Using an app to help you budget for your wedding

Technology has brought so much to the modern wedding. Instead of buying a second set of prints from their photos to share with the bride and groom, today’s guests are likely to add their photos to online albums. And the innovation doesn’t end there.

The Millennial wedding makes use of online gift registries, a designated “Tweeter of Honour” and even live-streaming your wedding, for guests who can’t attend. A recent Huffington Post article e.g also estimated that 89% of couples use wedding planning apps in the run up to their big day.

Apps are great for managing your wedding planning on the go. Once downloaded onto your phone or tablet, you can take it with you to the bridal gown shop, the venue, the florist or any of your suppliers.

We asked bride Clare Dowson what she looked for in an app. She told us,

“We usually budget using a good old fashioned Excel spreadsheet. We were looking for an app that would enable us to keep track of not just what we were spending, but also who had RSVP’d, which vendors we’d paid deposits to, and that let us make a seating plan. In other words, a bit of everything!

For the purposes of planning our wedding, the app worked much better than our normal spreadsheet. Updating the information on an iPad was much more convenient than turning on the PC & loading up three spreadsheets and a Word document. It presented the information in an attractive way and it was all in one place.”

General Solutions

You can adapt software like Evernote and Mint to use as wedding planning tools. They’re powerful, free and will help with budgeting, but they don’t have wedding specific functions, such as wedding countdown, links to suppliers and table planners.

What to Consider when Choosing an App 

·      Make sure it’s available for the platform you use – Android or iPad for example

·      Price – many are free but some are worth paying for

·      Recommendations – personal or online reviews

·      Can you back up data, to iTunes or the Cloud? This prevents you losing all your work.

·      Are there pre-populated lists of things to do?

·      Is the app customisable, so that lists are appropriate? (Some are American, some UK focussed).

·      Can you synch with other devices? (Your phone with your fiancé(e)’s devices so that you’re both up to date).

·      Is the currency symbol correct?

·      Sometimes it is possible to upgrade free apps to remove advertising.

What Apps are Available?

We had a quick look at some wedding planning apps.

Guides for Brides Wedding Planner – iPhone Android - specifically UK - FREE

Tick lists, email reminders, synchs with website, large supplier directory. Worth noting – the budget feature has some negative reviews.

Wedding Planner for iPad - also iPhone and iPod - £6.99

User Clare Dowson says,

“We got married in May and we used Wedding Planner for iPad to track our budget. It was a real help. We chose this app as it got good reviews in the App Store & combined the table & budget planning features we were looking for. I think it cost £7 but it was the only app that gave us all the features that we needed & I view it as money well spent.”

Appy Couple  iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad – cost 69p

Appealing appearance, allows you to personalise a mini website to share with your guests. Less emphasis on budget. Has great reviews and the latest version claims to have fixed technical issues. Couples can share the planning.

Ultimate Wedding App - iPhone Android Blackberry £1.99

An attractive app, with budgeting in multiple currencies, tips & advice, vast range of functionality – all customisable.

I’m Getting Married Wedding Planner iPhone iPad iPod touch – 69p

Features include countdown, social links, budget can be exported to Excel and it syncs with iTunes.

iWedding Deluxe Wedding Planner iPhone iPad iPod Touch - £2.99

Lots of features, including keep track of your budget manually or automatically, to-do lists, seating plans and supplier details. Can be backed up but not synched between devices.

Wedding UK App iPhone iPod Touch iPad FREE

Features include a supplier directory, budgeting tool, to-do list, seating plan and check lists.

Brides Wedding Planner - iPhone iPad iPod touch - FREE

The emphasis is on inspiration, with lots of ideas in various sections. Countdown, checklists, social links and budgeting taken care of too.

The Wedding Secret - website

Has a planning tool with emphasis on finding links to suppliers in your area (south west UK at the moment). Budget section not well defined.

Of course, the ideal supplement to any app is the ability to pick up a phone and talk through your ideas with an experienced wedding planner.