3 Things to Include in a Wedding Planner Contract

3 Things to Include in a Wedding Planner Contract | Contracts for Creatives | Ashlee Hightower Attorney

Wedding season is coming, and if you’re a wedding planner or own a wedding planning business, you’re going to want to dive into this post! Today I’m sharing 3 things to include in a wedding planner contract.

3 Things to Include in a Wedding Planner Contract

There are, of course, other items that should be included in a wedding planner contract, but today I’m touching on three of the most important. To check out a full list of what should be included in a wedding planner contract, check out my Wedding Planner Contract Template!

Responsibilities Prior to the Event and Day of the Event

One of the most important things to include in your wedding planner contract is what you’re responsible for as the planner. Having a thorough contract ensures that the wedding planner and the couple are on the same page when it comes to exactly what services the wedding planner will be providing.

It’s important to include details regarding what tasks you are responsible for leading up to the day of the wedding. This might include coordinating vendors like the florist, caterers, and the band.

Along with including detailed information on what services you’ll be providing prior to the wedding day, it’s important to also include what your role will be on the day of the wedding. For example, if you will be the person in charge of the run of show throughout the entire wedding day, that should be noted in the contract. Although all of the details for the wedding day may not be worked out when signing the initial contract, generalities should be included. Then, when the wedding day is approaching, you should provide the couple with a more detailed document indicating exactly what you’ll be responsible for on the day of the wedding.

Retainer and Payment Schedule

Along with providing details on what services you as the wedding planner will be providing, all payment details regarding what the couple owes you for the services and when those payments are due should be included in the wedding planner contract. Depending on the type of services being provided, I usually recommend creating a payment schedule to ensure payment throughout the planning process. Ideally, all payments should be made prior to the wedding day.

The exact amounts owed will most likely not be known at the time of signing of the initial contract, however, you should be able to provide the couple with an estimate based on prior consulting sessions so that both you, as the wedding planner, and the couple are on the same page regarding payment from the beginning.

Vendor Relations

It’s important that the couple know, up front, what vendors the wedding planner will be responsible for coordinating and hiring for the wedding day events. This is particularly important to include in the contract so that it’s clear to the couple what vendors you are NOT responsible for coordinating and hiring so that the couple has time to research and hire those vendors on their own.

In addition to including what vendors you’re responsible for coordinating, it’s important to also include how those vendors will be paid. Will the vendor fees be included in your fee or paid separately by the couple directly to the vendor? Ensuring that the contract includes all of these details helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page from the beginning of the wedding planner/couple relationship.

Have a specific question about wedding planner contracts? Shoot me an email! And check out my carefully curated and easy to customize Wedding Planner Contract Template here!

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