Micro-Wedding Budget Planner — Under 50 Guests

A micro wedding is a per-guest business. Half your costs never move — the venue, the photographer, the officiant charge the same at 30 guests as at 50. The other half multiplies by every single name on the list. This planner is built on that split: fixed costs typed once, per-head costs typed as a rate per guest, and your chosen guest count doing the multiplication.

The sample runs 40 guests: $6,700 of fixed costs plus $97.50 per head makes a $10,600 wedding — and the headline number is not the total, it is the COST PER GUEST: $265.00. That is the figure that prices every “should we invite…?” conversation.

Then the scenarios. At 30, 40 and 50 guests the totals all stay inside the $12,000 budget — $9,625, $10,600, $11,575. But watch the catering line: $68 a head is $2,040 at 30 guests, $2,720 at 40, and $3,400 at 50 — over its $3,200 budget line, flagged on the 50-guest row while the wedding as a whole is still “within budget”. Line-level honesty, not just total-level. Cutting ten guests saves $975 — and RAISES the cost per guest to $320.83, because the fixed costs spread across fewer people. Both numbers are printed; decide with both in front of you.

What it does for you:
– Splits every cost FIXED vs PER-HEAD — the only split that matters at under 50 guests
– Computes the wedding total and the headline COST PER GUEST at YOUR chosen count
– Prices 30 / 40 / 50 guest scenarios side by side from the same cost inputs
– Watches single budget lines (catering pre-filled) that can break before the total does
– Shows what cutting guests actually saves — and what it does to the per-guest figure
– Adds a planning expense log, zero-based monthly budget, dashboard and 12-month summary

What’s inside (.xlsx, works in Excel AND Google Sheets):
– Start Here — setup steps, chosen guest count, total budget and catering line settings
– Fixed vs Per-Head Costs — 6 fixed lines, 5 per-head rates, chosen-count total and cost per guest
– Guest Scenarios — 30/40/50 guests with totals, per-guest costs and per-line catering verdicts
– Expense Log, Monthly Budget, Dashboard, Monthly Summary

Instant download. Type only in the yellow cells — formula cells are locked (password: sheetdaily, disclosed on the Start Here tab so you can unlock if you ever need to). Sample wedding is pre-filled so you can see exactly how it works; clear the yellow cells and type your own. Planning tool only — per-head prices are your vendors’ quotes; confirm minimum-guest guarantees and service charges with your venue.