Wedding Planning & Event Design

Are you here because you took one quick look at a wedding planning checklist and thought, “Oh fuck no, there is no way we are doing all of that without professional help”? Then full-service wedding planning might just be the thing for you!

You do only the parts of wedding planning that are fun and meaningful for you. We'll do the rest.

Here’s are some things we’re gonna take off of your plate:

  • Set a realistic budget that prioritizes what you want most (and help you stick to it.)
  • Do all research, phone calls, and emails.
  • Come out for you (if applicable) to vendors and make sure we’re only hiring those who enthusiastically support your relationship AND your wedding vision, no matter how traditional, offbeat, or super gay it might be.
  • Create a cohesive wedding vision and then translate it into a beautiful design that will make your wedding a magical place created just for you. 
  • Think about all the things that you don’t know you need to think about. You are free from ever having to calculate how much liquor to buy or what time to schedule a hair appointment in order to get to family photos on time or any of the other eleventy million logistical needs that must be considered. We’re on it. (Uh, and we’ve done it like hundreds of times so we’re really good at it, too.)
  • Narrow down all the options so that all you have to do is say “We like this one best, let’s hire them!” or “We hate all of these, bring us more choices,” or “We’re can’t decide between these two, help us.”
  • Never, ever push you to spend more than you want, do things you don’t like, or make final decisions without you because it’s not our fucking wedding, it’s YOURS.
  • Manage all the information and the people involved and the things coming and going from day one until you ride off into the moonlight happily married – so you can actually enjoy it.
  • Oh, yeah, and we’ll track all of those pesky RSVPs for you, too.

Does this sound like the thing you need? (Or hell, the thing you WANT?? Because it’s ok to want things.) Then let’s talk.

Alternative Wedding Planner for independent, feminist, & LGBTQ+ people
Availability

So that we can give you our full attention, we accept a maximum of ten planning & design clients each year. 

Because a fabulous wedding depends greatly on picking the right team of wedding pros, Planning & Event Design is limited to the Seattle/Puget Sound area, where we know our colleagues and can make exceptional connections for you. Portland, Oregon and Chicago are considered on a case by case basis.

When to Book Us

We strongly encourage you to book us at least 15-18 months in advance if you’d like our help with selecting a venue and 9+ months in advance if you have booked a venue already. This is not because we can’t plan in a shorter amount of time (we can and have!) but because our trusted wedding vendors tend to book up far in advance and we want to be able to offer you the best of the best for your vendor team. That being said, we are happy to work with shorter planning timelines if we have space in our calendar.

Investment

Pricing is based on a number of factors, including whether you’ve already selected a venue, what else you may have already gotten done, the size and scope of your wedding, which services are included, and the duration of our planning process. 

Our fees begin at 15,775 for full-service wedding planning & event design, with the majority of our clients spending around 16-20k.

Recommended for wedding budgets of 80k+.

CUstom Planning & Event Design with Management

Custom planning packages include Wedding Management plus a selection of the services above tailored to your needs. You can expect to spend around 10-15k on a partial planning or wedding management and design package.

Recommended for wedding budgets of 60k+.

two brides smile at each other in the woods

Ready to start planning together? Give us your deets:

All weddings are subject to the COVID-19 policies below, so please scroll down to read through them before you inquire!

FAQ

Wedding Planning & Design and Event Design & Wedding Management packages can be booked up to two years before your anticipated wedding date. 

Wedding Management packages may be booked up to one year in advance, once you have a confirmed date and venue. (Need a venue? Go ahead and inquire – we can help you find the perfect one!)

Really want work with us but your wedding is more than farther out than that? We keep a waitlist – mention it in your note when you inquire and we’ll add you to it.

Due to the number of inquiries we receive, we do not hold dates. If you’re interested in planning with us, inquire now so that we can get your no-obligation consultation on our calendar. You will receive your custom proposal and planning contract following your consultation. We encourage you to sign it as soon as you decide you’d like to work with us in order to secure your date. 

Yes, absolutely! Our packages are meant to broadly categorize the services we offer. For many people, one of the packages above will be the perfect fit, but others need or want something in between.

Since no two weddings or couples are exactly alike, we’ll create a customized planning package for you after we learn more about you and your wedding vision through our inquiry form and the conversation we’ll have at your complimentary consultation.

As a team who cares deeply about accessibility – including how COVID affects those who are disabled or immunocompromised, we take COVID very seriously. Here’s what we’re doing to keep everyone as safe as possible:

  • Our team is fully vaccinated and boosted.
  • We will wear masks during events and in-person meetings for the foreseeable future.
  • We conduct most of our planning meetings virtually, which minimizes potential exposure (and is super convenient, too.)
  • We will work together with you to develop a COVID prevention and safety policy for your wedding, if you’d like one, and to ensure that your wedding complies with any local government or health department mandates that are in effect.
  • We are only accepting weddings within the Pacific Northwest planned for up to 150 guests.
  • Our team only works one wedding per weekend to ensure that we can isolate between events and that we have backup staff available in case of illness. (And to give you our full attention!)
  • All Aisle Less Traveled contracts include one no-fee postponement if your wedding cannot be held as planned due to COVID.

Here’s what we expect of you:

  • We ask you to protect us and our families by being up to date on your own vaccines and boosters.
  • We appreciate you wearing masks when we meet in person to plan your wedding, though it’s not required.
  • We do not expect you or your guests to mask at your wedding, though we are happy to support you in making that request of your guests or vendors if it’s important to you.

It depends on what we have planned in our personal lives, but it’s possible! A $1000 surcharge will be added to our fee as compensation to cover a higher holiday pay rate for our team and as compensation for giving up time that we would have otherwise spent with our loved ones.

Holidays and special family dates subject to this surcharge are: Memorial Day weekend (Friday-Monday), Juneteenth, June 30th, Independence Day weekend (Friday-Monday), Labor Day weekend (Friday-Monday), September 16th & 17th, Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday-Sunday), December 15th, and our winter break from December 22nd through January 5th.

We do! Alt+Ctrl+Wed™ is our virtual wedding planning membership for folks on smaller budgets or who simply prefer to tackle the planning on their own. You’ll get instant access to our comprehensive wedding planning portal with all the checklists, spreadsheets, templates, money-saving tips, and advice you need. Plus, ask us all of your planning questions in our private Discord community.

Alt+Ctrl+Wed™ is priced on a sliding scale starting at $297. Once you join, you have access for as long as you need it. There are no recurring fees (but you can space your payment out over three months if it’s easier on your wallet.)

If you need one-on-one or done-for-you support with just a few pieces of your wedding plans, you can build your own wedding planning package from our suite of a la carte services, which start at $49.

It depends! Our Planning & Design package is only offered in the Seattle metro area. That’s because in order to find you the best venue and vendor team, we have to know the local industry. Seattle is what we know best.

Event Design and Wedding Management packages, along with some custom packages depending on what’s included, are also available in the Portland metro area – where we know quite a few incredible wedding pros.

Wedding Management packages are available throughout the Pacific Northwest, within about 6 hours of driving time from Seattle. 

For weddings in other locations looking for more support, please ask about our Guided Wedding Planning package, where we’ll help you through every step of planning. Then, we will connect with your local wedding planner to handoff the details so they can be fully up to speed to run your wedding day.

Our planning memberships and a la carte services are all provided virtually and are available throughout the US.

Regrettably, due to the extremely confusing nature of international sales taxes and work visas, we do not currently offer our services outside of the United States.

Yep! We welcome marriers of all genders, identities, and relationship configurations. As well as all body sizes, abilities, skin colors, religious beliefs or lack thereof, and countries of origin. You can learn more about our DEI commitments here. Basically, we welcome everyone!

(However, we do not work with haters, so if you’re anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-fat, racist, xenophobic, etc., kindly show yourself the fuck out.)

Yes! While wedding planning is our main focus, we’re happy to plan any kind of event you’re dreaming up. Our rates begin at $4000 for Saturday events, $3500 for Friday and Sunday events, and $3000 for weekday events. Please inquire here.

Photo credits
Header: Anne & Andrew by Jacqueline Connor; Teal section: Matt & Sarah by Jeremy Lawson; Purple section: Julianna & Nicole by Amanda Summerlin.

Need to get married before Trump takes office or SCOTUS overturns marriage equality? We've got you.