Wedding Consultants and Commissions

• Weddings cost $20,000 on average to host, according to The Princeton Review. Consultants typically charge a 15-percent commission for planning each event. With such a commission, consultants would make an average of $3,000 per gig. Most consultants are self-employed, and so the actual income depends upon the number of engagements they book per year.
  
  

Top-Paying States

• The top-paying states for meeting, convention and other event planners include Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Hawaii. Event planners in Washington, D.C., earned a mean annual $61,400 salary in 2010. Planners in New Jersey earned $56,410. Workers in Massachusetts followed close behind with a $56,130 salary. New York, also the second top-employing state of event planners, offered workers annual pay of $55,730. In Hawaii, event planners earned $54,130.
  
  

Top-Employing States and Cities

• California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida employed more event planners than other states. The 6,420 workers employed in California earned a mean annual salary of $51,630 in 2010. The 5,510 workers in New York earned $55,730. Consultants in Texas earned $45,710. Consultants in Illinois earned $50,340. In Florida, consultants earned a mean annual income of $45,310. The metropolitan division with the most jobs was the White Plains-Wayne, New York and New Jersey area. Workers took home a mean salary of $59,040.
  
  

Non-Metropolitan Areas with Highest Employment Levels

• Some non-metropolitan areas employed more event planners than others in 2010. The 120 event planners in the North Central Colorado area earned a mean annual $44,930 salary. The next top-employing non-metropolitan area was the Hawaii, Maui and Kauai area, in which the 100 workers earned $56,540. In North Georgia, where 90 event planners are employed, workers in this field earned $31,930. The 90 event planners in the Southern Vermont area earned $41,260. The 80 workers in the Low Country South Carolina area earned a mean $40,480.