Wedding planner contract template

What every wedding planner contract must cover

1. Parties and event details
2. Scope of services (with what is explicitly excluded)
3. Fee, payment schedule, and accepted payment methods
4. Cancellation and refund policy
5. Postponement clause
6. Force majeure (pandemic, weather, natural disaster)
7. Vendor liability and "planner is not the vendor"
8. Image rights and portfolio use
9. Confidentiality / NDA-style clause for client details
10. Limitation of liability (capped at fees paid)
11. Indemnification
12. Dispute resolution (arbitration + governing law)
13. Entire agreement and severability

1. Parties and event details

Names of both partners, planner business legal name (the LLC), event date, ceremony venue, reception venue, and estimated guest count. Lock the date — every other clause references it.

2. Scope of services

List every deliverable as a bullet. Then add a "Services not included" section. Without the exclusion list, every scope-creep request becomes "but I thought that was included."

3. Fee and payment schedule

Standard structure: 50% non-refundable retainer at signing, 25% at 6 months out, 25% due 14 days before the event. State exactly which payment methods you accept and who eats the processing fees.

4. Cancellation and refund policy

Sliding scale based on notice:

• More than 180 days out: retainer forfeit, all other fees refunded.
• 90–180 days: retainer + 25% of remaining fee forfeit.
• 30–90 days: retainer + 50% forfeit.
• Under 30 days: full fee due.

5. Postponement clause

One free postponement up to 12 months out, subject to your availability. Second postponement triggers a re-planning fee (typically 10–15% of contract value).

6. Force majeure

Post-2020, this clause is non-negotiable. Cover: pandemic, government-ordered closures, natural disasters, acts of war, venue insolvency. Spell out what happens — typically postpone first, refund second.

7. "Planner is not the vendor"

Critical liability shield. State that you contract vendors on the client's behalf but are not responsible for vendor performance, no-shows, or product quality. Without this, a florist's late delivery becomes your lawsuit.

8. Image rights

You get a non-exclusive perpetual license to use event photos for portfolio, website, and social media. Clients can opt out of specific images on request. Without this, you can't legally market with the work.

9–13. The legal protection block

Standard clauses your lawyer will write once: confidentiality, limitation of liability capped at total fees paid, mutual indemnification, binding arbitration in your home county under your state's law, severability, and "this is the entire agreement."

Next steps

Pair the contract with proper insurance (general liability + professional liability) — see how to start a wedding planning business for the full stack.

Use the planner fee calculator to set pricing the payment schedule references.