Elopement Budget Tracker — Under $5K

An elopement does not need a 45-line wedding budget. It needs seven decisions and one hard ceiling. This tracker is built around exactly that: a short list of the big elopement lines — officiant, marriage licence, attire, photography, flowers, dinner, travel & stay — a running total, and the headroom left under YOUR cap, printed on the plan at all times.

The sample plan lands at $4,885 against the $5,000 cap — $115 of headroom, deliberately. Then the What-If tab prices the temptations. The full-day photography upgrade (+$900) takes the plan to $5,785: OVER THE CAP by $785, in writing, before any deposit exists. Adding a videographer (+$600) breaks it too. Only the day-trip version of the stay fits. That is the honest arithmetic of a $5K elopement — every yes is paid for by a no somewhere else on the list, and this sheet makes you look at the trade before you make it.

The marriage licence line is pulled from an EXAMPLE fee setting on the Start Here tab — licence fees are set by your county, state or province (roughly $30–$150) and the setting is yellow: verify yours and replace it.

What it does for you:
– Tracks the 7 big elopement lines against a hard cap YOU set ($5,000 pre-filled)
– Shows headroom left under the cap and an UNDER / OVER verdict on the plan itself
– Prices what-if changes one at a time — upgrade, add-on, swap — each re-judged against the cap instantly
– Pulls the marriage licence from an EXAMPLE fee setting you verify and replace
– Names the biggest line item and the days remaining on the Dashboard
– Adds a planning expense log, zero-based monthly budget and 12-month summary

What’s inside (.xlsx, works in Excel AND Google Sheets):
– Start Here — setup steps, cap setting, EXAMPLE licence fee setting, elopement date
– Elopement Plan — the 7 lines with % of cap each, total, headroom and cap verdict
– What-If Scenarios — 4 sample temptations priced against the cap (3 of them break it)
– 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 plan is pre-filled so you can see exactly how it works; clear the yellow cells and type your own. Planning tool only — licence and officiant requirements vary by jurisdiction; confirm yours.