WEDDING PLANNER FEES GUIDE
Wedding planner fees: what to charge for full, partial and day-of planning
What full-service, partial and day-of planning charge in 2025–2026, how the percentage-of-budget and hourly models work, what the big-city markets pay — and a free calculator that turns the figures into a fee you can put on your website.
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The short answer
Most couples spend $3,200 to $4,900 on a wedding planner nationally, and Manhattan planners average $5,922 (O'Neil Events, May 2026 — the Manhattan average is Zola's figure). By service level, O'Neil puts full-service planning at $4,000–$10,000+ or 10%–20% of the total wedding budget, partial planning at $2,500–$6,000 and month-of coordination in New York from $3,500.
Away from New York the tiers sit lower. In San Antonio, full-service planning is $6,000–$10,000, partial planning $3,500–$5,000 and day-of coordination $800–$2,500; a planner with five years' experience may charge around $6,000, one with ten $9,000 or more (My San Antonio Wedding, January 2025). In California, planners charge $2,500–$10,000+, luxury full-service planning $20,000–$75,000+, day-of coordination $800–$2,500+, a fixed fee, an hourly rate or 10%–20% of the budget — full service typically 20% — and $50–$300+ an hour (Ramblewood Events).
The averages run lower than the tiers because most couples buy coordination, not full planning: Maroo puts the average spend at about $1,800 and advises couples to budget 10%–18% of the whole wedding for a planner, with hourly consulting typically $75–$100 and up to $275 for high-end planners (July 2021).
Pick a fee model, price three packages, and put the “from” prices on your website — the couple comparing planners at 11pm books a consultation with the one whose packages they can see.
FREE PRICE CALCULATOR
What should I charge for this wedding?
Pick the service level for a package price, the budget for a percentage fee, or the consulting hours; choose the market. The range uses exactly the published figures in the table below — O'Neil Events' national tiers, the San Antonio day-of figure, Maroo's hourly range.
Suggested price
$4,000–$10,000+
planning package (flat price), full-service planning
A starting range from published figures — the packages are what couples typically pay, the percentage is the published fee model. Not a fee for a couple until you've counted the hours: check it against your own costs (the formula below), the guest count and your market before it goes on your price list.
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RATES · OCTOBER 2026
Wedding planner fees by service level (2026)
Typical US figures. For context: San Antonio's tiers are $6,000–$10,000 full service and $3,500–$5,000 partial (January 2025); California's are $2,500–$10,000+ with luxury full service at $20,000–$75,000+ and hourly rates of $50–$300+ (Ramblewood Events); Maroo's national average spend is about $1,800 (July 2021).
| The job | Typical US price · source |
|---|---|
| Planning package (flat price) | Partial planning: $2,500–$6,000 · Full-service planning: $4,000–$10,000+ · O'Neil Events |
| Coordination (flat price) | Day-of coordination: $800–$2,500 · My San Antonio Wedding |
| Full service as 10%–20% of the budget | $0.10–$0.20 per dollar of wedding budget · about $3,500–$7,000 for 35,000 dollars of wedding budget · O'Neil Events |
| Hourly consulting | $75–$275 per hour · about $750–$2,750 for 10 hours · Maroo |
| Hourly consulting, typical to high-end | $75–$275 an hour · Maroo |
Rates read off each publisher's page in October 2026. The calculator above uses exactly these numbers. Full source list below.
ADD-ONS AND ADJUSTMENTS
What the market adds
The same package in Manhattan prices well above the national spend — the multiplier below is read off the published figures.
| What | Typical US price · source |
|---|---|
| Market: top-cost city (manhattan) | Manhattan's $5,922 average against the $3,200–$4,900 most couples spend nationally · O'Neil Events figures |
Where a row shows a sum (a rate × a quantity, or a percentage worked out from published dollar ranges), the arithmetic is ours and the inputs are the publisher's.
THE PRICING FORMULA
How to price wedding planning
Six steps from the hours in a wedding to the packages on your price list.
Pick the fee model
A flat package, a percentage of the budget or an hourly rate — planners use all three (Ramblewood Events). Flat packages win the first call because the couple can compare them; the percentage model scales with a big wedding; hourly suits consulting and à la carte help (Maroo).
Count the hours in each tier
Month-of coordination begins four to six weeks out with vendor confirmations, the timeline, the rehearsal and the full day (O'Neil Events, May 2026). Full service starts at the venue search. Track a real wedding of each kind before you price the next.
Know your true hourly cost
Your wage, payroll costs, insurance, software, the assistant on the day and the unbillable consultations — then compare it with the $75–$275 an hour the market pays for consulting (Maroo) or California's $50–$300+ (Ramblewood).
Set three packages
Day-of coordination $800–$2,500 (San Antonio), partial planning $2,500–$6,000 and full service $4,000–$10,000+ (O'Neil). Three tiers make the middle one the easy choice.
Price full service against the budget
10%–20% of the total wedding budget (O'Neil; Ramblewood puts full service at 20%): a $35,000 wedding is $3,500–$7,000, a $75,000 wedding $7,500–$15,000. Quote the percentage with a minimum so a small wedding still covers your hours.
Charge for your market and your years
Manhattan planners average $5,922 — Zola's figure — against a national $3,200–$4,900 (O'Neil Events); a planner with ten years may charge $9,000 or more where one with five charges around $6,000 (My San Antonio Wedding). Raise the packages as the portfolio grows.
The formula, worked through
Say a $35,000 wedding, and the couple is choosing between your three packages.
Day-of coordination is $800–$2,500 (My San Antonio Wedding, January 2025) — you quote $1,800 for the six weeks of confirmations, the rehearsal and the day. Partial planning is $2,500–$6,000 (O'Neil Events, May 2026) — you quote $4,000. Full service at 10%–20% of the budget is $3,500–$7,000; against O'Neil's $4,000–$10,000+ package range you quote $5,500, with a $4,000 minimum written into the package so a smaller wedding still pays for the hours.
In Manhattan the same full-service package would sit nearer $6,000–$10,000: planners there average $5,922 against the $3,200–$4,900 most couples spend nationally. The figures are the publishers'; your hours, your assistant and your market make them yours.
What to charge in your area
Wedding planning prices by city more than by state. Manhattan planners average $5,922 — Zola's figure — against $3,200–$4,900 nationally (O'Neil Events, May 2026); California full service runs $2,500–$10,000+ and luxury planning $20,000–$75,000+ (Ramblewood Events); San Antonio's full-service tier is $6,000–$10,000 (January 2025).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts overall prices in California at 110.7 against a US average of 100, and Arkansas at 86.9 (2024 regional price parities, released February 2026) — a rough yardstick for the cost of living behind your hourly rate, though the local wedding market moves faster than the index.
Outside the US, treat the ranges as a shape, not a price — three packages, a percentage with a minimum for full service, an hourly rate for consulting — and check what planners in your city publish on their own websites.
Put your prices on your website
A price list — even “from” prices — answers a customer's first question before they pick up the phone, and it's the line an AI assistant can quote when someone asks what a wedding planner costs near them.
If you build your site with Zarla, tell the editor “add a pricing section: day-of coordination from $800, partial planning from $2,500, full-service planning from $4,000” and your prices go on the site, in a section you can edit any time. Want to see a finished site first? Browse wedding planning website templates or see how Zarla builds wedding planning websites.
Still setting up? Write your wedding planning business plan, browse wedding planning business name ideas, and when the prices are set, read how to get your business on Google. Raising prices you set a year ago? The price increase letter tells customers a month ahead.
Wedding planner fees: common questions
$4,000–$10,000 or more, or 10%–20% of the total wedding budget (O'Neil Events, May 2026); San Antonio's range is $6,000–$10,000 (January 2025) and California's luxury tier $20,000–$75,000+ (Ramblewood Events). The calculator above prices the package or the percentage.
$800–$2,500 (My San Antonio Wedding, January 2025; Ramblewood Events puts California at $800–$2,500+). In New York City, month-of coordination usually starts at $3,500 (O'Neil Events, May 2026). Month-of coordination starts four to six weeks out, so price the weeks, not just the day.
10%–20% of the total budget for full-service planning (O'Neil Events; Ramblewood Events puts full service at 20%). Maroo advises couples to budget 10%–18% for a planner (July 2021). Quote the percentage with a minimum fee so a small wedding still covers your hours.
$75–$100 an hour typically, and up to $275 for high-end planners (Maroo, July 2021); California rates run $50–$300+ (Ramblewood Events). Hourly suits consulting and à la carte help; most planners sell the wedding itself as a package.
$2,500–$6,000 (O'Neil Events, May 2026); San Antonio's range is $3,500–$5,000 (January 2025). Partial planning usually picks up after the venue and the big vendors are booked, so define where it starts in the package.
Yes — a planner with five years' experience may charge around $6,000 for full service while one with ten asks $9,000 or more (My San Antonio Wedding, January 2025). Vendor relationships are part of what the couple pays for.
Yes — the three packages as “from” prices, and the percentage model in a sentence. Couples compare planners late at night and book a consultation with the one whose packages they can see. On a Zarla site, tell the editor “add a pricing section” with your packages, and change them any time.
Where these numbers come from
Every range on this page is read off a published source, dated below. They're US figures for wedding planning — typical, not a rule; your costs and your market come first.
- O'Neil Events — How Much Does a Wedding Planner Cost in NYC? (with Zola's Manhattan average) — dated May 2026, read October 2026
- My San Antonio Wedding — How Much Does a Wedding Planner Cost in San Antonio? — dated January 2025, read October 2026
- Ramblewood Events — Your Guide to Wedding Planner Costs in California — no date on the page, read October 2026
- Maroo — How Much Does a Wedding Planner Cost & Is It Worth It? — dated July 2021, read October 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — regional price parities by state, 2024 — dated February 2026, read September 2026
Put your wedding planning prices on your website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line. Your packages go in a pricing section you edit by chat.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.