An event planning contract is the agreement between a client and an event planner that covers the planner’s services, fee, deposit and payment schedule, and what happens if the event is cancelled or a vendor lets everyone down. Planners use it for corporate offsites, milestone birthdays, fundraisers, product launches and conferences. Our free event planner contract template comes in Word and PDF.
When does an event call for a planning contract?
Once a planner is booking venues or making promises to vendors on a client’s behalf, you want the arrangement in writing. The money moves in several directions at once, and without a contract nobody is quite sure whose deposit is whose.
Take a hypothetical: a nonprofit hires a planner for a 180-guest fundraising gala eight months out. The planner’s fee is $6,500. The venue wants a $4,000 deposit, the caterer wants 30% up front, and the AV company wants payment in full a week before. If the gala is cancelled in month six, what does the nonprofit owe the planner, and what can it recover from the venue? A good event planning agreement answers the first question directly and points to the vendor contracts for the second.
If the event is a wedding, use our wedding planner contract instead, since it handles full-service versus month-of coordination and the day-of timeline. If you’re only booking a single service, like a photographer, the photography contract or a general service agreement is simpler.
What should the event planning agreement cover?
The event and the services
The event type, date, location (or “to be chosen”), expected guest count, and a budget range. Then the services: venue search, vendor sourcing, budget tracking, design, run-of-show, on-site management on the day. Our template lists common services as checkboxes, so you can tick what’s included and leave the rest for a change order.
Fees, deposit and payment schedule
The planner’s fee can be flat, hourly, or a percentage of the total event budget. The template asks for a deposit to reserve the date and then a schedule of payments tied to dates or milestones, with the final payment due before the event. It keeps the planner’s fee separate from vendor costs, which the client pays directly.
Vendor contracts
This is the section that saves the most arguments. Under our template the client signs vendor contracts and pays vendors directly, unless the client authorizes the planner in writing to sign a specific contract. Vendors are responsible for their own work. The planner agrees to recommend vendors with reasonable care, to share each vendor contract before it’s signed, and to disclose any commission or referral payment it gets from a vendor.
Changes, cancellation and force majeure
Scope changes go through a written change with any added fee. If the client cancels, the template sets out what’s owed based on how far out the cancellation is. Force majeure covers events outside anyone’s control.
A force majeure clause is worth reading slowly. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute defines it as a provision that frees both parties from obligation if an extraordinary event directly prevents one or both from performing, and notes that some jurisdictions, such as New York, interpret these clauses narrowly and only excuse the specific events listed. Courts also generally don’t treat economic hardship on its own as force majeure. So if severe weather, a government order or a venue closure is the thing that worries you, name it.
Limits on the planner’s liability
The planner isn’t liable for a third-party vendor’s failure, for the client’s own guests, or for losses beyond the fees paid, except where the planner was grossly negligent or acted on purpose. The planner does agree to carry general liability insurance. The SBA describes general liability as covering financial loss from bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses and the cost of defending lawsuits, and many venues ask planners for proof of it before they’ll allow load-in.
Anything to check before signing?
Three things are worth doing before anyone signs.
Read the venue contract alongside this one. Its cancellation dates and minimum spend often drive the real financial exposure, and your planning agreement’s cancellation schedule should line up with it.
Check who’s named as the “client” on vendor contracts. If a company is paying, the company should sign, not an employee personally.
Ask the planner for a certificate of insurance, and ask the venue whether it needs to be named as an additional insured.
How do you fill in an event planning contract and get it signed?
- Fill in the event details and tick the services included.
- Choose the fee model and write out the deposit and payment dates as calendar dates, not “60 days before.”
- Complete the cancellation schedule so it matches the venue’s.
- List any events you want the force majeure clause to name.
- Send it for signature. Planner and client each keep a copy.
An event planning contract is a standard service contract, and the federal ESIGN Act says a contract can’t be denied legal effect solely because it’s in electronic form. Our article on signing a document with more than one person helps when a committee or two co-hosts need to sign.
Download it, fill in the blanks, and send it for e-signature with any tool you like. (If you’d like to try SignWren when it launches, join the waitlist.)
This template and guide are general information, not legal advice. For a specific contract or dispute, talk to a lawyer licensed where you are.
Template from signwren.com. General information, not legal advice. Check your state's rules and adapt it before you use it.
EVENT PLANNING CONTRACT
This Event Planning Contract ("Contract") is made on [date] between:
Client: [Client's full legal name or organization name], of [address] ("Client"), represented by [contact person and title, if an organization], and
Event Planner: [Planner's full legal name or business name], of [address] ("Planner").
1. The Event
- Type of event: [e.g. corporate retreat, 50th birthday, fundraising gala]
- Date(s): [date or dates]
- Location: [venue name and address, or "to be selected under Section 2"]
- Expected number of guests: [number]
- Client's budget range for the whole event, including vendors: [$ amount] to [$ amount]
2. Planner's Services
The Planner will provide the services ticked below:
☐ Initial consultation and event concept
☐ Venue search, site visits and recommendation
☐ Vendor sourcing and recommendations (catering, rentals, AV, entertainment, décor, transport, other: [list])
☐ Budget preparation and tracking
☐ Design and décor plan
☐ Guest list, invitations and RSVP tracking
☐ Run-of-show and event-day timeline
☐ Up to [number] planning meetings (in person or video)
☐ On-site management on the event day, from [time] to [time], with [number] staff
☐ Other: [describe]
Anything not ticked is outside this Contract. The Planner may provide extra services at [$ hourly rate or price] once the Client agrees in writing.
3. Planner's Fee
☐ Flat fee of [$ amount].
☐ Hourly rate of [$ amount], with an estimate of [number] hours. The Planner will tell the Client before going over the estimate by more than [percentage].
☐ [percentage] of the final event budget, estimated at [$ amount], and reconciled after the event.
4. Deposit and Payment Schedule
The Client will pay a deposit of [$ amount] when signing this Contract to reserve the date. The deposit is applied to the Planner's fee and is:
☐ Non-refundable, because the Planner is holding the date and turning down other work.
☐ Refundable if the Client cancels on or before [date].
The rest of the Planner's fee is due as follows:
| Payment |
Amount |
Due date |
| Deposit |
[$ amount] |
On signing |
| Second payment |
[$ amount] |
[date] |
| Final payment |
[$ amount] |
[date, before the event] |
Payments are made by [payment method]. If a payment is more than [number] days late, the Planner may pause work after giving written notice, and a late fee of [$ amount] applies if permitted by law.
The Planner's fee does not include the cost of vendors, venue, food, rentals or other goods and services for the event. Those are paid under Section 5.
5. Vendor Contracts and Payments
Who signs. The Client will sign contracts with the venue and vendors directly, and pay them directly, unless the Client authorizes the Planner in writing to sign a specific contract on the Client's behalf. The Planner will give the Client a copy of every vendor contract before it is signed.
Who pays. If the Planner pays any vendor cost on the Client's behalf with the Client's written approval, the Client will reimburse the Planner within [number] days of receiving a receipt, plus a handling fee of ☐ [percentage] ☐ none.
Commissions and referral fees. The Planner will tell the Client in writing about any commission, referral fee, discount or other benefit the Planner receives from a vendor it recommends.
Vendors are responsible for their own work. Each vendor is an independent business responsible for its own services under its own contract. The Planner will use reasonable care in recommending vendors, will coordinate them, and, if a vendor fails to perform, will make reasonable efforts to help the Client find a replacement. The Planner is not responsible for a vendor's failure, delay, quality, injury or damage caused by the vendor, or the vendor's refund and cancellation terms.
6. Client's Responsibilities
The Client will make decisions and approvals within [number] business days of a request, give accurate guest numbers by [date], pay vendors on time, and name one contact person who can make decisions: [name, phone, email].
7. Changes
Changes to the date, location, guest count or services must be agreed in writing. If a change adds work, the Planner will quote the added fee before doing the work.
8. Cancellation by the Client
The Client may cancel by written notice. The Client will owe the Planner:
- More than [number] days before the event: the deposit only.
- Between [number] and [number] days before the event: [percentage]% of the Planner's total fee.
- Fewer than [number] days before the event: 100% of the Planner's fee.
Plus any approved expenses already incurred. Vendor deposits and cancellation charges are governed by each vendor's own contract.
If the Client postpones instead of cancelling, the Planner will apply payments to a new date within [number] months if the Planner is available, and may charge [$ amount or percentage] for rescheduling work.
9. Cancellation by the Planner
If the Planner cancels for any reason other than Section 10 or the Client's breach, the Planner will refund all fees paid and make reasonable efforts to recommend a replacement planner.
10. Force Majeure
Neither party is responsible for failing to perform if the failure is directly caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including [e.g. severe weather, natural disaster, fire, flood, epidemic, government order, venue closure, war, terrorism, labor strike, utility failure]. The affected party will tell the other promptly. The parties will first try in good faith to reschedule. If the event cannot reasonably be rescheduled within [number] months, either party may end this Contract, and the Planner will refund fees paid for services not yet performed, keeping payment for work already done.
11. Limits of Liability
The Planner is not liable for acts or omissions of vendors, the venue, guests or the Client. Except for losses caused by the Planner's gross negligence or intentional misconduct, or where the law does not allow a limit, the Planner's total liability under this Contract will not exceed the fees the Client paid the Planner.
12. Insurance
The Planner carries general liability insurance of at least [$ amount] per occurrence and will give the Client or the venue a certificate of insurance on request. The Client will arrange any event insurance or liquor liability coverage the venue requires, unless the parties agree otherwise: [details].
13. Photos and Portfolio
☐ The Planner may use photos of the event's design (not identifying guests without their consent) in its portfolio and marketing.
☐ The Planner may not use event photos without the Client's written approval.
14. Independent Business
The Planner is an independent business, not the Client's employee, and controls how it performs the services.
15. Notices
Notices must be in writing and sent by email or mail to:
- Client: [contact, email, address]
- Planner: [contact, email, address]
16. General Terms
Entire agreement. This Contract is the entire agreement between the parties about the planning services.
Amendments. Any change must be in writing and signed or confirmed by email by both parties.
Governing law. This Contract is governed by the laws of the State of [State].
Severability. If any part of this Contract is found invalid, the rest stays in effect.
Counterparts and electronic signatures. The parties agree this agreement may be signed electronically and in counterparts, and an electronic signature has the same effect as a handwritten one.
Signatures
Client
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]
Event Planner
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]