Whether you go through a wedding planner or book a vendor directly, that vendor’s price stays the same. Here is why, and how to make sure of it.
When you plan a wedding, you compare venues, caterers, and florists. You probably look far less closely at how your wedding planner gets paid. Yet the word “commission” comes up constantly in our industry, often misunderstood and sometimes met with suspicion. It describes a common, perfectly legal practice, and it should not be confused with a markup. Let’s clear things up.
Two Models You Shouldn’t Confuse
The vendor commission (referral fee). A vendor (venue, caterer, photographer, florist…) sets their selling price, and their own profit margin is already built into it. When a wedding planner brings them a client, the vendor passes a share of that margin back to the planner. That is the commission. It is already included in the vendor’s price. For you, the price is identical whether you work with a planner or contact the vendor directly.
The markup. Here, the wedding planner collects your entire wedding budget, purchases the services from the vendors, and resells them to you at a higher price. This markup varies from one agency to another, but it is often between 10% and 15% of the vendor’s price before tax. It is a classic business model, and it pays for the work, the financial risk, and the management the agency takes on.
Neither one is illegal. The real question is a different one: do you know which model applies to your wedding?
Sole Proprietor or Company: What Goes to the State
Not all wedding planners operate under the same legal structure, and that changes how you read a quote.
A micro-entreprise (France’s simplified sole-proprietor status) does not charge VAT. Its owner, however, pays social security contributions and income tax, roughly 21% of their revenue.
A company (EURL, SASU, SAS…, comparable to an LLC or a corporation) charges 20% VAT on its services. VAT is France’s equivalent of sales tax. It is collected on behalf of the government and paid over to it in full. The company then pays its own social and tax charges on the salary it takes.
Either way, about 20% of the final price goes straight to the State, as VAT or as social and tax charges. That money is not compensation for the wedding planner. Keep in mind that VAT also applies to quotes from vendors who charge it, whether or not you use a planner. To compare two proposals fairly, always ask whether the amounts are shown HT (before tax) or TTC (tax included). In France, prices are often quoted tax-inclusive, unlike in the US, where sales tax is added at checkout.
Where the Real Risk Lies: Lack of Transparency
Here is an example. A vendor charges you €1,000. If your wedding planner presents that same service to you at €1,500 while letting you believe it is the vendor’s price, you think you are paying the vendor’s rate, but a markup has been added without your knowledge. The markup itself is not the problem. The problem is that it is presented as if it didn’t exist.
By contrast, a planner who tells you, “I manage your entire budget and invoice the services with a markup, and here is my fee,” is running a transparent model that you are free to accept or decline.
How to Make Sure You Aren’t Paying a Hidden Markup
The method is simple:
- Ask for quotes issued directly by the vendors, in your name, showing their own prices.
- Pay vendors directly if that reassures you, rather than routing every payment through your wedding planner.
- Compare those quotes with the public prices listed by the vendors.
A planner paid through vendor commissions will have no trouble sharing these quotes. The price is the same for you, and their fee comes out of the vendor’s margin. Transparency costs them nothing.
Commission Doesn’t Mean “Always the Same Vendors”
This is the most stubborn misconception. People assume that a planner paid through vendor commissions always recommends the same suppliers, whatever the project. That is not what this payment model means, and it is not what a serious professional should do.
A payment model is one thing, and vendor selection is another. Every wedding has its own style, budget, venue, and constraints. A good wedding planner chooses professionals based on your project, not on what each one pays them. They can perfectly well receive commissions and still offer you several different caterers, a photographer you found yourself, or a florist outside their usual network.
Commissions are also far from mandatory. Some wedding planners receive none, either by choice or because they don’t know they are allowed to. Others prefer to build genuine partnerships with a handful of vendors who return regularly. That makes it possible to negotiate added services or extras and offer them to clients as a benefit. In that case, trust and loyalty matter as much as the commission.
The Different Ways a Wedding Planner Gets Paid
They are often combined:
- Flat fee: an amount set in advance for the service. It is the easiest to read.
- Flat fee plus percentage: a base fee, often between €4,000 and €6,000, plus a percentage of the budget.
- Fees per assignment: suited to a one-off need (a consultation, day-of coordination).
- Vendor commissions: a share of the vendor’s margin, at no extra cost to you. On budgets under €100,000, they very often come with a flat fee.
- Markup: when the planner collects the budget and resells the services.
- The percentage on the global budget: a fee paid by the couple, calculated on the overall wedding budget (often between 10% and 15%), added on top of the vendors’ prices.
No model is better than another in the absolute. What matters is that it is clear, in writing, and explained before you sign.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- How are you paid: flat fee, flat fee plus percentage, vendor commissions, or a markup on services?
- Are your rates shown before or after tax? Are you subject to VAT?
- Do you collect the entire budget, or can I pay some vendors directly?
- Will you send me the vendors’ quotes exactly as issued?
- Is the price the same if I contact the vendor directly?
- Can I choose a vendor outside your network?
The clarity of the answers often says more than the answers themselves.
Transparency Above All
Vendor commissions and markups are both legal practices in France, and they reflect two different ways of working. The first is already built into the vendor’s price, so your price stays the same with or without a planner. The second applies when the agency collects the entire budget. In both cases, what protects you is clarity: readable quotes, a precise contract, and advice truly guided by your project rather than by a supplier’s interests.
Your wedding is one of the most personal projects you will ever undertake. You deserve to understand every line of your budget.
