At this point, I’ve written a lot of blog posts about making more money as a wedding planner. Making data-driven pricing decisions, following a Profit First model, and even just sharing marketing tips to help you generate more leads, are all ultimately written to help YOU grow a profitable business with purpose. And I’m proud of the posts I’ve written! But today, I’m taking it even FURTHER. I’m sharing 3 ways you can make more money PER wedding (without raising your prices or lowering your expenses). I’m talking about more cash in the bank here! If that’s what you need right now, keep on reading.
Why should you raise your revenue per wedding?
There are a lot of ways to make more money as a wedding pro. Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking:
- Affiliate Income
- Selling digital products/templates
- Offering mentoring to other wedding pros
- Selling online courses
- Offer “one-time” planning calls for couples
And heck – if you’ve spent any time on TikTok lately, you may even be thinking about starting a dropshipping business or selling something “print on demand” on Etsy. Please tell me I’m not the only one getting flooded with that nonsense.
But today’s post isn’t about any of those things. Instead, I’ve focused on ways you can raise your revenue PER wedding. That way, you can make more money without booking more weddings. Can we all just breathe a collective sigh of relief? Doesn’t that sound good?
#1 Separate Venue Research from Full Planning + Design
One of the first steps to making more money is to go through your current wedding planning packages, and then figure out what you are including that is “non-essential” and then offer it as an “add-on” service instead. For most of the wedding planners I coach, venue research falls into this category!
Storytime: I still remember the first time someone told me they had already found a wedding venue, so could I remove it from the full planning and design fee. It felt like the question hit me like a ton of bricks realizing that 1. I was going to make less money on this wedding now, and 2. How had nobody ever asked me this before? I knew right away I did NOT want that to happen again. I remember sitting there thinking “How much is venue research really worth?”
As you can imagine, I had two thoughts again:
- It was a ton of work so likely worth a significant chunk of change.
- On the other hand, the higher I valued the service, the more I had to deduct from my fee.
Naturally, I’ve learned a lot since then (and that’s why you are here right?). If you want to make more money per wedding without raising your prices, I highly recommend offering venue research as a separate service from your more comprehensive packages. While you are revamping your packages, look at what else you can remove from your current planning packages and consider offering them “a la carte” too.
If you are looking to start charging for venue research in addition to your full-service planning and design fee, I go into detail about the process here. I even include swipe files so you can start selling this new service immediately.
And by the way? Even though I’m talking about this service being something you “add on” for full planning clients, you could also offer it to couples who don’t feel like they need a wedding planner yet, too. Once they get a taste of working with you, there’s a good chance they will want you to guide them through the rest of the wedding planning process too! And let’s be honest – it’s a great way for YOU to get a taste of working with them too.
#2 Start Managing Your Couple’s Rentals
This strategy is HIGHLY profitable, and a great way to make more money per wedding without raising your prices. Again, this is a way to make more money from the work you are ALREADY doing for your couples. Don’t you want to get paid for it?
I’m going to break down a little more about “what it is” so you can start to think about ways you might want to implement rental management in your own business, but if this is something you plan on pursuing, I highly recommend you grab this Playbook where I outline the Wedding Planner Rental Revenue strategy. This ONE tweak has made me thousands of dollars in extra revenue (PER wedding!). It felt like it literally doubled my revenue overnight.
Here’s the short version of this powerful revenue-generating strategy:
In the simplest terms, managing your couple’s rentals makes YOU act as the rental company, and you act as the intermediary between your couple and the rental company. In most cases, your couple will pay you, and then you’ll pay the rental company. Obviously, there are ways to maximize the amount of money you are getting back, but that’s the essence of it. You “manage” the rentals, and therefore you’ll get paid a commission or fee for that work. You’ll need to require your planning couples to book through you, and you’ll likely want to open a separate bank account too. Before long, there will be a lot of money flowing in and out of your account.
Want more? Inside my Rental Revenue Playbook, I share:
- Step-by-step guide on how to sublet rentals and make money off tents, tables, linens, lighting, and everything in between without carrying any inventory of your own
- Example rental invoices you'll send clients
- How to establish relationships with rental companies and secure discounts
- How to pitch high-end rentals to your clients
- Rental policies swipe files to protect your business
It’s over 50 pages, so it’s a smidge more than I can include in this blog post!
#3 Add Partial Planning Hours to Day of Coordination
Raise your hand if you’ve been guilty of giving your day of coordination free advice because at the end of the day, it makes your job easier if they get it right. While I’m not going to tell you to stop doing that (I don’t want you walking into a shit show on the wedding day), instead, I want to encourage you to start offering to add partial planning hours to your “wedding management” service. You KNOW your couples will use them, and this can be a great way to
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ve heard me say that the only thing partial about partial planning is the paycheck. That’s NOT what I’m talking about here. I’m not talking about offering to help with specific tasks or taking on a partial planning role. I’m talking about setting an hourly rate and offering packages of 5,10, or 20 hours that couples can use as they need throughout the planning process. This way you are ensured you are paid for your time!
If you are in the process of revamping your wedding planning packages, I’d be doing you a major disservice if I didn’t tell you I’ve done all the heavy lifting in The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Planning Packages. If you want to structure your wedding planning packages in a way that will help you make more money per wedding easily, it’ll be the best money you ever spend.
A Note about upselling your current clients
I just want to add a quick note here – while you can offer partial planning hours to couples at ANY time in the planning/management process, the other two strategies should likely be implemented with NEW couples moving forward. I’m not suggesting that you go back to your current clients and restructure your packages to make more money. I’m sure you already know that, but this blog post wouldn’t feel quite complete without this disclaimer.
BONUS: Are you pricing yourself well as a wedding planner?
Listen, I promised to share three tactical ways to increase your average revenue per wedding, and I have, but the business coach inside of me has GOT to ask: are you sure you shouldn’t be raising your prices?
If you are curious how much you should ACTUALLY be charging as a wedding planner (and what factors go into deciding on a price – and hint, your “worth” did not make the list), I have one last guide for you to consider. If you’ve priced yourself “a little less” or “a little more” than your competitors, and are ready to actually take a deep dive into your numbers and make sure your business is PROFITABLE, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of my Pricing your Planning Packages for Profit Playbook.
While raising your prices is NOT the only way to make money, throwing spaghetti at the wall and choosing a random number is not the vibe either. And despite what you might think, I actually DON’T always recommend you raise your packages. I talk about that inside too!
Want more advice in your wedding planning business?
You’ve found your business coach. My membership, the Planner’s Playbook, is THE place for wedding planners who want to grow a wedding planning business they love (with a lot more ease than reading random articles on Google). I’d love to welcome you inside! Sign up for the details and join us for our next coaching call here.
Explore More Wedding Industry Resources
- Wedding Planners – Should You List Your Wedding Planner Pricing Packages On Your Website?
- How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: Creating a Website for Wedding Planners That Get Results
- Want to Book Better Clients? Stop Marketing and Improve Your Client Experience Instead
- Wedding Industry Branding: How to Create A Recognizable Brand in the Wedding Industry with Brand Strategist Nicole Yang
- Should You Increase Your Price? How to Know When It’s Time to Raise Your Rates
- 8 Steps to Spring Cleaning Your Wedding Business
- How to Book Your FIRST Client as a Wedding Planner
- How To Build Your Portfolio As A Wedding Planner When You’re Just Starting Out
- Elizabeth McCravy On How To Create A Knock-Out Business Brand And Website
- Top 5 Blogging Tips For Wedding Pros in 2023
For More Wedding Planner Business Secrets Follow Me On Instagram
Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten a message so long, you needed a snack halfway through reading it. 🙃
This week, we’re talking about THAT kind of client (or inquiry).
The one with 67 questions.
And unlimited access expectations.
And zero boundaries.
In this week’s podcast episode, I’m giving you the tools and scripts you need to protect your time, your energy, and your business (while still showing up like a professional).
Comment 184 and I’ll send you the link to listen (and let you know the threads post that stopped me in my tracks last week).
#candicecoppola #weddingindustry #weddingpros #weddingpro #weddingindustryexperts #weddingpodcast #weddingbusiness #weddingindustryeducation #weddingplanner
I love living here—but every now and then, a sunset like this one stops me in my tracks!
The kind of moment that makes you pause and remember:
*This* is the whole point.
Not just building a business.
Not just hitting the next milestone.
But building a life that feels like this.
Next week, I get to share this place—my home—with 11 incredible women I have the honor of coaching. And I hope this sunset gives them what it gives me:
Perspective. Peace. Possibility.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
#ialmostforgot #chasingsunsets #barbadoslife #caribbean #coachingretreat #lifeonpurpose #weddingproinsiders
Tariffs. Rising costs. Vendor pricing shifts. 😬
This week’s episode of The Power in Purpose is unlike anything I’ve done before because honestly? This feels like an emergency.
With new tariffs being applied across nearly all imported goods, the impact on the wedding industry is hitting everyone. Florists, planners, rental companies, caterers, DJs… no one is untouched.
So I called in someone who really knows what’s going on behind the scenes: my husband Jason (yes, his very first appearance on the pod 🎙️), who has deep expertise in logistics, shipping, and global trade.
Together, we’re breaking down:
👉🏻 Why these new tariffs are happening (in plain English)
👉🏻 How they’re driving up pricing for vendors + clients alike
👉🏻 What you should be saying to your clients right now
👉🏻 How to advocate, advise, and guide through economic uncertainty
Here’s the thing: you don’t have to have all the answers. What matters most is transparency, honesty, and your ability to help clients adjust and adapt.
Comment “183” and I’ll DM you the link to listen.
#candicecoppola #weddingindustry #tariff #tariffs #weddingindustry #weddingbuzz #weddingpros #weddingpro #weddingindustryexperts #weddingpodcast #weddingbusiness #thepowerinpurposepodcast #weddingindustryeducation #weddingplanner
Does the “wedding tax” really exist - and have weddings gotten too expensive? 😳
As an industry, let’s have an open and transparent conversation about costs… and trust. I’m breaking this down on this week’s episode of my podcast, The Power in Purpose, and I’m inviting you to join.
I’m asking/answering questions like:
👉🏻 Have costs risen too high?
👉🏻 Why are so many couples “venue poor”?
👉🏻 Have we lost trust with couples - and what can we do to gain it back?
👉🏻 Do vendors really charge more when they hear the word “wedding?”
👉🏻 Are we losing our hospitality as an industry?
👉🏻 How can we be more transparent?
And a whole lot more.
Comment 182 below and I’ll send you the link to this week’s episode.
#candicecoppola #weddingindustry #weddingpros #weddingpro #weddingindustryexperts #weddingpodcast #weddingbusiness #weddingtax #thepowerinpurposepodcast #weddingindustryeducation
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