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Wedding planning services agreement: How-to guide

A wedding can be one of the most enjoyable and memorable days in a couple’s life. However, planning a wedding can be stressful, expensive, and time-consuming. By hiring a professional wedding planner, brides and grooms can save time and money and relieve some of their pressure.

Wedding planners guide and supervise the planning and coordination of weddings. The services provided will vary depending on each client’s objectives and needs. It may include advice on vendor selection, budgeting, assistance with design and personalization, communication with vendors and service providers, and preparation of timelines and schedules.

Because the scope of services provided by a wedding planner is inherently personal, a detailed wedding planning services agreement is essential. The agreement should spell out each party’s duties and service expectations.

LegalZoom’s wedding planner contract template can provide a good starting point for drafting a contract to cover the planning and coordination of a wedding. The blank agreement template comes with a pre-set structure, professionally-vetted content, and fill-in information placeholders to modify the document with your personalized details.

However, before signing the agreement, both parties must discuss the terms of their agreement, settling questions about the services to be provided, payment, and responsibilities.

Guidelines for wedding planners to create a wedding planner contract

Professional wedding planning services agreement template by LegalZoom. Easily draft, edit, and download your agreements!

1. Ensure your wedding planner is a certified professional

Consider whether your wedding planner is a member of certain service-specific groups, such as the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners (AACWP) or the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC). This provides assurance that the planner has the necessary skills and expertise.

If hiring a wedding planner, confirm they have a registered wedding planning business and check with their previous clients about their services. It’s a good way to check the stability and reliability of the company or person you’ll hire for your wedding day services.

2. Need for a wedding planner contract 

The wedding planner contract is designed to protect the parties’ rights during the contract term.

These contracts tend to include provisions addressing the following:

  • The couple’s responsibility is to enter into agreements with service providers and vendors, buy wedding goods, and make direct payments to third parties.
  • Will the couple receive a refund if the agreement ends early? Many wedding planners will include forfeiture provisions or require full payment if the agreement is terminated for any reason after a certain date.
  • A provision protecting the parties if the services can’t be performed because of events beyond their control (like fires, earthquakes, inclement weather, etc.).
  • The wedding planner’s rights (including the right to terminate) after a change to the time, wedding date, location, or guest count of the wedding.
  • The planner can use the couple’s wedding pictures for promotion and advertisement.
  • Disclaimers about the wedding planner’s product or service recommendations.
  • Time and geographic limits on the services (e.g., limits on the obligation to travel to meet with the couple or to attend vendor meetings).
  • Reimbursement of expenses (e.g., if the wedding planner calls vendors and service providers, will the calls be reimbursed, or are they included in the compensation?).

3. Duties and responsibilities of the client

If you're the couple, be sure to read the planner’s contract document carefully to make sure you know your long-term rights are protected. Consider:

  • Whether the services are sufficient for your needs and whether you can (or are forced to) buy additional services in the future.
  • How will changes to the time, date, wedding ceremony location, or guest count be handled?
  • Your obligations under the agreement (e.g., paying vendors directly, providing a list of vendors, and notifying obligations).
  • Refunds are available if the wedding is canceled or the contract is terminated.
  • Whether the wedding planner can use your photographs to promote its business.
  • Whether you can terminate the contract early if you aren’t satisfied, and if there are any penalties for that termination (e.g., forfeiture of payments).

4. Essential items to be included in a wedding planner contract

Discuss with the other party the items essential to your wedding planning contract, and be sure to include them in the contract. Consider:

  • The agreement should include the compensation terms, such as whether the planner will be paid a flat fee or hourly rate. If your arrangement is different (e.g., a percentage of the total wedding cost), then include those details in the agreement.
  • A timeline by which the planner will provide services.
  • Whether the wedding planner can take on other clients or business.
  • Additional services and applicable rates.
  • Penalties, charges, or actions to be taken for late or missed payment.
  • Reimbursable expenses and how reimbursements will occur.        
  • Other relevant specifications (e.g., the wedding planner’s clothing on the wedding day or travel limitations).

5. Do a thorough review check

Once the wedding planning contract is drafted, the involved parties must go through the document properly. They must check whether all the relevant points are included or not. If something is missing, the relevant parties should discuss it and include it in the agreement. To refrain from making errors, it is best to avoid last-minute changes.

6. Inspect the applicable laws

A written agreement is only the first step in establishing an individual’s independent contractor status. Once signed, both parties must follow its terms exactly to make sure that status is maintained.

Review your state’s laws governing independent contractors.

7. Make sure the parties sign two copies of the wedding planner contracts

The wedding planner and the client should sign two copies of the agreement, one for you and one for the other party.

8. Discuss legal matters with the attorney

If you feel your agreement is complicated, it’s always a good practice to seek the help of an expert. You can contact an attorney and have all your doubts about legal matters cleared up with them.

Critical clauses of wedding planner contract templates

An image of a wedding planner explaining their services to the customers.

The following instructions will help you understand the terms of your wedding planning services agreement.

1. Introduction

Begin the section by introducing the parties involved in the agreement. In a wedding planner contract, the planner is called the wedding planner, and the couple getting married (the client party) is addressed as the couple.

You must also provide the wedding planner’s business type. For example, if the planner is an “individual,” mention that. If it is a company, provide the details of the state where the company was created.

You must also provide a detailed wedding information sheet. It should contain the following information:

  • The couple’s name, address, and contact information.
  • Date, time, and location of the ceremony and reception.
  • An estimate of the number of wedding guests.

2. Recitals

This section defines the world of the agreement and offers key information about the parties. Here, you must also provide the date and location of where the wedding is happening.

3. Engagement; services

  1. Engagement: This refers to the statement that the couple is hiring a wedding planner to plan and organize their wedding.
  2. Services: This part mentions the services performed by the planner under the contract. Here, the planner takes full responsibility for delivering the promised services on time.

You must also provide a detailed list of the specific services, payment for those services, additional services that may be purchased, and any other details you want to include.

  1. Legal compliance: The planner promises to provide the services legally and with all necessary licenses or permits. The couple and their guests should also abide by any government permits related to outside wedding locations.
  2. Couple’s obligations: It states the couple’s general responsibilities under the contract, including the obligation to make payments on time and to keep the planner informed of changes to the wedding.

4. Term and termination

Term: This indicates that the agreement will last until termination or until the listed services are completed. You must also provide a deadline by which the planners must finish their work.

Termination: This part explains that certain actions or events, including written notice or material breach, will cause the agreement to end early (i.e., before the services are completed or the end of the term, if any). Provide the number of days advance notice a party must give of its intent to terminate or to notify the other of a breach.

Some other remaining provisions of the termination are:

  • The couple can terminate the agreement if the planner is convicted of a crime.
  • The planner can terminate the agreement if the couple changes the time, date, or location of the wedding or substantially increases the guest list size.
  • The planner can end the arrangement if the couple doesn’t pay a deposit.

Effect of termination: This part states that if the agreement is terminated for any reason (like a breach of contract, defaulting on the payment terms, etc.), the couple needs to pay the planner for whatever services they have provided so far. The planner is also required to return any amounts the couple has paid in advance for services that weren't performed.

5. Compensation

This section explains the payment terms in detail. List the services provided by the planner, the payment for those, and any additional services you purchased later. 

You must also decide on how you want to pay the wedding planner. For example, in your arrangement, the wedding planner might be paid based on a percentage of the wedding’s total cost.

You need to outline the terms as descriptively as possible. Consider including the following points as well:

  • The amount of time the planner will devote to creating bespoke services for your wedding. The number of meetings the planner will attend.
  • Any geographic or other limitations involved.
  • Deadlines for performance.
  • Applicable payment schedule, deposit, and final payments.
  • Charges or penalties for late or missed payments.
  • Reimbursable expenses and procedures for repayment.
  • Additional specifications (e.g., what the planner will wear on the wedding day, how many assistants it'll bring, etc.).
  • The circumstances under which no payments will be made.
  • Emphasize that the payments outlined are the wedding planner’s only compensation for its services under the agreement.
  • This section also outlines the applicable taxes and who pays for what. It states that the wedding planner is responsible for paying its own taxes on the money it receives (i.e., it isn't receiving a “salary” as an employee of the couple, and the couple won't withhold those amounts on its behalf).
  • If the planner has any employees, the planner is solely responsible for paying for their benefits. Again, this is another reflection that the couple and the planner are separate and distinct entities.

6. Material wedding changes

This is an essential section because it lets the wedding planner end the agreement if it can’t accommodate changes made to the time, date, location, or guest count after the effective date. It also explains that these changes may compromise the quality of the wedding services and that additional services may be required (and costs incurred).

7. Additional services

In this section, the planner agrees that the couple can extend or increase the wedding services at the agreed-upon rates.

8. Promotional rights

This segment gives the wedding planner the right to use the couple’s photographs to promote or advertise the wedding planner’s business.

9. Disclaimer

It protects the planner from liability if any merchandise or services the couple buys because of the planner’s recommendations are defective.

10. Nature of relationship

This part explains that the wedding planner isn’t the couple's employee, partner, or agent. This distinction is important for legal reasons, including insurance coverage requirements, liability, and taxes. The agreement seeks to emphasize this divide, but all parties shouldn’t blur the line between independent contractors and employees in performing their duties.

11. Other activities

This section expressly allows the wedding planner to contract with other couples if its responsibilities under those contracts don’t damage the couple or conflict with their wedding or interests.

12. Indemnification

An indemnification provision allocates responsibility between the parties if problems arise in the future. It also protects each party from the consequences of the other’s negligent or intentional conduct.

13. Force majeure

It releases a party from its obligations if an event beyond its control makes its performance impossible. For example, if a flood makes it impossible for the wedding planner to be on the premises for the wedding, the wedding planner won’t be in breach of the agreement.

If a force majeure event makes it impossible for one party to do something, that party facing those problems must inform the other party and take reasonable steps to resolve the issues.

14. Governing law 

Choice of law: This lets the parties choose the state law that will be used to interpret the agreement. The state is usually where one or both parties live or do business.

Note: The state you choose should have some connection to the parties or their businesses. A court may be reluctant to uphold a choice-of-law provision that is random or chosen to avoid a disadvantageous law.

Choice of forum: The forum is where the parties’ disputes will be resolved.

15. Attorneys’ fees

This optional provision clarifies attorneys’ fees in case of a dispute.

16. Amendments

An amendment is a change to the terms of the agreement. This section states that the only way either party can change any terms is if that change is both (a) in writing and (b) signed by both parties. Without this provision, a party could argue that a conversation between them was an “oral amendment” of the document.

17. Assignment and delegation

An “assignment” is the transfer of rights from one person or party to another, and a “delegation” is the transfer of obligations from one person or party to another. A contract's “assignment and delegation” section explains which parties can or can’t assign and delegate their rights and obligations. 

In a wedding planner contract, the planner takes on a “personal” duty. In other words, the couple probably chose the wedding planner based on their abilities and wouldn't be happy if the wedding planner chose another person to do their job. Therefore, the contract requires the wedding planner to get the couple’s permission before making that “assignment.”

This section clarifies these duties. For example, if either party tries to assign or delegate without the other party’s permission, that assignment or delegation will be void.

18. Counterparts; electronic signatures

This provision allows the parties to sign the wedding planner contract using an electronic signature. Using electronic signatures will help the couple hire wedding planners who aren't located in their area.

19. Severability

It protects the terms of the agreement as a whole, even if one part is later invalidated. For example, if a state law prohibits faxed copies of signature pages, it won't undo the entire agreement. Instead, only the references to faxed copies of signature pages would be deleted, leaving the rest of the agreement unchanged.

This section has an exception. If an essential part of the agreement is invalidated, the agreement may terminate. For example, if a law is passed in your state prohibiting the wedding planning business, the purpose of the agreement is lost. In such cases, the agreement will probably be invalidated.

20. Notice

It lists the addresses to which all correspondence relating to the agreement should be sent. Write in a mailing address and contact information for both the couple and the planner.

21. Waiver

A waiver clause in a contract typically refers to a provision that allows one party to voluntarily give up certain rights or privileges granted to them under the terms of the agreement. This clause outlines the conditions under which a party can choose not to enforce their rights, usually in situations where the other party breaches the contract or fails to meet certain obligations. Common conditions for waiving rights may include minor breaches where the non-breaching party chooses not to enforce their rights immediately but reserves the right to do so if the breach persists or escalates.

22. Entire agreement

The parties’ agreement that the document they’re signing is “the agreement” about the issues involved. For example, if the parties had exchanged letters that contradicted provisions in the agreement, those documents wouldn’t be considered part of the agreement.

23. Headings

This part denotes that the headings at the beginning of each section and subsection are provided to organize the document. These labels are meant to help as you’re skimming the document or searching for a specific section. However, these headings aren’t part of the substance of the agreement. Any interpretation of the clauses shouldn’t be based on the headings.

24. Effectiveness

Because the parties may be signing at different times and locations, a question may arise about when the agreement becomes effective. This section clarifies that the agreement will be effective when the last party has signed and dated it.

25. Necessary acts; further assurances

This section explains that even if a party isn’t specifically required to sign a document or take some action by the agreement, the other party can insist on it if needed to make the agreement effective.

This allows the parties to make an agreement that doesn’t list every possible act that’ll ever need to be taken. If an act becomes necessary to make the agreement effective, this section requires the parties to perform that action. Note that this applies only to reasonable acts: a party won’t be required to do anything and everything possible to make the agreement work.

Frequently asked questions

What’s a wedding planning services agreement?

Betrothed couples have a lifetime of decisions to debate. And it all starts with who's sitting next to whom at the wedding. Here comes the wedding planner to take on tasks like coordinating, catering, ensuring the officiant has directions to the venue, and arranging the florist. Say ‘I do’ to a wedding planner. A wedding planning services agreement keeps couples and planners on the same page. It helps ensure that expectations are clearly defined and responsibilities are outlined, ultimately fostering a smoother and more organized planning process from start to finish.

Here's the information you'll need to have handy to complete your wedding planning services contract:

  • Who the wedding planner is: Keep the name and contact information of the planner ready
  • Who's getting married: Know the couple's names and contact information
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