Excellent uses for Excel for wedding planning

Technology is great in so many ways -- even when planning a wedding. For example, Excel spreadsheets make it so easy to keep track of all your wedding information. You can set up a sheet with all the guests you plan to invite along with their phone numbers and addresses. You can also easily keep tabs on who has RSVP'd yes or no.

This is so much easier than having to write down all this information by hand then glance over multiple pages to figure out who you need to contact. It also is great if you have friends involved in planning activities because it is easy to email them your spreadsheet rather than hand them something they may or may not be able to comprehend.

Excel also comes in handy when writing down gifts from people. My friend and bridesmaid Jenny is very good when it comes to this. The past couple showers we were involved in, she typed in the list of gifts and the person who gave them while the gifts were being opened. As soon as the gift-opening was done, she sent the list right to the bride, and the bride had the thank-you cards in the mail later that week. I am very lucky to have such a great friend who excels in the technology and organizational skills that I sometimes tend to lack.

Editor's note: If you need help setting up wedding spreadsheets to track things like gifts and budgets, go to a site like weddingjunkie.com and download the software there.