Many factors determine the right salary for a career, like wedding planning. The answer is not as easy as just a dollar amount. How many hours you work, what you charge for your services and what other streams of revenue you have are key indicators of how much a professional wedding planner can earn per year.

How much do wedding planners earn?

Many factors influence the cost of a wedding planner. Couples are advised to allocate 15% of their total wedding budget for this service. However, this can vary greatly. To help you narrow down the list and get an idea of the salary of a wedding planner, answer these questions.

Are you willing to charge an hourly rate, a percentage or a pre-wedding basis for your services?

The price you charge for the services you offer will depend on your comfort level and industry standards. You don’t need to know the industry standard if you are starting. Look around at the competition and find out what they do.

Let’s take a closer view at each payment structure separately:

What is the hourly rate of wedding planners?

According to Wedding Wire research, the average hourly rate for a wedding planner starts at $75. The hours that are included in the billable hour include consultations with clients and onsite visits to plan the event.

Even if your hourly base fee isn’t hourly, you can charge an hourly rate. However, you can still quote an hourly rate for work that exceeds the agreed-upon package. It is a good rule of thumb for small businesses to inform clients in advance if additional fees are applied. In case they request it, you should always offer them the option.

What is the average cost of a wedding planner?

According to The Knot research, the average cost for a U.S. wedding planner was $1,500 in 2020. The Knot points out that the emphasis should be on “national” and “average” when calculating per-wedding rates. This is because, just as with calculating a wedding planner’s overall salary, there are many factors to consider, such as the package and services offered. (More on this later).

What amount of experience do you have?

As with most professions, the salary of a wedding planner will increase as they gain more experience. The opportunities will increase as more clients and reviews equal more business. But so will your ability to charge. Consider this: A wedding planner who started in the industry six months back will not be able to charge the same amount as someone running their agency for 20 years.

How many weddings are you able to plan realistically in a year?

You may not be able to bill for everything you do as a wedding planner. Many wedding planners start by spending a lot of time networking and marketing. Because it takes “anywhere between a few days and a few weeks” to build a website. This is evident that this task consumes a lot of your time.

Where will you hold the weddings that you have planned?

The location of your business will determine your profit ceiling. The average price of a Mississippi wedding was $15,475, while Hawaii weddings cost an average of $29,605. This applies even to specific areas within the state. This can significantly impact planners who choose to work in percentages, but it can also affect planners who are paid hourly or who charge flat fees.

Who are your target audiences?

The type of couples you target influences directly how much you can make as an event planner. If your target audience includes young couples just graduating college, you will likely make less than someone who is a specialist in planning luxury events for CEOs and celebrities. Although the latter makes up most of the wedding business and wedding planners who are just starting don’t have to plan the weddings of movie stars, it is something worth thinking about.