Guides / Events
How to quote a wedding package without working for free
The quote has to carry every cost you pay, every hour you spend, and a margin on top. Most planners forget the middle one.
Skip the reading. The tool does this maths for you, free, as you type.
Build the quoteA package quote bundles food, bar, venue, staff, rentals and your own work into one number the couple can say yes to. It only works if that number was built up from real costs. Quotes built down from what the couple hopes to spend are how planners end up paying to work weddings.
The formula
Cost = (food + bar per head) × guests + venue and pass-throughs + staff × hours × wage + rentals + your hours × your rate. Quote = cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Margin is a share of the quote, so a 25% margin is a 33% markup on cost.
What a good number looks like
Healthy. One vendor overage will not wipe it out.
Thin. Take a deposit and cap the changes.
You are working for free the moment anything goes wrong, and something always does.
What to do about it
- Pay yourself inside the cost line. Margin is what the business earns after you are paid.
- Quote per head to the couple, but build the number from the total.
- Write the change fee into the contract before the guest count moves.
Now do it with your numbers.
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