Today, I want to talk about full-service design vs. design lite (and share a little advice on which one I think YOU should offer as a wedding planner). While both have their benefits, the “right” choice is going to look a little different to everyone. And that’s a good thing!
And before you say, “But wait – I can’t call myself a designer,” let me just tell you that whether you're a seasoned wedding planner or just starting out, there’s a good chance you are helping design the wedding anyway. Deciding to offer it as a service just ensures you actually get PAID for it. So let’s get into it, shall we?
What is Full Service Design?
What is Full Service Design?
Full-service wedding design is all about turning a concept into reality, from the initial idea to the final touches. It ensures that every detail aligns with the chosen theme or style, blending both looks and practicality. This means taking care of everything, from the way the tent drapes to how the napkins are folded. When something can't be made in-house, designers bring in trusted partners like graphic designers, florists, rental companies, and event production assistants to make sure everything comes together perfectly.
What’s Included in Full-Service Design
A full-service wedding design package usually covers everything from picking a theme and colors to designing the layout, flowers, and tables. It also includes things like invitations, signage, rentals, lighting, and food choices to create a beautifully cohesive event.
Plus, for full-service design, you’ll often need to create a digital mood board, a physical mood board, detailed design dossier, tablescape mock-up, and illustrations, drawings, and sketches that will help “sell” your couples on your vision for the day.
Why I Loved Offering Full-Service Design as a Wedding Planner
Personally, I loved offering full-service design for my wedding clients for several reasons. First, comprehensive services justified the premium pricing I wanted to charge, ultimately leading to higher revenue (and providing great value to my clients). Second, having greater control over the wedding day outcome meant I could ensure the event aligned perfectly with the client's vision from start to finish. As a wedding planner, I loved that level of control. Lastly, the personalized touch of full-service design often exceeded client expectations, resulting in happy clients, glowing reviews, and more referrals.
If you know, full-service wedding design is something you want to offer, but don’t exactly know how I break down everything you need to know (in detail) in my Ultimate Guide to Wedding Design.
What is Design Lite (For Wedding Planners)?
What is Design Lite?
If a full-scale design service isn’t a good fit for you or your clients, I always encourage wedding planners to offer a design-lite option. With design-lite, you still get to influence the creative direction, but it’s not a full-on service. This is great for weddings with smaller budgets and clients who can’t go for the full-scale design. In a design-lite package, you might offer things like a digital inspiration board and a simple design plan vs something like full-service where you will be creating more tangible design plans (that your premium clients will expect).
Design Lite is a perfect way for clients to have a beautifully designed wedding without breaking the bank. Whether you call yourself a designer or not, chances are you are going to help your clients like this along the way. You might as well be paid for it!
It’s also great for wedding planners who want to dip their toes into design. Maybe you’re just not ready yet to offer the full wedding design service, or perhaps you believe you need just a little more experience. Design Lite can be the right way forward, giving you some experience to take your services to the next level.
Key Components of Design Lite
- Digital Inspiration Board
- Simple Design Dossier
- Simple Design Direction
You'll still need to recommend vendors and manage rentals, but since your clients have smaller design budgets, there will be less need to source unique decor. There will also be fewer design vendors to coordinate with.
Benefits of Offering Design Lite
Beyond the fact that you deserve to be paid for work you’re likely doing anyway, I see design-lite as a great service to add for several reasons. First, it attracts budget-conscious clients who are not of the DIY variety. Since it involves fewer moving parts, it's also less time-intensive compared to full-service design, meaning it takes less time and resources (which can be especially great if you are building your wedding business as a side hustle). And it’s perfect for a wedding planner who is just starting out with design and wants more experience.
Comparing Full-Service Design and Design Lite
Cost and Pricing Structure
Because Full Service Design is all-encompassing, it comes with a higher cost. Clients need to be ready for a bigger investment, and as a wedding planner, you should consider using a percentage-based fee structure. Compared to Full Service, Design Lite is more affordable and is typically priced at a flat rate.
Client Expectations and Experience
Full-service design clients tend to expect a personalized experience, with you overseeing every aspect of the design. They usually prefer meeting in person and seeing physical samples instead of looking exclusively at mood boards and mockups online. Design Lite clients are generally fine with a less involved process and fewer customizations as long as you set clear expectations upfront.
Overall, full-service design demands more of your time and resources, while Design Lite is easier to manage, though it may not be as profitable.
Deciding to Offer Full-Service Design vs. Design Lite
Deciding whether to offer Full Service Design or Design Lite as a wedding planner really depends on your business and your clients—there's no wrong choice here! Full Service Design is awesome if you can attract clients ready to shell out for a top-notch, all-inclusive planning experience. It lets you dive into every detail and make sure everything aligns perfectly with your client’s vision. But it’s a big commitment. You’ll need a talented team and strong vendor connections, and it can be pretty resource-heavy.
On the other hand, Design Lite is perfect for clients on a budget who still want a professional touch. It's less time-intensive, so you can handle more clients at once and still make great money without needing to put on the white glove treatment every time. Plus, it can be a gateway for clients to experience your skills and maybe upgrade to full services later on.
In the end, it’s all about knowing your market and playing to your strengths. If you have a lot of clients willing to pay for a premium, personalized service, Full Service Design can be super rewarding both creatively and financially. But if your market is more budget-conscious or you want to scale up by serving more clients, Design Lite might be the way to go. There's no bad option—just find what works best for you and your clients.
Offering Wedding Design as a Wedding Planner
As a wedding planner, offering design services is a no-brainer. It gives your clients a more cohesive and personalized experience, making sure their big day looks and feels just like they imagined. Plus, it boosts your portfolio with gorgeous, well-executed events. However, you need to know what you're doing to make it all work. That’s where my Ultimate Guide to Wedding Design comes in. It’s packed with tips and insights to help you nail every detail. Grab it here and start creating beautiful, unforgettable weddings that will wow your clients and take your business to the next level!
Want more? Check out this video on my YouTube channel ↓
Explore More Wedding Industry Resources
- How Much Does It Cost to Become a Wedding Planner?
- How To Design A Styled Shoot As A Wedding Planner
- What You Need More Than Another Wedding Planner Course
- Is Month-of Wedding Coordinator A Niche? The Truth About This Wedding Planning Service
- How To Get Wedding Clients When You’re Just Starting Out
- Day of Coordination: The Pros and Cons as a Wedding Planner
- How to Start a Wedding Planning Business
- How Much Should You Charge As A Wedding Planner? Learn How To Figure Out Your Wedding Planner Pricing
- The #1 Reason Why You’re Not Booking The Right Wedding Clients (And How To Fix It)
- 5 Online Wedding Planning Tools You Need to Use
- How To Become A Wedding Planner With No Experience
- What Does A Wedding Coordinator Do? Here’s Everything They’re Responsible For
- Here’s What Every Wedding Planner Needs To Include In Their Wedding Design Proposals
- Bringing Color Into Luxury Wedding Branding: The Biggest Reason Why You’re Not Standing Out In The Luxury Market With Emily Foster
For More Wedding Planner Business Secrets Follow Me On Instagram
It’s official - the new candicecoppola.com is now live!
This website overall was completely inspired by my recent brand shoot with @c10ike and @theluckyshare (whose work you see ALL over it!). I really felt inspired after that experience to switch things up, and the creativity these two ladies brought to the experience definitely influenced how I gave my brand a refresh!
On the podcast this week I am talking about what I learned during this process. There were a few fun lessons along the way I wanted to share - so go listen to episode 151!
Because I know you care about the details…
> I used the gorgeous Fitzgerald template from @tonicsiteshop! So easy to customize and I love how different it looks than the original - but I honestly didn’t change much except my branding!
> I brought in a few new colors (hello lavender) and switched up the color hierarchy of my brand. Sometimes that’s all you need - a new POP of color and a change up of how you use color.
> I also switched up the fonts to Editors Note from @jenwagner.co and Poppins, a perfect combo.
I really did this in a weekend (and a day!). I did spend the next weekend with the website live testing it and making sure shit didn’t look crazy. But it was so easy to do and I’m so glad I carved out the time to do it.
One thing I know for SURE about marketing is that if you’re not excited to talk about it - then you’re not gonna talk about it. We need to feel GOOD and PROUD of what we put out there.
SO, if you’re not excited about your branding, website, or marketing collateral I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that you’re not marketing your business very well right now. What to do? Get yourself a refresh or a rebrand and fall back in love with the visual assets of your of your brands personality. It’s going to breath new life into your business and how you talk about who you are and what you do.
OK - go to my website and check it out!!
Do you plan out your business strategy by quarter? I’m a huge fan of this method - and this week on the podcast I’m giving you a peek behind the curtain at my quarterly business planning process.
I’ve used this process for years in my business and I even work 1:1 with the women in my mastermind group on this exact strategy to prep for sales season.
If you’ve entered the forth quarter feeling a little lost on what you should be doing before the year ends - this episode will give you a complete roadmap. We cover:
✨ How to fine-tune your sales funnel
👀 How to figure out what to adjust in your sales process to attract new couples
🙏🏼 Why this season is key to filling up your calendar for next year
I consider this episode to be one of the best strategy sessions I’ve ever given outside of my paid programs. Comment STRATEGY and I’ll send you the link!
#weddingpros #powerinpurposepodcast #powerinpurpose #weddingbusiness #weddingstrategy #weddingpodcast #weddingindustry #weddingpro #weddingindustryexperts #weddingeducation #weddingbusinesscoach #weddingbusinessbosses #candicecoppola #weddingproinsiders
I have to admit - I haven’t always been convinced running ads is the right move for wedding pros.
Our buyer journey is SO different from other businesses and there’s a lot of marketing techniques that work great for others - and not for us.
But after talking with @learnwithelisabeth from @elisabethstuckeydesign about her experience, my mind has been officially changed.
I was so excited to sit down with her and hear about her experience running ads for her luxury stationery business. We dig into the data and details of her campaigns, including her investment and how much revenue she generated from ads.
She also shares some EXTREMELY valuable tips on how you can run ads and some of the things you need to do behind the scenes to nurture leads that come from ads.
It’s an amazing episode and you need to hear this before engagement season. Comment 149 and I’ll send you the links to Apple, Spotify, and our blog!
Did you tune into this episode? What did you think??
#thepowerinpurpose #thepowerinpurposepodcast #weddingpros #weddingindustry #weddingblog #weddingbusiness #weddinginvitations #weddingmarketing #weddingpro #weddingpodcast #weddingindustryexperts #weddingindustrypodcast #weddingprofessionals #weddingpropodcast #candicecoppola #elisabethstuckey
Me in a nutshell 🥰
I think I should have “probably won’t text you back” written on my tombstone. It’s so bad my friends text my husband to make plans with me 😂😂
What’s one thing you’re really bad at?
#candicecoppola #weddingpro #weddingpros #weddingindustry #businesscoach
The Latest Wedding Planner Business Advice On YouTube
filed under:
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment