{
  "slug": "wedding-planner-fee-model-calculator",
  "title": "Wedding Planner Fee Model Calculator",
  "heading": "Wedding Planner Fee Model Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wedding-planner-fee-model-calculator",
  "summary": "Compare flat-fee, hourly, and percentage-of-budget pricing side by side.",
  "description": "Wedding planners typically price one of three ways: a flat fee for a defined service tier, hourly billing, or a percentage of total wedding budget (commonly 10%-20% for full planning). This calculator runs all three models against the same wedding so you can see which one actually compensates you fairly for the hours involved, and flags when a percentage-of-budget fee would pay below your target hourly rate — a common trap on smaller-budget weddings.",
  "formula": "Percentage fee = budget × fee %; hourly fee = estimated hours × rate; effective hourly = fee ÷ estimated hours.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=wedding-planner-fee-model-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "budget",
      "label": "Total wedding budget",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 5000,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pctFee",
      "label": "Percentage-of-budget fee",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 5,
      "max": 25
    },
    {
      "id": "flatFee",
      "label": "Flat-fee package price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 500,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hourlyRate",
      "label": "Hourly rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 85,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 20,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "estimatedHours",
      "label": "Estimated hours (full planning)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 90,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 10,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "pctAmount",
      "label": "Percentage-of-budget fee",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "flat",
      "label": "Flat-fee package price",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "hourlyTotal",
      "label": "Hourly-billed total",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctEffHourly",
      "label": "Effective hourly (% model)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "flatEffHourly",
      "label": "Effective hourly (flat-fee model)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Total wedding budget: 45000 $",
      "Percentage-of-budget fee: 15 %",
      "Flat-fee package price: 5500 $",
      "Hourly rate: 85 $",
      "Estimated hours (full planning): 90"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Percentage-of-budget fee: $6,750",
      "Flat-fee package price: $5,500",
      "Hourly-billed total: $7,650",
      "Effective hourly (% model): $75.00",
      "Effective hourly (flat-fee model): $61.11"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter total wedding budget ($).",
      "Enter percentage-of-budget fee (%).",
      "Enter flat-fee package price ($).",
      "Enter hourly rate ($).",
      "Enter estimated hours (full planning).",
      "Read your percentage-of-budget fee on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "budget": 27000,
        "pctFee": 9,
        "flatFee": 3300,
        "hourlyRate": 50,
        "estimatedHours": 55
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "budget": 45000,
        "pctFee": 15,
        "flatFee": 5500,
        "hourlyRate": 85,
        "estimatedHours": 90
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "budget": 72000,
        "pctFee": 24,
        "flatFee": 8800,
        "hourlyRate": 135,
        "estimatedHours": 145
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why does percentage-of-budget pricing sometimes pay less than hourly?",
      "a": "A full-planning wedding takes roughly the same number of coordination hours whether the budget is $30,000 or $70,000 — vendor meetings, timeline building, and day-of logistics don't scale down proportionally with a smaller budget. That's why a flat 15% fee on a modest budget can land well below what the same hours would earn billed hourly."
    },
    {
      "q": "Which model do most planners actually use?",
      "a": "Tiered flat fees (day-of, partial planning, full planning) dominate the market because clients find them predictable and easy to compare across planners. Percentage-of-budget is more common in the luxury segment where budgets are large enough that the percentage naturally clears a strong hourly rate."
    },
    {
      "q": "How many hours does full-service planning really take?",
      "a": "Industry estimates run 200-300+ hours across a 12-18 month engagement for true full-service planning including vendor sourcing, contract review, budget tracking, timeline design, and day-of management with an assistant. Day-of/month-of coordination is much lighter, often 20-40 hours."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should I ever mix models?",
      "a": "Yes — many planners set a flat base fee for their service tier and add a percentage-based fee only on top of vendor payments they directly manage (a design/procurement fee), which better matches effort to income on complex, vendor-heavy weddings without penalizing budget-conscious clients."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/day-of-coordinator-fee-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wedding-vendor-profit-margin-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/deposit-cancellation-policy-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Wedding Planner Fee Model Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wedding-planner-fee-model-calculator)"
}