Wedding Planning Valuation Template

Work through the Intangible Asset Assessment before you look at the Valuation Summary numbers. The referral network and brand scores feel qualitative, but they directly affect the multiple range that applies to your business — a planner with a preferred vendor relationship at three top venues, 150+ five-star reviews, and a strong Instagram following with consistent inquiry flow is a different asset than one with equivalent revenue but no documented referral infrastructure. Score each category honestly. If you're preparing for an actual sale, document the referral relationships with specific names and how long they've been in place, because buyers will ask and lenders will care. If you're doing this for internal planning or a partnership buyout, the intangible asset scoring helps you understand what you've actually built and where the gaps are.

The SDE multiple is the dominant valuation method for independent wedding planning businesses below $500K in annual revenue. SDE — what the owner actually earns from the business after all operating expenses but before owner compensation — typically falls between $40,000 and $150,000 for a solo or small-team planning business, and buyers apply a multiple of 1.5x to 3.5x to that figure depending on how transferable the business is. Owner dependency is the biggest discount factor: a business where the seller is the only planner, handles all client communication personally, and has relationships built around her individual brand will trade at 1.5–2x SDE because the buyer faces substantial risk that clients won't re-book and vendors won't refer with equal frequency after the transition. A business with an associate planner who independently manages client relationships, a team-branded identity rather than a personal brand identity, and documented vendor relationships that are formal enough to transfer commands 2.5–3.5x SDE. Gross margin percentage also matters: a planning business doing $300K revenue with 65% gross margin has more earnings quality than one doing $400K revenue with 45% gross margin heavily weighted toward vendor pass-throughs that may not renew with a new owner.