A wedding planner contract is the agreement between a couple (or whoever is paying) and a wedding planner that spells out the level of service, how many meetings are included, who runs the day and when, what it costs, and what happens if plans change. It’s the one vendor contract that touches every other vendor contract, so it’s worth getting right. This free template comes in Word and PDF and covers both full-service planning and month-of coordination.
Is a wedding planner contract different from an event planning contract?
Yes, mostly because of how weddings are sold and run. Planners package their work in tiers, the day runs on a tight minute-by-minute timeline, family members often pay part of the bill, and vendor recommendations carry real weight with couples who have never hired a caterer before. Our template is built around those points.
For a corporate event, a milestone birthday or a gala, the event planning contract fits better. If you’re a photographer rather than a planner, use the photography contract, which deals with image rights, shot lists and delivery dates instead.
Which service level are you signing up for?
The template makes you tick one of three, and each has a different scope.
Full-service planning. The planner starts early, often many months out, and handles the venue search, budget, vendor shortlist, design, and the day itself. The contract sets a number of planning meetings, say twelve, plus site visits.
Partial planning. The couple has booked some vendors and wants help with the rest, design, and the day.
Month-of coordination. Despite the name, it usually starts some weeks before the wedding, and the contract sets the exact start date. The couple has booked everything. The coordinator reviews contracts, confirms every vendor, builds the timeline, runs the rehearsal and manages the day.
Say a hypothetical couple books month-of coordination for $2,400 and then, three months out, loses their caterer. Sourcing a new one is full-service work. The contract’s scope section and its hourly rate for extras keep that conversation friendly instead of awkward.
What else goes in the contract?
Meetings and communication
How many meetings are included, how long each lasts, and how quickly the planner replies to messages. Unlimited email sounds nice until it isn’t; the template asks for a response time instead.
The day-of timeline
The planner’s hours on the wedding day, how many assistants attend, when the final timeline is delivered to vendors, and what happens if the reception runs over. Overtime is billed per hour, agreed in advance.
Vendor recommendations and referral fees
Planners often get referral fees or discounts from vendors. That isn’t wrong, but the couple should know. The FTC’s rule on endorsements, 16 CFR 255.5, says that when a connection between an endorser and a seller might materially affect the weight of an endorsement and the audience wouldn’t expect it, the connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. That rule is written for advertising, but the principle is a sound one for any paid recommendation. Our template has the planner list, in writing, any commission or benefit it receives from a recommended vendor.
Vendor contracts and responsibility
The couple signs and pays vendors directly. Each vendor is responsible for its own work. The planner coordinates and troubleshoots, and agrees to use reasonable care in its recommendations.
Fees, deposit and payment schedule
A retainer to book the date, then scheduled payments, with the balance due before the wedding. If a parent is paying part of the bill, name them in the Client section alongside the couple, and have everyone named there sign (copy the Client signature lines if you need more).
Cancellation, postponement and force majeure
What the couple owes if they cancel, and how a postponement is handled. For events outside anyone’s control, the force majeure clause matters. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute notes that some courts, New York’s among them, interpret these clauses narrowly and only excuse events the clause names, so the template leaves space to list them.
How do you fill in a wedding planner contract and get it signed?
- Tick the service level and fill in the number of meetings and the day-of hours.
- Write the fee, retainer and payment dates as real calendar dates.
- List any referral relationships the planner has, or write “None.”
- Check the cancellation schedule against the venue’s contract.
- Everyone paying signs, and the planner signs last.
Wedding planning contracts are ordinary service contracts, and the federal ESIGN Act says a contract can’t be denied legal effect solely because it’s electronic. When both partners and a parent need to sign, see how to get a document signed by multiple people.
Download it, fill in the blanks, and send it for e-signature with any tool you like. (We’re building SignWren for exactly this; join the waitlist if you’d like early access.)
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.
WEDDING PLANNER CONTRACT
This Wedding Planner Contract ("Contract") is made on [date] between:
Client: [full legal name(s) of the couple, and of any family member paying under this Contract], of [address] (together, "Client"), and
Wedding Planner: [Planner's full legal name or business name], of [address] ("Planner").
If more than one person is named as Client, each of them is responsible for the Client's obligations, and the Planner may take decisions from either partner of the couple unless the Client names a single decision-maker here: [name, or "either partner"].
1. The Wedding
- Wedding date: [date]
- Ceremony location: [venue and address, or "to be selected"]
- Reception location: [venue and address, or "to be selected"]
- Estimated guest count: [number]
- Client's total wedding budget, including all vendors: [$ amount]
2. Service Level
Tick one:
☐ Full-service planning. Starting on [date], the Planner will help with budget planning, venue search, vendor recommendations and booking, design and décor direction, guest management tools, the rehearsal, and management of the wedding day.
☐ Partial planning. Starting on [date], the Planner will help with the following: [list], plus the rehearsal and management of the wedding day. The Client has already booked: [list vendors].
☐ Month-of coordination. Starting on [date, usually some weeks before the wedding], the Planner will review the Client's vendor contracts, confirm details and arrival times with every vendor, build the wedding-day timeline, run the rehearsal and manage the wedding day. The Client books all vendors before the start date. Finding or booking new vendors is an extra service under Section 9.
3. Meetings and Communication
- Included planning meetings: [number], of up to [number] minutes each, ☐ in person ☐ by video.
- Included venue or vendor site visits: [number].
- The Planner will reply to messages within [number] business days, except on the Planner's days off, [days]. In the final week before the wedding, the Planner will reply daily.
Extra meetings or site visits cost [$ amount] each.
4. Wedding-Day Timeline and Coverage
The Planner will send a draft timeline to the Client by [date] and a final timeline to all vendors by [date].
On the wedding day, the Planner will be present from [time] to [time] (up to [number] hours), with [number] assistant(s). If the Client asks the Planner to stay longer, overtime is [$ amount] per hour per person, billed after the wedding.
The rehearsal on [date] at [time] is ☐ included ☐ not included (fee: [$ amount]).
5. Vendor Recommendations and Referral Fees
The Planner may recommend vendors. The Client is free to choose any vendor, including ones the Planner did not recommend, as long as the venue allows it.
The Planner discloses the following commissions, referral fees, discounts or other benefits it receives from vendors it may recommend: [list vendor and the nature of the benefit, or write "None"]. If this changes, the Planner will tell the Client in writing before the Client books that vendor.
6. Vendor Contracts and Responsibility
The Client will sign vendor contracts and pay vendors directly, unless the Client authorizes the Planner in writing to sign a specific contract on the Client's behalf. The Planner will review vendor contracts it is given and point out anything unusual, but the Planner is not a lawyer and this review is not legal advice.
Each vendor is an independent business responsible for its own work under its own contract. The Planner will use reasonable care in recommending vendors, will coordinate them, and on the wedding day will make reasonable efforts to solve problems that come up. The Planner is not responsible for a vendor's failure to perform, the quality of its goods or services, or injury or damage the vendor causes.
7. Fees and Payment Schedule
The Planner's total fee is [$ amount]. It does not include vendor costs, travel beyond [number] miles from [city] (charged at [$ amount or rate]), or extra services.
| Payment |
Amount |
Due date |
| Retainer to reserve the date |
[$ amount] |
On signing |
| Second payment |
[$ amount] |
[date] |
| Final balance |
[$ amount] |
[date, at least [number] days before the wedding] |
The retainer is ☐ non-refundable, because the Planner is holding the date and turning down other weddings ☐ refundable if the Client cancels on or before [date].
Payments are made by [payment method]. If a payment is more than [number] days late, the Planner may pause work after written notice.
8. Client's Responsibilities
The Client will make decisions within [number] days of a request, give the Planner copies of all vendor contracts, give the final guest count to the Planner and vendors by [date], and let the Planner know promptly about any change affecting the day.
9. Changes and Extra Services
Changes to the service level, date, venue or guest count must be agreed in writing. Services outside the chosen service level, including finding replacement vendors under month-of coordination, cost [$ hourly rate or quoted price], and the Planner will quote before doing the work.
10. Cancellation and Postponement
Cancellation by the Client. The Client may cancel by written notice and will owe:
- more than [number] months before the wedding: the retainer only;
- between [number] months and [number] days before: [percentage]% of the total fee;
- fewer than [number] days before: the full fee,
plus approved expenses already incurred. Vendor refunds follow each vendor's own contract.
Postponement. If the Client moves the wedding date, the Planner will transfer payments to the new date if it is available within [number] months, and may charge [$ amount] for re-planning work. If the Planner is not available on the new date, Client cancellation terms apply, reduced by [percentage]%.
Cancellation by the Planner. If the Planner cancels for any reason other than Section 11 or the Client's breach, the Planner will refund all payments and make reasonable efforts to recommend a replacement planner.
Illness or emergency. If the Planner cannot attend the wedding day because of illness or emergency, the Planner will send a fully briefed, qualified replacement or refund [$ amount].
11. 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]. The parties will first try in good faith to move the wedding to a new date. If that is not possible within [number] months, either party may end this Contract, and the Planner will refund payments for services not yet performed, keeping payment for work already done.
12. Limits of Liability
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. The Planner carries general liability insurance of at least [$ amount] per occurrence and will provide a certificate of insurance to the venue on request.
13. Photos
☐ The Planner may use professional photos of the wedding's design in its portfolio and marketing, with credit to the photographer and with the photographer's permission.
☐ The Planner may not use photos of the wedding without the Client's written approval.
14. Notices
Notices must be in writing and sent by email or mail to:
- Client: [email, phone, address]
- Planner: [email, phone, address]
15. General Terms
Independent business. The Planner is an independent business, not the Client's employee.
Entire agreement. This Contract is the entire agreement between the parties about the Planner's 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]
Wedding Planner
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]