How Much to Charge for Event and Wedding Planning: Pricing Models and Formulas

Pricing is where most new planners go wrong. They look at local competitors, pick a lower number to win the first clients, and only later discover how many hours a wedding really takes. This guide shows the common pricing models, what planners typically charge, and how to build your price from your own hours and costs.

What planners typically charge

Fees vary widely by city, experience and market tier. As of 2026, verify locally, but common ranges look like this:

Corporate planners often charge project fees, day rates for on-site management and hourly rates for consulting.

The four pricing models

Most planners use flat packages built from estimated hours, with an hourly rate for anything outside scope.

The hours-based pricing formula

Package price = (Estimated hours × target hourly rate) + direct costs + overhead share

Step 1: Estimate every hour

Include consultations, planning meetings, emails, vendor calls, site visits, the rehearsal, the event day (including setup and breakdown), travel and wrap-up. New planners usually underestimate email and vendor coordination.

Step 2: Set a target hourly rate

Your rate must cover self-employment and income taxes, unpaid admin and marketing time, insurance, software, education and the fact that you will not bill every hour of every week.

Target hourly rate = (Income goal + annual business costs + tax set-aside) ÷ billable hours per year

Example: a $60,000 income goal, $9,000 in business costs and $18,000 for taxes need $87,000 in revenue. At 1,500 billable event hours a year, that is $58 per hour.

Step 3: Add direct costs and overhead

Direct costs include assistants, mileage, printing and meals. Overhead includes a share of insurance, software and marketing.

Worked example: partial planning

The planner rounds to $5,100. If local couples will not pay that for partial planning, she has three honest options: reduce hours with tighter scope and better templates, aim at couples who value more service, or accept a lower hourly rate knowingly.

Worked example: day-of coordination

Many new coordinators charge $900 for this work. At 31 hours, that is under $30 an hour before costs and taxes.

Percentage pricing: when it makes sense

For a $90,000 full-service wedding, 12% is $10,800. If the budget falls to $75,000, the fee falls to $9,000, though the work rarely shrinks. If it rises to $120,000, the fee becomes $14,400. Set a minimum fee, define exactly what counts as the budget (venue, catering, rentals, florals, entertainment, photography; whether attire counts), and state the method in your contract.

Pricing add-ons

Price extras separately so your core packages stay clean:

Commissions and referral fees

Some venues and vendors pay planners referral fees, and hotel commissions are common in corporate meetings. Undisclosed commissions can damage trust and may raise legal and ethical issues. Disclose any commission or referral arrangement to your client in writing.

Presenting your price

• Recommend one package based on the client's stated priorities
• State the price clearly with the payment schedule
• List inclusions and limits (meetings, hours, assistants)
• Include a short testimonial from a similar client
• Give a date by which the quote and date hold expire

Payment schedules that protect cash flow

Weddings are often booked a year or more ahead, so your payment schedule shapes your cash flow. A common structure is a retainer of 25% to 50% at signing to reserve the date, one or two progress payments during planning, and the final balance two to four weeks before the event. Put the schedule in your contract, use automated invoices and reminders, and keep retainers in a separate savings account so that early cash does not disappear before the work is done. Card processing fees are a cost of business; some planners build them into their prices, and rules on surcharges vary by state and card network.

Corporate event pricing

Corporate clients often expect different structures from wedding clients. Common approaches include a project fee for a defined scope (for example, a two-day leadership retreat for 80 people), a day rate for on-site management, and an hourly rate for consulting or venue sourcing. Corporate procurement teams may require a W-9, a certificate of insurance and payment terms such as net 30. Build those terms into your price, since waiting 30 to 60 days for payment has a real cost. Hotel commissions on room blocks are common in meetings, but many companies require planners to disclose or rebate them, so ask about the client's policy early.

Pricing checklist

• ☐ Hours tracked or estimated for each package
• ☐ Target hourly rate calculated from your income goal, costs and taxes
• ☐ Package prices built with direct costs and overhead
• ☐ Minimum fee set for any percentage pricing
• ☐ Add-on menu priced
• ☐ Hourly rate for out-of-scope work written into contracts
• ☐ Commission disclosure policy
• ☐ Prices reviewed every booking season

The bottom line

Price your planning from your own hours and costs, then compare to the market, never the other way around. A planner who knows the true hours behind each package can raise prices with confidence, protect scope, and build a business that lasts beyond the first busy season.

Our book, Starting an Event & Wedding Planning Business, covers niches, packages, pricing, contracts and deposits, vendor management, planning timelines, run-of-show templates, corporate events, marketing, the sales process and a 90-day launch plan.