire | 27% | ||||
| Reception catering | 24% | ||||
| Outfits, rings and beauty | 19% | ||||
| Photography and video | 10% | ||||
| Flowers and decor | 7% | ||||
| Music and entertainment | 7% | ||||
| Other suppliers and extras | 6% | ||||
| Contingency | 5 to 10% |
Where the percentage split comes from
Bridebook's survey of 7,000 couples puts the average UK wedding at £20,604 in 2026, and publishes the share of that spend: venue hire and catering 51 percent, attire 19, photography and videography 10, flowers and décor 7, entertainment 7, and everything else 6. Those six add up to 100 percent. There is no spare.
The cost guide also cites Bridebook's average for the two biggest lines inside that 51 percent: £6,040 for venue hire without food, and £5,406 for reception catering. Split in that ratio, the venue is 27 percent of the whole budget and catering is 24. Together they are still the 51. The wedding budget breakdown shows the same Bridebook shares as pounds at £15,000, £25,000 and £40,000, if you want the worked examples before you touch the sheet.
| Category | Share | At the £20,604 average |
|---|---|---|
| Venue hire | 27% | £5,560 |
| Reception catering | 24% | £4,950 |
| Outfits, rings and beauty | 19% | £3,910 |
| Photography and video | 10% | £2,060 |
| Flowers and decor | 7% | £1,440 |
| Music and entertainment | 7% | £1,440 |
| Other suppliers and extras | 6% | £1,240 |
The contingency row is the part the survey leaves out. Hitched found 56 percent of newlyweds spent more than they planned. Hold 5 to 10 percent back, taken out of the rows above, so the sheet still adds up to your total. Do not add it on top.
How to use this wedding budget template
Treat it as a wedding budget planner with one job: every supplier has a row, and every row has a number you can check. The typical share is a starting point, not a rule. If the flowers matter more than the band, move the points across. The discipline is taking them from another line, not from the contingency, and not by quietly raising the total.
- Write your total down before you fill a row. If you do not have one yet, the average wedding cost is the benchmark, not a target: about £21,000, and a long way either side of that depending on guests and region.
- Multiply each share by your total and pencil that in as what you expect to pay. Replace it in Quoted the moment a supplier names a real price.
- When a deposit leaves your account, put that amount in Paid and the balance date in Due date. Most balances land in the last six weeks, which is how a budget that looked fine in March feels broken in June.
- Put the supplier's name in the last column, even when you have three quotes and no favourite yet. A row with no name is a row you will forget to chase.
- Move 5 to 10 percent into Contingency before you book anything, and leave it alone. It is for the price that rises between deposit and balance, not for an upgrade you already want.
Recount the total every time the guest list moves. Food, drink and sometimes the venue itself are priced per head, so ten extra people do not show up as a new row. They show up inside rows you thought were finished. Cutting the guest list is the change that moves the sheet the most, and the quieter savings are the ones guests do not notice.
Or let Aisley file the quotes
A spreadsheet is honest, and it is also another thing to update at 11pm. Or let Aisley file every quote against your budget automatically: when a venue writes back with a price, it sits on the line it belongs to, next to what you have already planned. You still decide what to book.
The sheet and Aisley are not rivals. Plenty of couples keep this wedding budget template as the picture of the whole day, and let her keep the venue quotes current. If you are deciding between her and the free planning apps, Aisley, Bridebook and Hitched is the comparison, and you can start without a credit card.
Quick answers
Yes. The table on this page, and the CSV beside it, is a free wedding planning spreadsheet with UK percentage splits from Bridebook's 2026 report. Download it and open it in Excel or Google Sheets. It is yours to edit.
A row for each part of the day, a typical share so a quote has something to sit against, and columns for the amount quoted, the amount paid, the date the rest is due, and the supplier. A contingency of 5 to 10 percent, taken out of the other rows rather than added on top, is the line that keeps the sheet honest.
Venue hire and catering together are 51 percent of the average spend, in Bridebook's 2026 report. Split the way their £6,040 venue hire and £5,406 reception catering averages split that pair, the venue is about 27 percent and the catering about 24 percent. The cost guide has the regional and per-guest figures behind those averages.
The template is the empty sheet: categories, shares and columns. The planner is what you do with it, replacing each share with a real quote and ticking off what you have paid. This page is both. The same job, done for you as the emails arrive, is what Aisley does with the budget.
You can add a tab, and many couples do. This file is only the budget. Guest-list columns, RSVPs and a seating plan are a different sheet, and they are not included here.