French Wedding Planner Contracts Explained

You have found a wedding planner you trust, discussed your vision, and agreed on a fee. Now comes the part that most couples rush through: the contract. A French wedding planner contract is a legally binding document governed by French law, written in French (even if the planner speaks fluent English), and built on legal concepts that differ from what British, American, and Australian couples expect. Understanding what it should contain, how French professional insurance works, and what your rights are if things go wrong is not optional reading. It is the foundation of a professional relationship that will manage €30,000 to €100,000 of your money over the next 12 months. This guide is part of our series on hiring a destination wedding planner within our broader planning guide for destination weddings in France.

Key Takeaways

• A French planner contract should specify services included, payment schedule, cancellation terms, insurance details, and what happens if the planner cannot fulfil the engagement.
• RC Pro (responsabilité civile professionnelle) is the professional liability insurance that protects you if your planner makes a costly mistake. Ask for proof before signing.
• French law distinguishes between arrhes and acompte deposits. The type your contract specifies determines your rights if you cancel.
• TVA (VAT) at 20% applies to planner fees. Confirm whether your quote is HT (before tax) or TTC (tax included).
• Commission disclosure is not legally required in France, but a professional planner should volunteer this information.

What a French Wedding Planner Contract Should Include

A professional planner contract in France is typically four to eight pages and covers the full scope of the engagement. If your contract is a single page or consists mainly of general terms, ask for more detail before signing. At minimum, the contract should address the following elements.

Scope of services. A clear, itemised list of what the planner will do. This should distinguish between services that are included in the base fee and services that incur additional charges. Full planning, partial planning, and day-of coordination are different products with different deliverables. The contract should specify which one you are buying and what each phase includes. Look for specifics: number of vendor proposals the planner will source, number of site visits included, whether the planner attends the rehearsal, and how many hours of on-the-day coordination are covered.

Fee structure and payment schedule. The total fee, whether it is a flat rate or a percentage of your wedding budget, and the payment milestones. A typical payment schedule for full planning splits the fee into three or four instalments: a deposit at signing (20 to 30%), a second payment at the midpoint of planning, a third payment one to two months before the wedding, and a final payment after the event. The contract should state the amount and due date for each instalment.

Expenses and disbursements. Whether travel costs for site visits, parking, tolls, and accommodation during the wedding weekend are included in the fee or charged separately. Some planners include all travel within a certain radius and charge for distances beyond it. Others invoice travel costs monthly. This should be clear before you sign.

Substitution clause. What happens if your named planner cannot attend the wedding due to illness, injury, or personal emergency. The contract should specify who will step in, whether they are equally qualified, and whether you have the right to approve the substitute. A planner with no backup plan and no substitution clause is a risk you should not take for a destination wedding.

Termination and cancellation. The conditions under which either party can end the contract, the notice period required, and the financial consequences. This is where the distinction between arrhes and acompte becomes critical, which we cover below.

RC Pro Insurance: What It Is and Why It Matters

RC Pro stands for responsabilité civile professionnelle. It is the professional liability insurance that covers a planner if their actions, errors, or omissions cause financial loss to a client. In practical terms: if your planner forgets to confirm the traiteur and you have no food at your reception, RC Pro covers the cost of the emergency solution. If the planner books the wrong date at the venue and you discover it too late to fix, RC Pro covers your losses.

RC Pro is not legally mandatory for wedding planners in France. Unlike professions such as architects, doctors, and accountants, event planners are not required by French law to hold professional liability insurance. Many do carry it voluntarily because it is standard professional practice and because venues and other vendors increasingly require it. But "many" is not "all."

Before signing any planner contract, ask for a copy of their attestation d'assurance RC Pro. This is a one-page document issued by their insurer that confirms the policy is active and states the coverage amount. A typical RC Pro policy for a wedding planner covers €500,000 to €1,000,000 in claims. If a planner cannot produce this document, or tells you they do not carry RC Pro, treat it as a serious red flag. You are entrusting this person with decisions that affect tens of thousands of euros of vendor commitments. Professional insurance is the minimum safety net.

A related but separate policy is assurance responsabilité civile exploitation, which covers damage caused during the planner's physical presence at the venue. If a planner's assistant knocks over a candelabra and damages an antique table, this policy responds. Ask whether the planner carries both types of coverage.

Acompte vs Arrhes: Two Deposit Types with Very Different Consequences

French contract law distinguishes between two types of deposit, and the distinction has real financial consequences. This is one of the areas where French law diverges most sharply from British and American practice, and it catches international couples off guard regularly.

Arrhes function as a retraction option. If you pay arrhes and later cancel, you lose the deposit. If the planner cancels, they must refund you double the amount. Either party can walk away from the contract by accepting this financial consequence. Arrhes are assumed by default under French consumer law (Article 1590 of the Code Civil) unless the contract explicitly states otherwise.

Acompte is a partial payment on a binding contract. If you pay an acompte and cancel, the planner can pursue you for the full remaining balance, not just keep the deposit. The contract is binding on both sides. Neither party can unilaterally withdraw without potential liability for the full contract value. Acompte must be explicitly stated in the contract to apply.

The practical difference is significant. A €3,000 arrhes deposit on a €10,000 planning contract means you can cancel and lose €3,000. A €3,000 acompte on the same contract means the planner can invoice you for the remaining €7,000 even if you cancel. Check your contract carefully. The word used, arrhes or acompte, determines your exit rights. If the contract does not specify, French law defaults to arrhes, which is the more flexible option for the couple.

For a broader look at how deposits and contracts work across all French wedding vendors, see our guide to vendor contracts and deposits in France.

Commission Disclosure and Transparency

French law does not require wedding planners to disclose referral commissions received from vendors. There is no equivalent of the UK's Bribery Act or US fiduciary rules that would create a legal obligation for a planner to tell you they receive a 10 to 15% commission from the traiteur they recommended. This is a gap in consumer protection, and it is not going to change soon.

Professional planners disclose commissions voluntarily, either in the contract itself or during the initial consultation. Some state the policy explicitly: "We receive referral commissions from vendors on our recommended list. These commissions do not affect the price you pay." Others operate on a fee-only model and refuse commissions entirely, charging a higher upfront fee to compensate. Both models are legitimate. What is not acceptable is a planner who actively conceals commission arrangements while claiming to provide impartial advice.

Your contract should ideally include a clause about commissions, even if it simply states the planner's policy. If it does not, ask the question directly during your contract review call. How the planner responds tells you a great deal about how they will handle difficult conversations throughout the planning process. A list of questions to ask your planner before signing is a useful companion to this article.

TVA (VAT) on Planner Fees

Wedding planning services in France are subject to TVA at the standard rate of 20%. This applies to the planner's fee, not to the vendor costs they coordinate on your behalf. A planner quoting €8,000 HT (hors taxes, before tax) will invoice €9,600 TTC (toutes taxes comprises, including tax). That is a €1,600 difference that can catch couples off guard if they budgeted based on the HT figure.

Always confirm whether a quoted fee is HT or TTC. Professional planners should state this clearly in their proposal and contract. If the quote says "€10,000" without specifying, ask. Some planners in France are registered under the micro-entreprise regime, which means they do not charge TVA if their annual turnover is below the threshold (currently €36,800 for services). This is legitimate but also means the planner is running a smaller operation. It is neither a red flag nor a selling point on its own, but it is worth understanding.

International couples cannot reclaim French TVA on wedding planner fees. The TVA is a cost, not a recoverable tax. Factor the TTC amount into your budget from the start.

Cancellation and Force Majeure Clauses

Post-2020, force majeure clauses are no longer boilerplate that nobody reads. They are among the most important sections of any wedding contract. A force majeure clause defines the circumstances under which the contract can be suspended or terminated without financial penalty to either party. Standard force majeure events include natural disasters, government-imposed restrictions, travel bans, and acts of terrorism.

What varies from contract to contract is the remedy. Some contracts allow for postponement to a mutually agreed date with no additional fee. Others allow postponement but charge an administrative fee (€500 to €1,000 is common). Some allow termination with a full refund minus reasonable expenses already incurred. Others cap the refund at the deposit amount. Read this section carefully and ask your planner to walk you through specific scenarios.

A well-drafted force majeure clause should address postponement separately from cancellation, specify the time frame within which the couple must choose between postponing and cancelling, and define what constitutes "reasonable expenses" that the planner may deduct from any refund. If the clause is vague or absent, ask the planner to add one. Any planner who resists including a force majeure clause in 2026 is not keeping pace with professional standards.

Separate from force majeure, the contract should also address standard cancellation: what happens if you simply change your mind, move your wedding to another country, or decide to elope. The financial consequences here are governed by the arrhes/acompte distinction described above, but the contract may include additional terms such as a sliding scale of refunds based on how far in advance you cancel.

What Happens if Your Planner Goes Bust

It is rare but not unheard of. A wedding planner closes their business, falls seriously ill, or becomes personally insolvent between the date you sign the contract and the date of your wedding. Your protections depend on three factors: the contract terms, the planner's insurance, and whether you paid by card or bank transfer.

If the planner carries RC Pro insurance, the policy may cover the cost of engaging a replacement planner to complete the work. If the planner is a registered company (SARL, SAS, or EURL rather than a sole trader), the company's assets may be available to satisfy claims, though recovery is slow and uncertain. If you paid by credit card, your card issuer may offer chargeback protection under Section 75 (UK) or similar consumer protections in other jurisdictions.

The practical safeguard is to avoid paying the full fee upfront. A payment schedule spread across three or four milestones limits your exposure at any point. If the planner requests full payment before the wedding, ask why. There is rarely a good reason for a planning fee to be paid in full more than one month before the event.

Related Articles

• Wedding planner in France: costs and how to choose
• Planner vs coordinator vs day-of: which service level do you need?
• Questions to ask a French wedding planner before signing
• Finding English-speaking wedding vendors in France
• French vendor contracts, deposits, and TVA explained
• Getting married legally in France

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I have a French lawyer review my planner contract?

For a planning fee above €5,000, a legal review is worth the cost. A bilingual avocat specialising in consumer or event law will charge €200 to €500 for a contract review and can flag clauses that are unusual, unenforceable, or unfavourable. This is particularly valuable if the contract is only available in French. For planning fees below €5,000, a careful read-through with your planner (asking them to explain each clause) is usually sufficient.

Can I ask for the contract in English?

You can ask, and many planners who work with international clients provide a bilingual version or an English translation alongside the French original. However, the legally binding version is always the French text. An English translation is for your understanding only. If there is a dispute, the French version governs. Make sure you understand the French terms, particularly arrhes, acompte, and force majeure, regardless of which language you read the contract in.

What is a normal deposit amount for a French wedding planner?

A deposit of 20 to 30% of the total planning fee is standard. For a €10,000 full-planning engagement, expect a deposit of €2,000 to €3,000 at signing. Some planners request 50%, which is higher than industry norms but not unusual for senior planners with limited availability. Be cautious of any planner requesting full payment upfront or a deposit exceeding 50%.

What happens to my deposit if I cancel?

It depends on whether the deposit is classified as arrhes or acompte. If arrhes, you lose the deposit but owe nothing further. If acompte, the planner can pursue you for the full remaining contract value. Check the contract language carefully. If the word "deposit" appears without further specification, French consumer law defaults to arrhes, which is the more protective option for the couple.

Does my planner's RC Pro insurance cover vendor mistakes?

No. RC Pro covers the planner's own errors and omissions. If your florist delivers the wrong flowers or your traiteur undercaters, those are claims against the vendor's own insurance or contractual obligations. RC Pro would apply if the planner failed to confirm the order correctly, booked the wrong vendor, or made an administrative error that caused the problem. Each vendor should carry their own RC Pro or equivalent coverage.

Browse our directory of wedding planners in France to find professionals with verified insurance and transparent contract practices. If you are still choosing your venue, our guide to the best destination wedding venues in France highlights properties where professional planner coordination is standard.