The free wedding planning checklist spreadsheet
35 tasks across 7 stages — and every due date works itself out from your wedding date.
Printable wedding checklists all have the same flaw: they say “9–11 months before” and leave you to do the date arithmetic, in your head, repeatedly, for thirty-five tasks. Then your date moves and it’s all wrong. This one asks for your wedding date once and fills in every due date itself.
Download the checklist
.xlsx — works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice.
⬇ Download free — no email
What it actually does
- One input cell. Type your wedding date on the Dashboard. All 35 due dates calculate backwards from it. Move the date, everything moves.
- Overdue tasks turn red automatically — anything past its date that isn’t Done or Skipped.
- A Dashboard that answers the real questions: days until the wedding, percent complete, how many tasks are overdue, and how many are due in the next 30 days.
- Progress by stage — so you can see you’ve finished the 12-month block but haven’t started the 6-month one.
- Editable lead times. Each task carries its own “days before the wedding” number. Shorten them and the whole schedule compresses.
- Who and Notes columns, plus a filter on every column so you can show just your tasks, or just what’s overdue.
Planning in less than a year? Early tasks will show up as already overdue. That’s the point — it tells you precisely what to catch up on rather than pretending the schedule is fine. Compress the lead times and the rest of the plan re-sorts itself around your real date.
The seven stages
| Stage | Tasks | The one that matters most |
|---|---|---|
| 12+ months before | 5 | Set the total budget — every later decision depends on it |
| 9–11 months before | 5 | Book photographer & videographer |
| 6–8 months before | 5 | Order invitations |
| 4–5 months before | 5 | Finalize menu & cake tasting |
| 2–3 months before | 5 | Apply for the marriage license |
| 1 month before | 5 | Final guest count to the caterer |
| 1 week before | 5 | Confirm arrival times with every vendor |
How to use it in Google Sheets
Download the file, then in Google Sheets choose File → Import → Upload. Formulas, filters and drop-downs all carry across. In Excel or Numbers, just open it.
Prefer to do it in the browser?
The same checklist runs as a web tool that builds your stages from your date and remembers what you’ve ticked off.
Common questions
Is it really free?
Yes — no email gate, no sign-up, nothing to unsubscribe from.
Can I add my own tasks?
Yes. Add rows, give them a stage name and a lead time, and the Dashboard counts them. If you add rows past 42 you’ll need to stretch the Dashboard formulas to match.
Why do the due dates within a stage differ slightly?
Because doing five things on the same day isn’t a plan. Tasks inside a stage are staggered so the work spreads across the window instead of landing in one lump.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. It’s a file on your computer.
The rest of the set, all free and all without an email gate: the budget spreadsheet, the guest list template, and the RSVP calculator for working out how many people will actually come.
Also free, no email: the vendor payment tracker — deposits, balances and due dates across every vendor, with overdue payments flagged automatically.
And for afterwards: the gift & thank-you tracker.
See all six free wedding spreadsheets in one place.