Event Planning Packages: Coordinator Service Bundles

So You’re Trying to Figure Out Coordinator Service Bundles

Okay so coordinator packages are basically how you’re gonna sell your planning services without making every single client feel like they need to hire you for a full year of hand-holding. I learned this the hard way in spring 2023 when I had three couples all asking for “different things” and I was literally creating custom proposals for each one at like 11pm on a Tuesday and my cat Muffin kept walking across my keyboard.

The thing about packages is you need like three solid tiers. Maybe four if you’re feeling fancy but honestly three is the sweet spot. You want clients to see options without getting that glazed-over look they get when there’s too much choice.

The Day-Of Coordination Package (Your Base Level)

This is for the couple who’s been planning everything themselves for months, they’ve got their vendors booked, they know what they want, but they just need someone to actually run the show on the day. You’re not designing anything here. You’re the person with the timeline and the walkie-talkie.

What I usually include:

• One planning meeting about 6-8 weeks before the wedding
• Creation of a detailed day-of timeline
• Vendor confirmation calls or emails (this is huge, people forget this part)
• Rehearsal coordination the day before
• Full day-of coordination with an assistant (trust me you need backup)
• Emergency kit because someone always forgets something
• Setup and breakdown supervision

The hours on this are usually like 10-12 hours on the wedding day itself, plus maybe 8-10 hours of prep work beforehand. You’re looking at pricing this around $1200-2000 depending on your market. In my area it’s closer to $1800 but I’m in a mid-size city.

What really annoys me about day-of packages is when clients think “day-of” means you just show up that morning with no prep. Like nah, there’s so much backend work confirming vendors and creating that timeline and making sure everyone knows where to be and when.

The Partial Planning Package (The Middle Child)

This one’s for couples who want help with the hard stuff but they still wanna be involved. They might have their venue and caterer figured out but they’re drowning in the details or they don’t know where to start with florals or they need someone to tell them what a reasonable timeline actually looks like.

I typically start working with partial planning clients about 4-6 months out. Sometimes 3 months if they’re really on top of things already.

What goes in here:

• Everything from the day-of package
• Monthly planning meetings (or bi-weekly if they’re anxious, which many are)
• Vendor recommendations and sometimes I’ll reach out to get quotes for them
• Budget tracking assistance because people lose track of this so fast
• Design consultation – like one or two meetings where we talk through color palettes and overall vibe
• Contract review for their vendors (I’ve caught some sketchy clauses before)
• RSVP tracking help because this drives everyone insane
• Seating chart assistance which is basically relationship counseling sometimes

The thing with partial planning is you gotta be clear about what you’re NOT doing. You’re not attending every vendor meeting with them. You’re not designing their invitations from scratch. You’re not… actually wait, I should probably mention what full planning is first because that’s where those things live.

Full Planning Package (The Whole Shebang)

Full planning clients come to you pretty much right after they get engaged. They might have a venue or they might not. They want you at every meeting, every decision, every tasting. You’re basically their wedding therapist, project manager, and creative director all rolled into one.

I usually recommend at least 10-12 months for full planning, though I’ve done it in less when people are willing to be flexible.

This includes:

• Unlimited meetings and communication (define “unlimited” in your contract though, I learned that lesson)
• Full vendor sourcing, vetting, and booking assistance
• You’re attending vendor meetings with them – tastings, venue tours, florist consultations, all of it
• Complete design concept development
• Budget creation and management from day one
• Guest list management and RSVP tracking
• Hotel block coordination
• Timeline creation for the whole weekend if there are multiple events
• Rehearsal coordination
• Full day-of coordination with probably two assistants depending on guest count
• Sometimes I include rehearsal dinner coordination if it’s at the same venue

You’re looking at like 80-150+ hours of work here depending on how complex the wedding is. Pricing varies wildly by market but I’ve seen $3500-10,000+ for this level. Mine sits around $5500 for a typical 150-person wedding.

Add-Ons That Actually Make Sense

So here’s where you can get creative and also make more money without feeling like you’re nickel-and-diming people. These are services you offer outside the standard packages.

Things I offer as add-ons:

• Additional planning hours beyond what’s in the package
• Extra events – welcome party, rehearsal dinner, day-after brunch coordination
• Additional assistant coordinators for larger weddings (like over 200 people you’re gonna need more hands)
• Destination wedding travel coordination which is a whole other animal
• Stationery design and coordination since that’s kinda my specialty anyway
• Decor setup beyond basic supervision – like if they want you to personally set up 50 centerpieces
• Guest accommodation booking assistance for destination weddings
• Month-of coordination which is like… between day-of and partial? Some planners do this

How to Actually Structure Your Service Bundles

Okay so when you’re putting together your packages you need to think about a few things. First is your time because that’s literally what you’re selling. Second is your overhead costs – your insurance, your emergency kit supplies, your software subscriptions for planning tools, your gas driving to venues.

I made a spreadsheet back in summer 2021 when I was restructuring everything and I listed out every single task that goes into wedding planning. Then I estimated hours for each task. Then I assigned those tasks to package levels. It was incredibly boring but also super helpful because I could see exactly where my time was going.

Your packages should have clear boundaries. Like, you need to specify in your contracts exactly how many meetings are included, how many hours of day-of coverage, how many assistants, what happens if they go over the included hours. I had a client once who thought “unlimited communication” meant I should respond to texts at 2am about napkin colors and like… no.

Pricing Strategy That Won’t Make You Hate Yourself

Don’t price based on what you think people will pay. Price based on your worth and your time and your expertise. I know that sounds like motivational poster nonsense but I’m serious.

Here’s my actual formula sorta: Calculate your desired hourly rate (mine’s around $75-85/hour depending on the service). Estimate hours for the package. Add in overhead costs. Add a buffer for the unexpected stuff that always comes up. That’s your base price.

Then look at your market. If you’re way under what everyone else charges, you can probably go up. If you’re way over, you either need to justify that premium with exceptional service or adjust down slightly.

The pricing structure I use:

• Day-Of Coordination: $1800
• Partial Planning: $3200
• Full Planning: $5500 starting (can go up to $8000 for complex weddings)

But I’m in the Midwest. If you’re in New York or LA or Miami, multiply everything by like 1.5 or 2.

What to Include in Your Package Descriptions

When you’re writing up your packages for your website or your brochures or whatever, be specific but not overwhelming. You want people to understand what they’re getting without needing a law degree to interpret it.

I usually format mine like:

• Package name and starting price
• One sentence describing who it’s for
• Bullet points of what’s included
• Timeline of when you start working together
• What’s NOT included (this is important)
• Available add-ons

And honestly, I include photos or graphics because people are visual and walls of text make their eyes glaze over. I learned this from watching too much HGTV where they always show the “before” packages we redesigned versus the “after” versions.

The Awkward Money Conversation

Some planners don’t list prices on their website and they make people inquire first. I get the strategy there – you want to talk to them, qualify them, build rapport before dropping numbers. But I’m gonna be honest, I list starting prices because I don’t wanna waste my time or theirs if our budgets don’t align.

When someone inquires, I send them a detailed package PDF with everything spelled out. Then we hop on a call to discuss their specific needs and I can customize from there if needed. But having those base packages as a starting point makes the conversation so much easier than trying to build something from scratch every time.

Customization vs. Standardization

Here’s the eternal struggle: do you let clients customize packages or do you keep them rigid? I do a hybrid approach. The packages are set, but I allow reasonable modifications with price adjustments. Like if someone wants partial planning but doesn’t need design help, we can remove that and adjust the price down slightly. Or if they want day-of coordination but with two assistants instead of one, we add to the price.

What I don’t do anymore is create completely custom packages from scratch. That way lies madness and 11pm Tuesdays with your cat on your keyboard. Ask me how I know.

Payment Structures for Your Packages

Most coordinators do either a flat fee paid in installments or a percentage-based fee for full planning (like 15% of the total wedding budget). I prefer flat fees because it’s clearer for everyone and I don’t get penalized if a client is really good at finding budget-friendly vendors.

My typical payment schedule:

• 25-30% deposit to book (non-refundable after 48 hours)
• Remaining balance split into 2-4 installments depending on the package and timeline
• Final payment due 2 weeks before the wedding (never make it due the week of, you’ll be chasing people)

Some planners do monthly payments which works too, especially for full planning clients where you’re working together for a year. Just make sure it’s all spelled out in the contract.

Software and Tools for Managing Packages

You’re gonna need some kind of system to manage all this. I use a combination of HoneyBook for contracts and invoicing, Asana for project management, and Google Drive for file sharing. There’s also Planning Pod, Aisle Planner, and a bunch of others.

The important thing is having templates for your packages so you’re not recreating the wheel every time. I have contract templates, timeline templates, vendor contact sheet templates, all that stuff ready to go. It saves so much time.

Common Package Mistakes I See (and Made Myself)

Including too much in your base package because you’re afraid people won’t book you. This just leads to resentment when you’re doing a ton of work for not enough money. Start with a solid day-of package and let people upgrade if they need more.

Not being clear about what “day-of” means. Clients think you show up that morning. You need to explain the prep work that happens beforehand.

Underpricing because you’re new. I get it, you wanna build your portfolio, but you also gotta eat. Price fairly even when you’re starting out. Maybe offer a small discount but don’t slash your rates in half.

Not having boundaries around communication. Specify in your contract when you’re available, how quickly you’ll respond, what constitutes an emergency. Otherwise you’ll get texts about centerpiece height at midnight.

Forgetting to include your assistant’s fee in your pricing. If you’re promising an assistant coordinator in your package, their payment needs to be built into your price.

Making packages too similar. There should be a clear distinction between your day-of and partial planning, and between partial and full planning. If clients can’t see the value difference, they’ll just pick the cheapest one.

Seasonal Considerations for Packages

Some coordinators offer off-season discounts on their packages for winter weddings or weekday weddings. I’ve done this occasionally but I’m careful about it because you don’t wanna train clients to always expect a discount. Maybe like 10% off for January-March weddings or something.

You might also consider premium pricing for peak season (May-October in most places). Your time is more valuable when you’re juggling multiple weddings per month, and couples booking peak dates usually have more flexibility in their budgets anyway.

I also adjust my package availability based on my calendar. Like if I’m already booked with three full planning clients for next June, I might only accept day-of or partial planning clients for that month because I don’t have the bandwidth for more full planning intensive work.