How To Start a Wedding Planning Business

Like a conductor coordinating a sea of musicians to bring a piece of music to life, wedding planners are vital in making a couple’s wedding day dreams a reality. They provide an essential service, managing vendors (14 on average, according to a 2025 survey by The Knot) and taking on the often-overwhelming tasks that would otherwise fall on the couple. This is why clients are willing to pay good money to planners who can calmly and expertly handle the wild world of wedding planning.

If you live for elaborate coordination, creative problem solving, and spreadsheets, a wedding planning business might be your calling. Read on to learn how to start a wedding planning business.

How to start a wedding planning business

1. Learn and network
2. Register your business
3. Set up liability insurance
4. Research your niche
5. Determine your services
6. Figure out finances and a business plan
7. Build a website
8. Make industry connections
9. Market your services
10. Build clientele
11. Gather testimonials and feedback

A wedding planner is responsible for coordinating and executing every aspect of a wedding, from managing vendors to double-checking seating chart names. Building relationships with couples and vendors and developing systems and backup plans are paramount to your success. Here are 11 steps to set yourself up for a smooth, successful wedding planning business. 

1. Learn and network

You don’t need a specific degree or license to be a wedding planner, but if you’ve never planned events before, consider seeking out an education. This includes enrolling in courses, certifications, or workshops to learn the ropes. Join an industry association like the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners, Wedding Industry Professionals Association, and National Association of Wedding Professionals. This can help you grow your knowledge and network with other planners, and these associations provide several types of certifications, such as AACWP Certified Wedding Planner.

You may also want to seek hands-on experience. Consider working for another wedding planner, or ask if you can shadow them on an event day.

2. Register your business

First, consider the name of your business. Some planners use their name, whereas others select a creative business name. You can use Shopify’s Wedding Business Name Generator for ideas.

Once you have a name you love, decide how you want to structure your business. The biggest choice is whether you want to incorporate or not. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships are unincorporated entities, meaning that there’s no legal distinction between the owner and the business. Without this distinction, owner(s) are personally responsible for the business’s losses, debts, and liability.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations are incorporated business entities. Forming an LLC is much simpler than forming a corporation, and it enjoys pass-through taxation. Corporations are subject to two levels of taxation—first there are corporate taxes on profits, and then shareholders must also pay tax on their dividends. The advantage of a corporation is that you can sell shares as a way of raising capital.

An attorney and a tax professional can be helpful resources when deciding what the best entity type for your business is. Once you’ve decided, register through your state’s secretary of state office or business division.

3. Set up liability insurance

Once you’re registered, look into insurance. General liability insurance covers a portion of legal costs and settlements if someone gets hurt during an event and decides to sue. You can secure liability insurance through brokers specializing in event planning services.

You also may want to take out business owner’s insurance, which combines liability and business property coverage into one policy. Speak with a lawyer or agent to find out what’s best for your company. Costs vary depending on what you’d like to cover and where you’re located, but you can expect a minimum of $50 for a one-off event and between $300 and $1,000 per year for an annual plan.

4. Research your niche 

All wedding planners have the same aim: to help their clients create the special day they have in mind. But there are many different types of wedding planning businesses out there, each of which serves a specific type of wedding. There are destination wedding planners, those who specialize in working with smaller budgets, destination elopement planners, month-of or day-of coordinators, and luxury wedding planners. Choose a niche based on your interest, skills, and experience.

Next, conduct market research to learn what specific services customers in your niche are looking for and what they expect to pay.

5. Determine your services

You can choose to offer one product or a mix. Here are common wedding planner service offerings:

• Full service. This package entails planning every aspect of the wedding, from the very beginning of the planning process until the last guest leaves. These planners handle vendor bookings, advise on creative choices, and manage the event day-of. 

• Month-of-the-wedding. With this service, couples do most of the planning and coordinating themselves, then bring you in about one month before the wedding to handle the logistics leading up to and on the bid day. 

• Day-of-the-wedding. This is when a couple has planned everything but needs you to come in and run the show day-of.

• Consulting. This option gives couples a chance to consult with a wedding planner throughout their own planning process at an hourly rate to get expert advice or support.

To price your services, research what wedding planners in your area and in your specific niche charge. While calculating your rate, take into consideration your experience (compared to your competitors) and the costs you’ll need to cover, including the cost of your time.

Common pricing structures are flat-fee packages (full planning, month or day-of, etc.), hourly rates for consulting, or a percentage of total client spend for big-budget weddings. Include all of this information on your website’s pricing page.

6. Figure out finances and a business plan

Writing a business plan involves planning your fixed expenditures, setting project budgets, and squaring those with forecasted revenue. You can use Shopify’s business plan template to ensure you’re planning your expenses and all other key areas of your business operations. This will also come in handy if you decide to look for external funding down the road, as investors typically need to see a business plan and intended trajectory.

The startup costs of becoming a wedding planner aren’t high compared to other businesses, since it doesn’t require a lot of equipment. Typical costs are business registration fees, insurance premiums, website fees (associated with hosting and potentially design), branding, and marketing materials. On average, you can expect to spend around $500 to $3,000 to get started. You might also spend on accounting and tax preparation services.

Use a budgeting spreadsheet or accountingsoftware to keep track of income and expenses.

7. Build a website

One of the most important parts of running a wedding planning business is having a beautifully designed website where potential customers can find your services, examples of your work, and client testimonials. Wedding planning is a very personal service, so potential clients want to know your story as a business owner, your background, and your ethos for event planning.

Use visuals to reflect your personal brand as a planner. If you specialize in luxury weddings, your site should communicate luxury. If you do destination wedding planning, use inspiring visuals of travel and adventure. Wedding photos last a lifetime—your website is the first signal to a potential client that you’ll ensure their wedding day setting will be photo-worthy.

If you don’t have any weddings to feature in your portfolio, consider doing a styled shoot. This involves models and wedding vendors (like a photographer, stylist, florist, and venue). They come together to create a wedding shoot that showcases the results you can achieve as a planner.

On the back end, create a solid search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to ensure your business shows up in search results for your target audience. Because wedding planning is often a local services business, it’s helpful to prioritize location keywords. This prevents time wasting on either your or the client’s side.

You might also consider incorporating appointment booking functionality into your site, so that prospective clients can book consultations.

8. Make industry connections

Clients often look to their planners to recommend vendors, so you’ll want to build out a Rolodex of trusted partners. If you don’t currently have those connections, look up local wedding expos or wedding planner and supplier networking events so you can meet people to collaborate with, such as venue owners or caterers.

Industry connections can also help you build your pipeline of potential clients. If you develop relationships with local venue owners or photographers, they might recommend your services to their clients. 

9. Market your services

Organic social media is a good starting point for your marketing strategy, because the only cost associated with it is your time. Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok are the most popular social platforms when it comes to finding wedding inspiration and potential vendors. Find out where your ideal clients are spending time online and the accounts, hashtags, and keywords they follow and track. Create a posting schedule and a content plan so you’re active and easier for folks to find across all channels.

Once you’ve established your organic presence, you might consider boosting your visibility with paid social ads. Make sure this expense is accounted for in your budget.

There are also various ways to get creative with marketing your own business that aren’t just ads and social media. One example is to put your name out there as an expert for wedding magazines and websites. You’ll be quoted in articles that hundreds to thousands of readers may see. You can also get exposure through sharing the weddings you’ve planned with various outlets (get permission from your client and their photographer). 

10. Build clientele 

Now it’s time to find your first client. You might feel nervous or overwhelmed—this is completely valid. Just know that couples are excited about wedding planning, and when you find your ideal customers, the excitement is contagious. Clients want to feel connected to their planner and feel supported, and they want their vision to be seen—all things you can provide as a planner.

In-person events like wedding expos are a great way to find clients in your area who want a local wedding planner. Working with couples with lower budgets or who are interested in a smaller-scale wedding or elopement is another great way to start out, as there are fewer elements to plan. From there, your network will grow, satisfied couples will share your name, and you’ll develop a knack for marketing yourself in such a way that the right clients find you.

Setting your prices slightly lower in the beginning has its advantages, too. It gets those first few clients signed with you, and once you have more experience, you can raise your rates. 

11. Gather testimonials and feedback

Gathering client testimonials and feedback after every event you plan is key to growing a successful event planning business. Once you’ve planned a wedding, reach out to the client for feedback, request a review or testimonial, and ask for photo-sharing permission. Publish testimonials on your website and social media channels.

Building client relationships also increases your chances of getting referrals and new business through the ever-powerful word of mouth. Happy couples may share your name with their friends, on their social channels, in online groups, or on forums.