Full-Service Event Planning Proposal Template
Event proposals fail on one confusion: the client reads your planning fee as the cost of the event. This template separates the two immediately, then fixes the things that decide whether the day runs — how many venue options, how many vendors, and exactly who is on site on the day.
Take the whole thing
The scope, deliverables, timeline and client questions — as plain text you can paste anywhere. No signup.
The scope, as written
From the first vendor call to the final goodbye, I handle every detail so you can be fully present on the day that matters most. Your event will run on time, look exactly as you envisioned, and feel effortless. Because I take a limited number of dates each year, confirming yours means turning others away — the terms below reflect that honestly, so there are no difficult conversations later.
How to price this work
We looked for survey-grade pricing for this kind of work across our markets — India, the UAE, the UK and Brazil — and did not find any we would stand behind. What is published is mostly agency price lists, which quote the agency, not the market. Rather than average those into a number that looks authoritative and is not, we have left this blank.
What we can tell you is how to arrive at your own number:
- Start from hours, not a feeling. Estimate the work in the deliverables below, add the revision rounds you actually grant, and multiply by the day rate you need to hit your yearly target.
- Add the invisible work. Calls, briefs, feedback rounds and project management are usually a third of the real time and the first thing left out of a quote.
- Price the outcome where you can. What the work earns or saves the client is a better anchor than your hours — the hours are your floor, not your price.
- Quote one number, then hold it. The scope below is what protects that number; discounting a vague scope is how a profitable project becomes a loss.
What's included
- Event concept, theme and mood board
- Venue research + shortlist (up to 5 options, with accompanied site visits)
- Full vendor sourcing, negotiation and contract review (catering, décor, AV, photography)
- Budget tracker maintained throughout, with payment dates flagged before they fall due
- Master timeline + run-of-show shared with every vendor
- Day-of coordination (lead planner + 1 assistant, full event day) including a contingency and weather plan
- Excluded: all vendor and venue costs, deposits, permits, licences, insurance, staff overtime and travel — contracted and paid by you directly
Worth adding for this kind of work
- Planning fee and event budget presented as two separate figures, never one total
- Day-of staffing named — how many people, for how many hours
- Overtime terms, because events run long and someone pays for it
The timeline
- Sign proposal & pay deposit
First instalment confirms your date and locks in my availability. It is non-refundable, because from that moment I decline other enquiries for that date. Payment details sent via WhatsApp.
- Vision & brief session
90-minute session (in person or WhatsApp video) to agree theme, guest count, priorities and the working budget everything else is planned against.
- Venue shortlist + site visits
Options shared via WhatsApp with photos, pricing and my recommendation. Venue decisions have a 5-working-day window — the good dates do not wait.
- Vendor contracts confirmed
All suppliers booked, contracted in your name and briefed. Second instalment due. Updates via WhatsApp.
- Final details + balance due
Final guest numbers, seating and run-of-show locked. The balance of my fee is due before the event day — I do not invoice after an event, and you should not be handling money that week.
- Final run-of-show + day-of coordination
Complete timeline issued 1 week ahead. I run the day from setup to finish, and I am the number every vendor calls instead of you.
Where this proposal usually goes wrong
Presenting one number that mixes your fee with vendor costs.
Split them at the top of the proposal. This is the single most common event-proposal dispute.
Not capping venue and vendor options.
Five venues, sourced. Otherwise you are searching until the client likes one.
No overtime clause.
State the hours covered and the rate beyond them. The day always overruns.
Questions clients ask about this work
What happens if we cancel or postpone?
This is the question worth reading twice. Your deposit is non-refundable from signature. If you cancel more than 90 days before the event, that deposit is all you owe. Between 90 and 30 days, half of the remaining fee is due. Inside 30 days the full fee is due, because the date can no longer be resold and the work is almost entirely done by then. Postponement is easier: I will move to one new date within 12 months at no extra planning fee if I am free, and the deposit transfers — if I am not free, cancellation terms apply. Vendor cancellation terms are separate and set by each vendor, which is exactly why I read those contracts with you before you sign them.
What if something outside anyone's control stops the event?
Weather, illness, transport strikes, a venue failure or an official restriction can all close in on a date. In those cases neither of us is in breach: fees already earned for work completed stay earned, my deposit is retained, and I will move you to a new date at no additional planning fee if my calendar allows. I will also fight your corner with vendors on refunds and transfers, though their contracts govern their money. I strongly recommend event insurance and will tell you what to look for — it costs a fraction of your budget and covers what I cannot.
What is not included in your fee?
All vendor and venue costs — venue hire, catering, décor, AV, photography, entertainment, permits, insurance — are contracted in your name and paid by you directly to each supplier. My fee covers planning, sourcing, negotiation, coordination and running the day. I never take a hidden commission from a vendor; if a supplier offers one I disclose it and pass it to you as a discount. That is why my recommendations are worth something.
What if you fall ill or cannot attend on the day?
A fair question that most planners avoid. Every event is documented so it could be run by someone else: the run-of-show, vendor contacts, timings and floor plans live in a shared file you can see at any time. I carry a network of trusted planners for exactly this, and if I genuinely could not attend, I would arrange a qualified replacement at my cost and brief them personally. My assistant is also across your event, not just present on the day.
What if an invoice is unpaid?
Planning work pauses and I stop committing to vendors on your behalf until the account is settled — I will not put my name behind bookings I cannot fund. The balance must clear before the event day. Nobody wants that conversation in the final fortnight, so I flag every payment date well in advance in the budget tracker.
Can you work within a strict budget, and can I see references?
Yes, and yes. I will tell you honestly what is achievable at your budget in the first session — including when the honest answer is fewer guests or a different date rather than cheaper vendors, which is where events quietly go wrong. I will never recommend suppliers outside your range. I can put you in touch with recent clients and share full galleries of comparable events; ask before you sign, not after. I also reserve the right to photograph the event for my portfolio, and if you would rather I did not, or would rather remain unnamed, just say so — your guest list and personal details stay confidential either way.
A template gets it written. Tracking gets it signed.
You already have the document — copy it above and send it however you like. What a copy cannot tell you is whether anyone read it. Send this same template from ClosingMoment and you will know the moment your client opens it, which sections they read, and how long they spent — so you follow up while they are still deciding.