Looking for a wedding business plan? You're in the right place.
A wedding planner who works in a small town has to answer questions a lender will press on. How many weddings can one planner carry between June and September? When do couples pay, and how much cash is on hand before the first one? What happens if the summer comes in a fifth short? A generic events template won't show what a sensible answer looks like.
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample business plan for a destination wedding planning business in Sublette County, Wyoming, section by section. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The executive summary: see how to put a seasonal business on one page, so a reader knows what you need and when it pays back
- The market section: learn how to describe a thin local market honestly while showing where the clients actually come from
- The deposit and balance schedule: find out how installments shape cash month by month and see where the quiet months fall
- The planner capacity table: see how to justify each hire by the weddings one person can carry in the peak months
- The marketing plan: check what it costs to win a first season of bookings, and which channels carry the load
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how pricing, hiring and a rental inventory show up in the numbers
- The downside case: have an answer ready for the "what if bookings are 20% short?" question, along with the steps the owner takes in response
If you're setting up a wedding planning business, read this before you write your own. The company is fictional, so take what fits your market and change the rest.
In this plan
Looking for a wedding business plan template? The Toolkit builds yours with your own numbers.
The Plan in Brief
Perfect Weddings, LLC plans and coordinates destination weddings in the Wyoming mountains. It opens in Pinedale, the seat of Sublette County, on January 1, 2027, and serves couples who live elsewhere and marry in the Wind River Range, around Pinedale and in Jackson Hole. Founder Tessa Marlow owns 100% of the firm.
The firm needs $155,000: $90,000 of Tessa's savings and a $65,000 bank term loan. Of that, $90,900 is held as a cash reserve, $47,500 buys a rental inventory of décor, a cargo trailer and office kit, and $16,600 pays for legal work, registrations and the launch campaign.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $174,800 | $293,344 | $367,920 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($45,723) | ($4,984) | $19,430 |
| Closing cash | $68,340 | $62,307 | $80,435 |
The firm delivers 21 weddings in its first season, 5 of them full-planning packages, and 36 in the third. Year 1 loses money because the first wedding is not delivered until May, payroll and rent run all year, and the season closes after October, with a single December elopement. Year 3 is the first profitable year.
Two limits shape every number: the season runs from June to September, and one planner can carry only a fixed number of weddings in it. The plan sets that limit at 10 load units for Tessa and 8 for an associate planner, who joins in February of Year 2, before the second summer. Year 1 bookings are the least certain part of the plan, because they are signed on shorter lead times than full planning normally runs.
A downside case is included. If bookings run 20% short and Tessa slows hiring, takes a pay cut and pays no distributions, year-end cash never falls below $41,331 in any year of the model, although the case does not test cash inside a year after the first.
About Perfect Weddings
Legal name: Perfect Weddings, LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company. Owner: Tessa Marlow, 100%. Office: a rented office in Pinedale, with a meeting room rented by the day in Jackson. Start date: January 1, 2027, four months before the first wedding. Stage: pre-launch. The website is in draft and two full-planning couples have agreed dates for July and August 2027.
The promise to a couple
One planner handles the venue shortlist, vendor team, guest lodging, timeline and the day itself for couples who cannot visit the mountains every month.
Goals for the first two seasons
- Deliver 21 weddings in 2027, with every full-planning couple signed by the end of March.
- Deliver 30 in 2028 with a second planner on staff for the peak.
- Keep year-end cash above $60,000 through the first two years.
- Begin repaying loan principal on schedule in 2028 and consider owner distributions from 2030.
The four booking types
| Booking type | How it is priced | Year 1 share of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Full planning and design | $16,000 per wedding | 46% |
| Partial planning or month-of coordination | $5,200 per wedding | 24% |
| Elopement or micro-wedding (up to 20 guests, officiant included) | $4,200 per package | 19% |
| Décor and ceremony rental | $2,800 per event | 11% |
Marriage licenses, park permits and venue approvals
Wyoming has no waiting period for a marriage license, and the Teton County clerk's page says couples must apply in person and that a Wyoming license can only be used in Wyoming. The license goes back to the clerk within 10 days of the ceremony, so the firm builds a license appointment into every timeline.
Grand Teton National Park sets stricter terms. Its wedding page lists a $200 non-refundable application fee, a minimum of 30 days to process, and a small permit for groups of 12 or fewer that counts everyone present. Large site-specific permits cover 25 people at most sites and 40 at Colter Bay Swim Beach, and the park does not issue a permit for ceremonies above 40 people. A permit lasts one hour including setup and photography. The page bans receptions and catered food, generators, drones, amplified sound, confetti and balloons, and the erecting of altars, arches, tables and tents. The page marked every large site full for 2026 and said applications for 2027 would open on December 3, 2026, a month before the firm opens. Large-site dates in 2027 therefore depend on what remains, and Year 1 leans on small permits and private land.
The page did not address commercial use authorizations for photographers, officiants or planners, and private-land weddings can involve county special-event or zoning approval and, on national forest land, a Forest Service permit. The firm confirms each of these with the park, the county and the Forest Service before it quotes a venue.
The Mountain Wedding Market
A small county feeding a distant client base
Sublette County had 8,728 residents at the 2020 census, and Pinedale, its largest town, 2,005. That population supports a few local weddings a year and a steady stream of elopements. It cannot support a planning firm on its own. The plan draws roughly four in five of its couples from outside Wyoming and uses the county for its low rent and its venues.
About half the weddings are set in Sublette County and the Wind River Range, within about an hour of Pinedale, and half in Teton County, about two hours each way in summer traffic. That split is what justifies a Pinedale office with a rented meeting room in Jackson, and it is why travel is the largest overhead after payroll.
What planners earn
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median pay of meeting, convention and event planners at $61,160 in May 2025 and projects 6% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. Tessa's $60,000 salary sits just under the national median, and the associate planner is paid $50,000.
Why the season matters more than the county
Wedding dates in the mountains cluster in the summer months. The plan sets 85% of full-planning weddings from June to September, against 75% of coordination work and 40% of elopements, which the plan expects to fall in May and October. A planner who books 14 full-planning dates has about 12 of them on 17 Saturdays.
Where a couple could go instead
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a couple picks it | How Perfect Weddings differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resort and ranch in-house coordinators | A coordinator who knows one property | One contract, one site | A planner who works across properties, including private land |
| Jackson-based independent planners | Local presence and long vendor lists | Short drives, local reputation | Lower overhead, with Wind River and Pinedale venues as a specialty |
| Venue-managed packages | Venue, catering and day-of in one price | Simplicity | Independent advice on what to book, and a rental inventory that works at any site |
| Planners from the couple's home city | A known person who travels | Existing trust | Mountain vendor relationships and permit knowledge |
| Flat-fee online planning tools | Checklists and templates | Lowest cost | A person who is on site for the rehearsal and the day |
| A friend or relative plus a day-of coordinator | A cheap safety net | Budget | Full design and vendor management before the day |
The table describes what each option offers, not a ranking. Fees change often and are not quoted here; each provider publishes its own.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Eight summers of Teton County wedding coordination and an existing vendor list | One planner in Year 1, with no cover if she is ill in July beyond a contract planner on call |
| Owned décor inventory that earns rental income at any site | Four months of revenue concentrated in a year with twelve months of costs |
| Pinedale rent and living costs below Jackson's, and half the venues close by | Year 1 bookings signed on short lead times, with only a few couples signed before opening |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Couples who miss the park's limited large-ceremony sites and want private land | Weather and wildfire smoke forcing late changes to a summer date |
| Coordination clients who later buy full planning for a second event | Jackson planners with in-house vendor discounts |
| Weekday and shoulder-season elopements that fill May and October | A planner leaving in the middle of a June to September season |
Who Books a Destination Planner
The out-of-state couple
Most clients are couples in their late twenties to late thirties who live in a large city, have chosen Wyoming for the mountains, and have visited once or twice. They want a venue shortlist within a week, vendors who will travel to a remote site, and one person to answer when a caterer is late. The plan prices for that kind of couple and builds its timeline around two site visits.
The hometown couple
A smaller group lives in Sublette County and the Green River valley. They book coordination on the day or an elopement, rarely full planning, and often arrive through a photographer or a church.
The elopement couple
These couples want a small ceremony in the park or on private land, with a photographer and an officiant, and no reception. The firm's package includes the officiant. They book later than full-planning couples, usually two to three months ahead, which is why elopements bill in two installments.
What each decides on
Date flexibility, guest lodging, how many people can reach a mountain venue, and what the permit allows. The first consultation covers all four before a price is quoted.
Turning Inquiries into Bookings
From first email to deposit
A reply within a business day, a 45-minute video consultation, a written proposal within three working days, and a contract with the first installment due on signing. Tessa takes every consultation in Year 1.
Year 1 funnel
About 105 inquiries lead to about 57 consultations and 21 booked weddings, a 37% close rate on consultations. Rentals are sold to couples already booked and do not need a separate funnel. Full planning normally runs 9 to 12 months, and the Year 1 full-planning couples sign 6 to 7 months ahead because their dates are the ones venues still have open and Tessa's contacts know about; later years use longer lead times.
| Source of the 21 Year 1 weddings | Weddings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Venue and lodging partnerships | 6 | 29% |
| Instagram and Pinterest | 4 | 19% |
| Wedding directories | 4 | 19% |
| Search ads | 4 | 19% |
| Photographer and vendor referrals | 3 | 14% |
When couples pay
| Booking type | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Full planning | 30% at signing, 40% four months before the date (or the month after signing if that is later), 30% the month before |
| Coordination | 40% at signing, 60% the month before |
| Elopement | 50% at signing, 50% the month before |
| Rental | 50% three months out, 50% in the delivery month |
Deposits are non-refundable. A postponement moves the date but not the money already paid, and the model carries $2,000 in Year 1 for concessions, refunds and bad debt.
Staying and growing
Most business after Year 1 comes from past couples' friends and from the vendors who work with the firm on every date. Coordination clients are offered full planning for a later event, such as an anniversary or a family wedding.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weddings delivered | 21 | 30 | 36 | 40 | 46 |
Growth slows after Year 2 because June to September has only 17 Saturdays, and each planner can carry only so many weddings in them.
Getting Found in Jackson Hole
Marketing spend and what it buys
Year 1 marketing is $27,000: $11,000 of launch spend paid from start-up funds and $16,000 of running costs. That is 15.4% of Year 1 revenue, and about $1,286 for each of the 21 weddings. The share falls to 6.5% in Year 3, $667 a wedding, and 5.5% in Year 5, $609 a wedding, as referrals take over.
| Item | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Website, brand and portfolio photography (launch) | $7,500 | A site with a package page, a calendar of open dates and a booking form |
| Styled shoot with four vendors (launch) | $2,000 | A portfolio that shows work at a Wind River venue and a Pinedale ranch |
| Venue and vendor visits (launch) | $1,500 | Introductions to the first ten partners |
| Venue and lodging partnerships | $3,500 | Hosted tastings and a referral dinner; about 6 weddings |
| Instagram and Pinterest | $3,500 | Weekly content and a small paid budget; about 4 weddings |
| Wedding directories | $2,500 | Two listings aimed at couples searching for Jackson Hole; about 4 weddings |
| Search ads | $3,000 | Searches for mountain wedding planners in Wyoming; about 4 weddings |
| Photographer and vendor referrals | $1,500 | Thank-you gifts and joint events; about 3 weddings |
| Email follow-up | $1,000 | A guide sent after each inquiry and a reminder before open dates fill |
| Regional bridal show | $1,000 | One table at a show in the region |
Marketing milestones
- January 2027: website live, three couples signed (two full planning, one coordination).
- February 2027: the first styled-shoot images published, seven couples signed.
- March 2027: all five full-planning couples signed.
- May 2027: all eight coordination clients signed and the first two elopements delivered.
- October 2027: the last full-planning wedding of the season delivered and 2028 dates opened to waiting inquiries.
Running a Season
The Pinedale office and the Jackson desk
A rented Pinedale office at $13,200 a year holds Tessa and, from Year 2, the associate planner. A meeting room in Jackson, rented by the day for $3,600 a year, is used for consultations with couples visiting the valley. A storage unit holds the inventory at $6,240 a year. The office moves to larger space in Year 5.
A wedding from signing to the rehearsal
A planner builds a vendor shortlist within two weeks of signing, runs a site visit and tasting at about four months out, issues the final timeline six weeks before the date and runs the rehearsal and the day with a part-time day-of coordinator. The marriage license appointment is set for the week of the ceremony.
Planner load and capacity
Capacity is measured in load units over June to September. A full-planning wedding counts as 1.0, a coordination wedding as 0.45 and an elopement as 0.2. Tessa carries 10 units and an associate 8. Full planning runs over the 9 to 12 months before a date and takes the plan's estimate of 150 to 250 hours, so the peak count limits how many dates can be taken in the summer, while annual full-planning weddings stay at 5 to 8 per planner.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-planning weddings | 5 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| Coordination weddings | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Elopements | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Peak-season load (units) | 7.3 | 12.7 | 15.2 | 17.3 | 19.9 |
| Planner capacity (units) | 10 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Capacity used | 73% | 70% | 84% | 96% | 110% |
Year 2 is the reason for the first hire: load of 12.7 is above the 10 Tessa can carry alone. In Year 4 the two planners are close to full, and in Year 5 load is about 1.9 units over their capacity, the equivalent of two full-planning weddings. The plan covers that gap with contract planners at $12,000 and holds off a third permanent hire, because two weddings do not justify a salary. Year 5 is therefore a stretched year, and a permanent hire would be the first decision of Year 6.
Travel
About half the weddings are within an hour of Pinedale and half are in Teton County, about two hours each way. The plan budgets $14,000 for travel in Year 1, which is $667 for each wedding. Mileage, a night near the venue before the date and vendor tastings all come out of that line.
Rental inventory
The $32,000 inventory covers farm tables, chairs, two ceremony arches for private land, lanterns, linens and patio heaters, and moves in a $9,500 enclosed trailer towed by Tessa's pickup. Setup and strike of a 100-guest ceremony takes two or three casual crew, hired by the event, and the 35% direct cost on rental income, about $980 an event, covers that crew, a truck allowance and fuel, cleaning and breakage. Rentals are not offered for park ceremonies, where the park bans arches, tables and tents. After storage and repairs the rental line earns back the $32,000 around the end of Year 3, and the operations coordinator from month 31 takes over the scheduling.
Licenses, cover and insurance
- A Wyoming LLC filing and the business registrations the state and the town require; the firm checks current requirements with each office before opening.
- General liability, professional liability, trailer and inventory cover and non-owned auto cover, budgeted at $5,800 in Year 1 together with the workers' compensation premium. Wyoming's Department of Workforce Services runs workers' compensation. Its page says any business that hires a Wyoming resident registers with the Department, and that required coverage depends on industry classification. The firm registers, confirms whether coverage is required or optional for an events business, and budgets a premium for its employees either way.
- Sales tax on rental income may apply. The firm confirms the treatment and rate with the Wyoming Department of Revenue, and the model counts any tax collected as a pass-through, not revenue.
- A written contract for every couple that states the installments, the non-refundable deposit and what happens if a date moves.
Questions a lender asks
- Signed business at closing. The firm shows signed contracts and deposits received for 2027 dates, two full-planning couples and one coordination client by the end of January, and the list of open inquiries.
- Rentals. Casual crew set up and strike each event, Tessa's pickup tows the trailer, and an operations coordinator schedules both from month 31.
- Illness in July. A contract planner in Jackson is retained on a call-out basis.
- Cash after Year 1. The model shows Year 1 by month. The firm provides a monthly Year 2 cash view before closing.
- Deposits for future dates. Deposits are client money until the date is delivered. The model books revenue when billed and shows no deferred-revenue balance, so cash is higher than a refund claim could allow, and the reserve and a $2,000 refund line cover that exposure.
- Entity and tax. The model uses the 21% federal corporate rate, while an LLC taxed as a pass-through would move the tax to Tessa's return.
Suppliers on call
Photographers, caterers, florists, shuttle operators and venue managers are booked and paid by the couple. The firm pays the officiant in an elopement package. Tessa keeps a list of at least three alternatives for every category, because a canceled caterer in July has no replacement time.
Tessa Marlow and the Team
Tessa Marlow, founder and lead planner
Tessa spent eight summers as an events coordinator at a guest ranch in Teton County, where she coordinated weddings in a typical season of about 25 dates. She lives in Pinedale. Her $90,000 investment is her savings from those years. She is opening the firm so that she can plan weddings across several venues instead of one ranch.
Where the team is thin
Tessa has not run a business, written a contract for her own firm or sold a package to a couple directly. The plan covers these with an attorney who writes the client contract before launch, an outside bookkeeper who handles the books and tax filings, and a fixed weekly sales schedule.
If Tessa is out
Tessa is the only planner in Year 1. A contract planner based in Jackson is retained on a call-out basis to cover an illness or a family emergency in the peak, and the associate planner hired in month 14 can run any wedding with a written timeline.
Outside advisers
An accountant who works with seasonal businesses reviews the numbers each quarter. A small business development center adviser reviews the pricing and marketing plan once a year.
Ownership and the bank
Tessa owns 100% of Perfect Weddings, LLC and gives the bank a personal guarantee. The loan carries a covenant to deliver quarterly accounts.
The Money Side
One five-year model sits behind every table in this section. Year 1 is shown month by month because the wedding calendar drives it; Years 2 to 5 are annual. The figures the model runs on come first, then the results.
Paying for the first season
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Décor and ceremony inventory: tables, chairs, arches, lanterns, linens, heaters | $32,000 |
| Enclosed cargo trailer | $9,500 |
| Laptops, printer, radios, phones and office furniture | $6,000 |
| Wyoming LLC filing, business registrations and permits | $1,100 |
| Legal: entity, client contract, vendor agreements | $4,500 |
| Launch: website, photography, styled shoot, venue visits | $11,000 |
| Cash reserve for the quiet months before the first season | $90,900 |
| Total uses | $155,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tessa Marlow's savings | $90,000 |
| Bank term loan | $65,000 |
| Total sources | $155,000 |
Tessa puts in $90,000 of savings, 58% of the $155,000 raised, and borrows $65,000 from a bank over seven years at 9.75% with interest only for the first 12 months. The rate is a planning figure for this example, not a quoted offer. The bank takes a personal guarantee and a lien on the trailer and inventory. Décor inventory, the trailer and office kit take $47,500, launch costs and registrations take $16,600, and the remaining $90,900 is held back for the winter and spring before the first summer pays. Couples pay as they sign, but the first wedding is not delivered until May 2027, and January brings in $11,680 of billing against about $15,400 of costs.
Figures the plan runs on
- Four booking types, priced per wedding in Year 1: full planning and design at $16,000, partial planning or month-of coordination at $5,200, an elopement or micro-wedding package for up to 20 guests at $4,200 (officiant included), and a décor rental at $2,800 per event. Prices rise 3% a year from Year 2. These are the firm's own fees. Venue, caterer, florist, photographer and park permit costs are paid by the couple and never pass through the firm.
- Weddings delivered in Year 1 are 5 full-planning, 8 coordination and 8 elopements, 21 in all, rising to 30, 36, 40 and 46 in Years 2 to 5. Rentals attach to 7 of the 13 planned weddings in Year 1 (54%) and reach 21 of 31 (68%) by Year 5. Elopements are not offered rentals because the park rules limit what can be set up. Year 1 is the least certain year: its full-planning bookings are signed 6 to 7 months ahead, shorter than the 9 to 12 months that full planning normally runs, and rest on dates that venues still have open and on Tessa's existing contacts.
- Couples pay in installments. Full planning bills 30% at signing, 40% four months before the date, or the month after signing if that is later, and 30% the month before. Coordination bills 40% at signing and 60% the month before. Elopements bill half at signing and half the month before. Rentals bill half three months out and half in the delivery month. Deposits are non-refundable. Revenue in the model is booked when billed, so no deferred-revenue balance is shown, and Year 1 leaves out deposits taken that year for weddings delivered in Year 2.
- Seasonality is built into Year 1 by hand: 4 of the 5 full-planning weddings, 6 of the 8 coordination weddings and 3 of the 8 elopements fall in June to September. Years 2 to 5 spread each year's revenue evenly, so only the Year 1 table shows the winter gap. From Year 2 the plan sets 85% of full-planning weddings, 75% of coordination and 40% of elopements in those four months.
- Planner capacity is measured in load units over the June to September peak. A full-planning wedding counts as 1.0, a coordination wedding as 0.45 and an elopement as 0.2. Tessa can carry 10 units and an associate planner 8. A full-planning wedding takes the plan's estimate of 150 to 250 hours spread over the 9 to 12 months before the date, so the peak measure caps how many dates can be taken while annual full-planning weddings per planner stay at 5 to 8. Peak load is 7.3 units in Year 1, 12.7 in Year 2, 15.2 in Year 3, 17.3 in Year 4 and 19.9 in Year 5, against capacity of 10, 18, 18, 18 and 18.
- Year 5 load is above two-planner capacity by about 1.9 units, the equivalent of two full-planning weddings. The plan covers that with contract planners at $12,000 in Year 5 ($4,000 in Year 4 for illness and overflow, $2,000 in Year 3) and makes no third permanent hire inside the model. The margin in Year 5 reflects a team that stays the same size, and a permanent hire would lower it.
- Seasonal day-of coordinators are part-time employees, paid $12,000 for the four-month season in a year with one coordinator, about $900 for each of the 13 weddings set for June to September in Year 1. A second coordinator joins for the summer of Year 4. They work to the firm's timeline, so they are on payroll and not contractors. Payroll on-costs are 27% for full-time staff, 15% for the part-time operations coordinator and 10% for seasonal coordinators, covering payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and, for full-time staff, a health contribution. The state workers' compensation premium, where coverage applies, is in the insurance line and not in on-costs.
- Direct costs average 10.9% of revenue. Planning and coordination carry 5% (card fees, printing, small supplies). Elopements carry 18% (the officiant the firm pays, a small bouquet and a day-of kit). Rentals carry 35%, about $980 an event: two or three casual crew for setup and strike of a 100-guest ceremony, a truck allowance and fuel, and cleaning and breakage. Tessa's own pickup tows the trailer.
- About half of the weddings are set in Sublette County and the Wind River Range, within about an hour of Pinedale, and half in Teton County, about two hours each way in summer traffic. Travel, which includes tastings, site visits and a night near the venue before a date, is $14,000 in Year 1, about $667 for each of 21 weddings, and $696 by Year 5. A meeting room in Jackson, rented by the day, is $3,600 a year. Pinedale rent is lower than Jackson rent, and the planner is closer to half of her venues.
- Rent covers a small Pinedale office at $13,200 a year, and a separate storage unit for the décor is shown as an operating cost. The office moves to larger space in Year 5. Marketing is $16,000 of running spend in Year 1, on top of $11,000 of launch spend paid from start-up funds, and rises to $28,000 by Year 5.
- Tax is charged at the 21% federal corporate rate. The model applies no state tax because Wyoming appears not to charge a state corporate income tax; the owner confirms this with the Wyoming Department of Revenue. Carried-forward losses offset profit in full, while federal rules limit that offset to a share of a year's taxable income (80% for recent losses, to be confirmed by the firm's CPA), which would add about $800 of tax in Year 3. The model also takes no deduction for the $16,600 of start-up costs, which is the cautious choice. An LLC taxed as a pass-through would move the tax to Tessa's personal return.
- Owner distributions of $25,000 and $30,000 are paid in Years 4 and 5, only after year-end cash has stayed above $75,000. The loan is not repaid early.
Revenue by booking type
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full planning and design packages | $80,000 | $164,800 | $203,693 | $244,771 | $288,130 |
| Partial planning and month-of coordination | $41,600 | $53,560 | $66,200 | $73,868 | $87,790 |
| Elopement and micro-wedding packages | $33,600 | $43,260 | $53,469 | $59,663 | $70,907 |
| Décor and ceremony rentals | $19,600 | $31,724 | $44,558 | $52,014 | $66,180 |
| Total revenue | $174,800 | $293,344 | $367,920 | $430,316 | $513,007 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 68% | 25% | 17% | 19% |
Full planning is 46% of Year 1 revenue and 56% by Year 5, because it carries the highest fee and the longest relationship with the couple. Coordination is the easiest sale to a couple who already has a venue, and it is also the quickest way to meet the next full-planning client. Rentals rise from 11% to 13% of revenue because the same inventory serves more weddings each year. The inventory costs $32,000. After crew, truck, cleaning, storage and repairs, the rental line earns back its cost around the end of Year 3.
Year 1 month by month
| Month | Full planning and design packages | Partial planning and month-of coordination | Elopement and micro-wedding packages | Décor and ceremony rentals | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $9,600 | $2,080 | $0 | $0 | $11,680 | ($3,725) |
| Feb 2027 | $4,800 | $4,160 | $2,100 | $0 | $11,060 | ($4,278) |
| Mar 2027 | $16,000 | $2,080 | $4,200 | $1,400 | $23,680 | $6,971 |
| Apr 2027 | $6,400 | $5,200 | $4,200 | $2,800 | $18,600 | $2,443 |
| May 2027 | $12,800 | $9,360 | $4,200 | $2,800 | $29,160 | $11,856 |
| Jun 2027 | $11,200 | $6,240 | $2,100 | $4,200 | $23,740 | $7,025 |
| Jul 2027 | $4,800 | $6,240 | $6,300 | $2,800 | $20,140 | $3,816 |
| Aug 2027 | $9,600 | $3,120 | $2,100 | $2,800 | $17,620 | $1,569 |
| Sep 2027 | $4,800 | $3,120 | $6,300 | $2,800 | $17,020 | $1,035 |
| Oct 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($14,137) |
| Nov 2027 | $0 | $0 | $2,100 | $0 | $2,100 | ($12,265) |
| Dec 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($14,137) |
Billing builds from February and peaks in May at $29,160, when coordination clients sign and the second installments on the later summer dates fall due. It stops in October, because the final installment on every wedding is billed the month before the date, and picks up only with the December elopement's final payment in November. EBITDA is positive from March to September and negative in the other five months. The October to December losses are partly a feature of the model: Year 1 carries no deposits taken in the autumn for Year 2 dates, which a working firm would be collecting. The lowest month-end cash balance falls in December, and the Year 1 closing cash in the cash table, $68,340, is the figure to read.
Planners and day-of coordinators
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder and lead planner | $60,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Seasonal day-of coordinator (part time, June to September) | $36,000 | Month 6 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Associate planner | $50,000 | Month 14 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Operations coordinator (part time, 20 hours a week) | $24,000 | Month 31 | – | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Second seasonal day-of coordinator (part time, June to September) | $36,000 | Month 42 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $89,400 | $147,608 | $166,700 | $193,700 | $193,700 |
Tessa plans and sells alone in Year 1 and hires one seasonal day-of coordinator, a part-time employee, for June to September. The associate planner joins in month 14, in February, so there is time to train before the Year 2 peak, when load rises above what Tessa can carry. A part-time operations coordinator handles vendor schedules, contracts and rental logistics from month 31. A second day-of coordinator joins for the summer of Year 4. Contract planners cover overflow and illness and are shown as a cost line, not on payroll. Seasonal coordinators are shown at an annual-equivalent rate and paid for four months, so the year-end headcount columns show them as absent. Tessa's $60,000 salary is in the costs from month one, so the profit lines are what remains after she is paid.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $174,800 | $293,344 | $367,920 | $430,316 | $513,007 |
| Direct costs (card fees, officiants, rental crews and truck, breakage, printing) | ($18,988) | ($31,865) | ($39,966) | ($46,744) | ($55,726) |
| Gross profit | $155,812 | $261,479 | $327,954 | $383,572 | $457,281 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($89,400) | ($147,608) | ($166,700) | ($193,700) | ($193,700) |
| Rent | ($13,200) | ($13,600) | ($14,000) | ($14,400) | ($18,500) |
| Utilities | ($2,400) | ($2,500) | ($2,600) | ($3,000) | ($3,100) |
| Marketing | ($16,000) | ($20,000) | ($24,000) | ($26,000) | ($28,000) |
| Insurance | ($5,800) | ($6,800) | ($8,200) | ($9,300) | ($10,500) |
| Professional fees | ($6,500) | ($7,000) | ($7,500) | ($8,000) | ($8,500) |
| Software subscriptions | ($4,800) | ($5,600) | ($6,400) | ($7,000) | ($7,500) |
| Site visits, tastings and travel between Pinedale and Jackson | ($14,000) | ($19,500) | ($24,000) | ($27,000) | ($32,000) |
| Jackson meeting room and showroom days | ($3,600) | ($3,600) | ($3,900) | ($4,200) | ($4,500) |
| Décor storage unit | ($6,240) | ($6,400) | ($6,700) | ($7,000) | ($7,300) |
| Décor repair, replacement and cleaning | ($1,500) | ($3,500) | ($5,500) | ($6,500) | ($7,500) |
| Dues, education and trade association | ($1,800) | ($2,000) | ($2,200) | ($2,400) | ($2,600) |
| Phones, supplies, printing and stationery | ($2,400) | ($3,000) | ($3,600) | ($4,000) | ($4,400) |
| Contract planner cover for overflow weddings and illness | $0 | $0 | ($2,000) | ($4,000) | ($12,000) |
| Equipment replacement and new-hire kit | $0 | ($2,500) | ($2,500) | ($4,500) | ($3,500) |
| Refunds, postponement concessions and bad debt | ($2,000) | ($3,500) | ($4,500) | ($5,000) | ($5,800) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($4,428) | ($10,152) | ($17,961) | ($24,311) |
| EBITDA | ($13,828) | $9,943 | $33,502 | $39,611 | $83,570 |
| Depreciation | ($8,957) | ($8,957) | ($8,957) | ($8,957) | ($8,957) |
| Interest | ($6,337) | ($5,969) | ($5,115) | ($4,173) | ($3,135) |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($2,479) | ($15,010) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($29,123) | ($4,984) | $19,430 | $24,002 | $56,468 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, registrations, launch marketing) | ($16,600) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($45,723) | ($4,984) | $19,430 | $24,002 | $56,468 |
Year 1 loses $13,828 at EBITDA and $29,123 after depreciation and interest, then $45,723 once start-up costs are charged. Year 2 is close to break-even, with EBITDA of $9,943 and a net loss of $4,984. Year 3 is the first profitable year, with a 9.1% EBITDA margin. Year 4 holds at 9.2% and pays its first tax as the early losses are used up. Year 5 rises to 16.3% because revenue grows 19% on a team of the same size, with about two weddings handled by contract planners. That is the stretched year of the plan, and a permanent third planner would bring the margin back down.
Cash in and out
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($39,160) | $2,349 | $27,366 | $32,105 | $64,292 |
| Décor inventory, trailer and office kit | ($47,500) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $155,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | $0 | ($8,383) | ($9,237) | ($10,179) | ($11,217) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($25,000) | ($30,000) |
| Net change in cash | $68,340 | ($6,033) | $18,128 | ($3,075) | $23,074 |
| Closing cash | $68,340 | $62,307 | $80,435 | $77,360 | $100,435 |
Cash is positive at every year end. The lowest year-end balance is $62,307 at the end of Year 2, when the associate planner has been on payroll for 11 months and the first principal payments start. Distributions start in Year 4, after cash has passed $75,000. The monthly table does not carry Year 2, so the winter before the second summer is not tested month by month, and the lender would be given a monthly Year 2 cash view before closing.
Balance sheet
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $68,340 | $62,307 | $80,435 | $77,360 | $100,435 |
| Accounts receivable | $2,395 | $4,018 | $5,040 | $5,895 | $7,027 |
| Décor inventory, trailer and office kit (net) | $38,543 | $29,586 | $20,629 | $11,671 | $2,714 |
| Total assets | $109,277 | $95,911 | $106,104 | $94,927 | $110,177 |
| Bank loan | $65,000 | $56,617 | $47,380 | $37,201 | $25,983 |
| Paid-in capital | $90,000 | $90,000 | $90,000 | $90,000 | $90,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($45,723) | ($50,707) | ($31,276) | ($32,274) | ($5,807) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $109,277 | $95,911 | $106,104 | $94,927 | $110,177 |
Break-even and planner load
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -7.9% | 3.4% | 9.1% | 9.2% | 16.3% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -16.7% | -1.7% | 5.3% | 5.6% | 11.0% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 51% | 52% | 48% | 49% | 42% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $174,800 | $146,672 | $147,168 | $172,126 | $205,203 |
| Average monthly revenue | $14,567 | $24,445 | $30,660 | $35,860 | $42,751 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $15,859 | $23,516 | $27,528 | $32,156 | $34,938 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -2.2x | 0.7x | 2.3x | 2.8x | 5.8x |
In Year 1 average monthly revenue is $14,567 against $15,859 needed to cover operating costs, so the firm loses money. In Year 2 it is $24,445 against $23,516 needed. Debt service cover is negative in Year 1 and 0.7x in Year 2, the first year principal is repaid, then rises to 2.3x in Year 3 and 5.8x in Year 5. Revenue per full-time equivalent ranges from $146,000 to $205,000. Peak load is 96% of two-planner capacity in Year 4 and 110% in Year 5.
A bad summer: bookings 20% short
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $139,840 | $234,675 | $294,336 | $344,253 | $410,406 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($36,005) | ($14,932) | ($3,852) | $8,959 | $45,586 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($52,605) | ($14,932) | ($3,852) | $8,959 | $45,586 |
| Closing cash | $61,936 | $46,280 | $41,331 | $48,384 | $90,803 |
Every revenue line is 20% lower in every year, which at unchanged prices means 20% fewer weddings. The response comes in steps. Tessa takes a 20% pay cut to $48,000 from the first month, travel and rental crew costs fall in step with the weddings, the associate planner starts in month 17, in May, and not month 14, the part-time operations coordinator is never hired, contract cover is not needed, the office stays small and no distributions are paid. Marketing is held at its base level because cutting it while bookings are short would deepen the shortfall. Seasonal coordinators keep their summers. On those terms year-end cash never falls below $41,331, and the firm loses money in Years 1 to 3 and is profitable in Years 4 and 5. Equity ends Year 1 at $37,395. Only year-end cash is tested after Year 1, so a low point inside a later year is not shown. Peak load in this case is 10.1 units in Year 2, just above the 10 Tessa carries alone until the associate arrives in May, and 15.9 in Year 5 against capacity of 18, so the thinner team can still deliver the weddings it wins.
Sources
Permit rules, fees and availability change, so each is confirmed before a booking.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Meeting, convention, and event planners, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wage data and 2025 to 2035 projection.
- National Park Service, Grand Teton wedding and commitment ceremonies: application fee, processing time, group-size limits, one-hour permits, prohibited items and the 2026 and 2027 availability notes.
- Teton County, Wyoming, Marriage License: no waiting period, in-person application, use only in Wyoming, return to the clerk within 10 days.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Sublette County, Wyoming: 2020 census counts for the county and Pinedale.
- Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, workers' compensation for employers: registration and coverage by industry classification.
- Wyoming Department of Revenue, revenue.wyo.gov: sales tax on rentals and state corporate income tax, to be confirmed with the Department.
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