Terms and conditions for a wedding planner

A wedding planner's terms have to answer one question before any other: when a supplier fails or the couple moves the date, whose problem is it? I draft terms that set out what you are engaged to do, whether you book suppliers as the couple's agent or in your own name, and what happens when the wedding does not go ahead as planned. £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Wedding and event planners, on-the-day coordinators and destination wedding planners in England and Wales, trading as sole traders or through a limited company. Your clients are almost always consumers, which changes what your cancellation and liability clauses can say, and many planners also take corporate and private party work where different rules apply. One set of terms can cover both if it is drafted with that in mind.

What matters in a wedding planner's terms

Agent or principal when you book suppliers

The first question any dispute asks is whose contract it was. If you book the photographer in your own name you are the customer, and you carry the bill if the couple does not pay you. If you book as the couple's agent, the contract is theirs, and your obligation is to arrange it with reasonable care and skill. Your terms must say which you are doing, and make clear that each supplier's own terms, deposits and cancellation charges bind the couple directly. Silence on this point is how planners end up paying a marquee invoice personally.

Full planning, partial planning and on-the-day coordination

These are three different products sold under similar-sounding names, and most complaints come from the gap between them. The terms should list what is included: how many meetings and site visits, whether supplier sourcing and budget management are in scope, when coordination starts, and how long you are on site on the wedding day. Anything beyond that is chargeable at your stated rate, agreed in writing first. Without that boundary, a couple who bought day coordination will expect planning support from the engagement onwards, and will genuinely believe they paid for it.

Your fee, stage payments and money you pass to suppliers

Most planners take a booking fee on signature, stage the balance across the run-up, and collect the final instalment before the day rather than after it. Say so, and say what happens if an instalment is late, including your right to pause work. Where you pass the couple's money on, the terms should make clear that you hold it to pay a named supplier, that it is not on account of your fee, and that supplier deposits are usually lost once paid. For corporate clients, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim interest and compensation.

Cancellation, postponement and the fourteen-day right

Planning is almost always agreed at the couple's home, by video call or by email, which brings it within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The couple has fourteen days to cancel. To be paid for work done in that period you need their express request, and missing cancellation information can extend the right by up to 12 months. Separately, you need a cancellation and postponement scale that reflects the work already done and the date you have held, because under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeping prepayments with no matching obligation on you sits on the grey list of unfair terms.

Liability when a supplier lets the couple down

You cannot make the cake arrive or the band turn up. The terms should state that your obligation is to select, brief and manage suppliers with reasonable care and skill, not to guarantee their performance, and that where the couple contracts directly their remedy lies against that supplier. A liability cap set by reference to your fee and supported by your insurance is usually the most valuable clause you have. It cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not allow a service liability limit below the price the couple paid.

Commissions, pricing and the information you must publish

If you take commission or a referral fee from venues or suppliers, say so in the terms and explain the basis of it, because a couple who discovers it later treats it as a conflict rather than an industry norm. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 any headline price you advertise must include every mandatory charge, so travel, overnight stays and management fees on supplier spend cannot surface only at the end. You cannot add a card surcharge for consumers under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, and the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 requires your business details, insurance and complaints route to be available.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

What happens if the couple postpones rather than cancels?

Postponement needs its own clause. The usual approach is to carry your fee to a new date within a defined window if you are free, charge a stated administration fee for the work of rebooking suppliers, and make clear that each supplier's own terms govern their deposit. If you are already committed on the proposed new date, the cancellation scale applies instead.

Should both partners sign, or just the one who contacted me?

Both should sign, and the terms should make them jointly and severally liable so you can pursue either for the whole fee. Weddings are often paid for by parents as well, and a planner chasing one half of a couple after a relationship ends will want the alternative. Where a parent is paying, name them as a party or take a guarantee in writing and signed.

Can you cover destination weddings?

Destination work needs care. I draft terms governed by the law of England and Wales and do not draft terms governed by another country's law. What the terms can do is deal with travel and accommodation costs, local suppliers contracting with the couple rather than you, and making the legal formalities of marrying abroad expressly the couple's responsibility.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.