Guide for event and wedding planners
How to get clients as an event planner
Updated
How do event planners get clients?
Pick the events you want to plan and show a portfolio of exactly those, then make sure people searching for that kind of planner in your area find you on Google, in AI answers and through the venues and vendors who recommend planners. Qualify every inquiry by date, guest count and budget so your time goes to the events you want.
Clients hire planners on trust: they want to see that you have done an event like theirs, that past clients were happy and that you know the venues and vendors. Most of a planner's marketing is about making that proof easy to find.
This guide applies to corporate event planners and wedding planners alike. The steps are the same; the portfolio, the searches and the referral partners differ.
1. Decide which events you want more of
Planners who say they plan everything are hard to recommend. Choose the events you are best at and most want to book, such as luxury weddings, corporate conferences, nonprofit galas or brand activations, and the area you serve.
That choice shapes everything else: the work you show, the words on your site, the venues and vendors you build relationships with and the searches you advertise on.
2. Show a portfolio organized by event type
Give each event type its own page with a few real events: the brief, the venue, the guest count, what you designed and managed, and photos. A corporate client wants to see conferences and dinners; a couple wants to see weddings that look like theirs.
Credit the venues and vendors on each event, with permission. They often share or link to those pages, and it shows that you know the local event scene. See examples of planner sites in our event company website examples.
3. Get found where clients search
Complete your Google Business Profile with the right category, your service area, photos of real events and a description of the events you plan. Add a page for each market you serve, with events you have planned there and the venues you know.
Then check what AI assistants say when someone asks for a planner like you in your city. Clients increasingly ask ChatGPT for planner recommendations, and assistants favor planners whose specialty, location and work are clearly stated and consistent across the web.
4. Turn past clients into reviews and referrals
Ask every client for a review a week or two after the event, with a direct link and a prompt to mention the event type and what you handled. Reviews that describe the event help the next client in the same situation.
Stay in touch with corporate clients after the event. A short note before their next planning cycle often brings repeat business, and a happy client is your best route into their colleagues and peers.
5. Build relationships with venues and vendors
Venues, caterers, rental companies, photographers and entertainment companies are asked for planner recommendations all the time. Visit venues you want to work in, send vendors photos and credit from events you planned together, and refer clients to them in return.
Ask venues about their preferred planner lists and what it takes to be on them. One or two venue relationships in your niche can bring a steady stream of qualified inquiries.
6. Advertise on searches that signal a real event
Searches like 'corporate event planner [city]' or 'wedding planner [area]' come from people with an event to plan. Run Google Ads on those, pointed at the matching portfolio page, and exclude searches from people looking for planning jobs, courses or free templates.
Keep the budget focused on the event types and areas you chose in step one, and read the search terms each week. See how we run ads for event companies on our advertising page.
7. Qualify every inquiry before the call
An inquiry form that asks for event type, date, guest count, location and budget range saves you calls with people who were never a fit, and tells the right clients you take their event seriously.
Reply quickly, confirm availability and suggest a call or meeting time. Track where each inquiry came from so you know which referral partners, pages and ads bring the events you want.
Event planner client checklist
- The event types and area you want to grow written down
- A portfolio page per event type with real events and photos
- Venues and vendors credited on each event, with permission
- Google Business Profile complete with photos of real events
- A page for each market you serve
- Your business checked in AI assistants' answers
- A review request after every event
- Corporate clients contacted before their next planning cycle
- Visits and referrals with venues and vendors in your niche
- Ads only on searches that signal a real event
- An inquiry form asking event type, date, guests, location and budget
Keep reading
How we do this for clients: Marketing for event planners.
Common questions
Through a clear portfolio of the events they specialize in, a complete Google Business Profile and reviews, referrals from venues and vendors, repeat corporate clients, and ads on searches from people with a real event to plan.
Show real weddings you have planned, with the venues and vendors credited, collect reviews after every wedding, build relationships with the venues couples are considering and keep your wedding directory and Business Profile listings current.
Show a portfolio of corporate events with the brief and outcome, stay in touch with past clients before their next planning cycle, ask for introductions to peers, and advertise on searches like 'corporate event planner' in your area.
Yes, on searches that signal a real event in your area, pointed at a portfolio page for that event type. Exclude job, course and template searches, and read the search terms report every week.
Specialize, show work that matches the events you want and use an inquiry form that asks for event type, date, guest count and budget range. Clear expectations on the site attract the right clients and filter out the rest.
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