Planning & coordination

Wedding planner contract: scope, liability & what to check

A great planner is worth every cent — but "planning" means wildly different things from one contract to the next. The disputes here are almost always about scope: what's included, what costs extra, and who's responsible when something goes wrong. Here's how to read it, for the couple.

1. Full-service vs partial vs day-of

The single biggest source of confusion. Make sure the contract names your service tier and defines it:

• Full-service planning — involved from start to finish: budget, design, vendor sourcing, management, and the day itself.
• Partial planning — help with some elements; you handle the rest.
• Day-of / month-of coordination — they step in near the end to run logistics on the day. (Note: true "day-of" almost always really starts weeks before.)

Disputes happen when a couple expects full-service support but bought coordination. Get the tier and its inclusions in writing.

2. What's in scope — and what isn't

Beyond the tier label, look for specifics: how many meetings/calls, hours of on-site coverage, number of vendors managed, whether design/styling is included, rehearsal attendance, and the cutoff for adding tasks. A clear scope protects both sides; a vague one ("planning services as needed") lets the included help shrink and the "extras" grow.

"Can we list exactly what's included, how many hours on the day, and what would be billed as extra?"

3. Vendor referrals, commissions and kickbacks

Planners often recommend vendors — sometimes genuinely the best fit, sometimes because they receive a commission or referral fee. That's not automatically wrong, but you deserve disclosure. Watch for clauses that require you to use the planner's preferred vendors, or that bar you from booking outside their list. You should be free to choose, with the planner's advice — not locked into a network that pays them.

4. Spending authority and your budget

If the planner books vendors or makes purchases on your behalf, the contract should cap their spending authority and require your approval above a threshold. Clarify whose name is on vendor contracts (yours, ideally), how money flows, and that you approve the budget and any changes. You don't want to discover commitments you never signed off on.

5. Liability and the limits clause

Planners coordinate other vendors but usually aren't liable for those vendors' failures — that's reasonable, since they don't control them. But read the limitation of liability carefully: many cap their total liability at the fee you paid. Also check they carry professional/liability insurance (venues often require it). The goal isn't to make them liable for everything — it's to understand exactly where their responsibility ends.

6. Fees, expenses and cancellation

Understand the fee structure: flat fee, percentage of your total budget, or hourly. A percentage-of-budget model can quietly grow your cost as the wedding scales — know which you're on. Check whether expenses (travel, parking, mileage, assistants) are extra, the payment schedule, and the cancellation terms — including what happens to work already done if you part ways mid-planning.