Factors That Affect The Price Of Wedding Planners
The primary determinant of how much you pay your wedding planner is the planner and the nature of the event you want. Their level of expertise will affect their regular rates. Additionally, the time they come on board and the total amount of work they have to do will significantly affect the price you pay to procure them. Some unforeseen expenses may come up eventually, and increase the amount you have to pay may increase. Some of these factors also depend on the type of contract you have with your planner.
How Much Is A Wedding Planner And When Are They Worth The Cost
Written by Shutterfly Community Last Updated: Apr 19, 2021
Between hunting for the right venue, finding that perfect dress and coordinating hundreds of guests, hiring a wedding planner can go overlooked. Quite often, the key to taking control of your wedding planning checklist comes down to allowing a professional to take the reins.
If You’re Going To Hire A Planner It’s Best To Do It Early In The Planning Process
You don’t have to have a wedding planner to have a beautiful wedding, but if you want to hire and can afford a planner, it’s best to book one before you start making any big wedding decisions.
“If you really want somebody who’s going to help you from soup to nuts, find the planner first,” Kristen Maxwell Cooper, the editor-in-chief of The Knot, told Insider. “They oftentimes will know about venues and little nuggets. That’s their job.”
Monus echoed Cooper, telling Insider that planners can make every part of planning simpler.
“Often wedding planners have relationships with other vendors, which makes for a very smooth wedding-planning process since they may have worked together before,” Monus told Insider.
Plus, planners can help you save money as you make these big decisions, as they know the industry inside and out.
“They can help you negotiate better rates with vendors, and many have partnerships with services that can offer you discounts on your stationery,” she said. “They know all sorts of tips and tricks to help you save money that you may not even be aware of since you’ve likely never planned a wedding before.”
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Brides With Champagne Tastes On Apple Cider Budgets
Now dont get me wrong working with budget brides shouldnt be off limits. For some planners, this target market is a very profitable nicheyou just have to be smart about matching your time with your income.
If during your initial conversation with a bride, you determine that shes budget sensitive, dont dismiss her, but dont go crazy with a 2-hour consultation, either. Just remember that your time is valuable.
Create and have ready a no-frills wedding planning package that includes a limited number of consulting hours and stick to it! When you talk to her say something like:
Most of the weddings I work on are personalized for each couple, but it sounds like Im hearing that budget might be an issue. Id like to suggest the . This way you get the best of both worlds I can point you in the direction of some wonderful wedding professionals and resources to help you create a fabulous occasion and you can save money by doing some of the pre-planning legwork.
How does that sound?
After your initial conversation, be sure to send her:
1) Highlights of your no-frills package along with details of your other planning services. Who knows? She may decide to go with a more comprehensive planning option after all. Be sure to list the package details in bulleted list so there is no confusion about what is included. Actually, creating a separate a list of just the things that are NOT included isnt a bad idea.
The Cost Of A Planner Varies Based On The Services You Get And Where You Live
There isn’t a set cost for every wedding planner. Indeed, cost varies from planner to planner, though location and type of service help determine the price.
The national average cost of a wedding planner was $1,500 in 2019, according to a study conducted by The Knot, but where you live and how much help you want will determine the cost. The more you want a planner to handle, the more expensive it will be.
“For full service, you can expect a minimum charge of around $5,000, but that tends to go up depending on size and scope,” she said. “Often full-service rates will be calculated based on a percentage usually 20% of your wedding budget.”
If you’re just paying for a wedding month or day-of coordinator, the cost will be more like $1,800 to $2,000, according to Monus. And many planners will offer something in between and allow couples to customize the services so it fits their needs.
“I’ve developed a middle-range service that I call Wedding Consulting that offers a set amount of consulting or planning hours and wedding management my most popular offering for $2,800 with an option to add on consulting or planning time if needed,” Monus said.
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Day Of Coordinator Flat Fee
This type of arrangement includes a meeting prior to the wedding to go over details, attend final vendor meetings to oversee details, oversee final payments to vendors, and create a wedding timeline so everything goes as planned. Finally, it also includes them making sure all the magic happens as planned on the day of the wedding.
Drawback: The number of hours you can use the wedding planner are limited. If you go over the contracted amount, an hourly rate will apply.
Cost: While there is no standard price for this kind of service, you can expect most planners to charge less than $1000-$2000 for it. The price difference is based on the planners experience and the area that you are getting married in
Wedding Planner Pricing Template: Wedding Planning Packages And Prices
Wedding planning packages and prices vary per wedding planner. Here are some sample wedding planner packages. Some examples of the packages you can get are:
A typical wedding planner pricing template will vary depending on the type of pricing.
An All-Inclusive Fee
This fee includes every detail to the last T. Here you share your goals with the wedding planner and pay them to bring them to reality. The template may be general without unique labels.
Flat Fee
The template will have customized details based on the type of wedding. Some planners break down the flat fee into segments and collect a percentage of the cost at different planning points.
Flat Fee and Blended Percentage
This type of pricing is expected in the planning industry. It requires a charge for design and a planning retainer fee along with a production fee.
See more about the wedding planner pricing template here: .
After paying the wedding planner cost, you can expect services like:
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Planner Vs Consultant Vs Coordinator: What’s The Difference
Youre either looking for someone who plans and executes your entire wedding, or someone who manages specific tasks. If you want a destination wedding or a large wedding with multiple events and many moving parts, hire a full-service wedding planner. If you’re a DIY couple who only needs guidance and assistance with wedding day logistics, hire a partial planner or coordinator.
Full-service wedding planners are involved in the entire wedding process, which includes concept, planning, managing, coordination and a myriad of details until you wave goodbye to your guests.
In todays vernacular the term wedding consultant has largely been absorbed into the term wedding planner. “I think the word ‘planner’ is easier to comprehend for couples who are looking for assistance, says Micki Novak, Executive Director of the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners . If someone advertises themselves as a consultant, there is always a question about what they can or will do.” If you find a “wedding consultant” that you like, ask them what their services cover.
“A wedding coordinator is very different from a wedding planner,” says Ashley Paul, Co-owner of C & A Event Planning. “Most think of a ‘day-of’ coordinator who manages the vendors and venue the couple has hired. Actually, the coordinator has to come onboard a month or more before the wedding to know who is who, what needs to go where and what your expectations are.”
Wedding Planner Prices From Around The Country
Weddings & Moore in San Antonio, TX, say, Planning services start at $300 and go up to a % of your budget…. I’ve worked with clients with all different budgets.
Majestyk Planners & Events in Oceanside, CA, says, If the client decides they want an hourly rate for wedding coordinating and planning only starting at $500 and up:
- $150
- Day of Coordination $1,500
- Partial Planning/Coordination $3,200
- Full-service planning/Coordination $4,000
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Top Reasons To Hire A Wedding Planner
Handles The Little Details
Wedding planners who have long years of experience have foresight. They can take a proactive approach to lingering issues. In addition, wedding planners have insider knowledge about vendors and their services. So, they pay close attention to details and can recommend the best. How much does a wedding planner cost? boils down to who you hire and what you want them to do.
An Unemotional Third Party
Planning with your partner, friends, and family spring up a lot of emotions. But with a wedding planner, its just business and entirely centered on getting you satisfied.
Stress-Free Planning For The Couple And Family
Hiring a wedding planner makes your wedding as easy as just dreaming it and seeing it come true. All the stress brainstorming, contacting, and negotiating is out of the way. You only have to bother about glowing on your big day.
Now Add Those Two Numbers Together
Congratulations! You just found your sales goal. When you add the amount of money you want to make as a wedding planner to the total amount you need to spend to make that money you get the total number of sales you need in a year.
I bet that number is big and scary, am I right? Now it’s time to break it down into smaller chunks and come up with your price.
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How Much Experience Do You Have
Just like most careers, a wedding planners salary is likely to increase as time goes on and experience is gained. Not only will the opportunities increase more reviews and more contacts equal more business but so will the amount you can charge. Think about it: A wedding planner who got started in the industry six months ago isnt going to be able to charge as much as a planner who has run their own agency for the past 20 years.
The Wedding Planner Specializes In What Youre Looking For
Some event designers have specific skills like cake decorating or dress styling. Others routinely find themselves pulling of spectacularly elegant weddings with strict budgets. Still others might even own a flower shop or have planned long distance weddings at your chosen location for years now.
Whatever your wedding priorities are, make sure you be up front about them. You might even find out that the planner has a unique experience that makes them more compatible with your wedding than anyone else!
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The Wedding Planner Offers A Free Consultation
They should also come to the client consultation having done their research prior to the appointment, wearing professional attire, and ready to ask you some foundational questions. When you offer up your opinions and ideas, the wedding planner should also offer up some value in the form of recommendations or ways to improve on your vision.
Ial Planning & Design
So you know you can handle most of the planning, maybe because you have been in a dozen weddings already, or have been saving tear-outs from Martha Stewart Weddings since the year 2000, but you want someone to step in and check your work. A lot of full-service wedding coordinators and month-of coordinators offer partial-planning packages as well for couples that fall in this boat. These packages are most-often custom, although you will come across coordinators with three-month and six-month options. Extra services can include managing invitations, offering design ideas, securing specialty vendors, assembling favors, handling paperwork, and lots more.
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What Are Some Questions I Should Ask A Potential Planner
When meeting with a wedding planner, you can keep it casual, but understand this is a job interview and you are the interviewer hiring for one of the most important projects of your life. So make sure you get to know who youre hiring. Im not asking you to get a blood sample, but learn enough about them to know if your vision and their expertise are a good match.
Try to ask first the formal questions that get them talking about their expertise before getting into abstract and personality type questions most people have trouble giving their strengths and weaknesses in the beginning of an interview without sounding cliché, because they dont know you and dont feel comfortable around you yet. Your goal is to get across as much information as possible, but also try to build a relationship itll make the process much easier. Here are some questions in an appropriate order:
Should I Negotiate With Wedding Planners
It is not recommended to negotiate wedding planner costs. Wedding planners know how to create a realistic wedding budget for youre wedding, which means that they charge you the appropriate amount that they think they need to plan your wedding.
Dont belittle the cost of their services by trying to negotiate prices, especially if they already told you a fixed price or wedding vendor contract. If their price is out of your budget, consider working with someone else who offers cheaper rates, or use online checklists and tips to plan your wedding yourself!
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How Is The Average Cost Of Wedding Planners Calculated
Its pretty simple. The wedding planners cost is based on the overall cost of the wedding. It makes perfect sense that a wedding with a $200,000 budget has a lot more details to coordinate than a wedding thats budgeted for $50,000.
Experts say that couples should set aside 15% of their wedding budget to go towards wedding planning.Of course like any industry, there are bargains if you look for them, and there are high-end professionals well-worth the premium.
Now that you have a better idea of what all of this is going to cost you, its time to see if you can justify the expense.
