Add-On Services Event Planners Can Offer to Delight Clients

Add-on services that raise the value of every event: welcome experiences, favours, lounges, signature drinks, live artists, gifts and signature scent, plus how to package them.

The best add-on services do two jobs at once: they raise the value of every event you plan, and they give clients and guests something to talk about afterwards. For a wedding or event planner, a well-chosen menu of extras turns a good proposal into a memorable one, without adding chaos to your day. Here are add-on services worth offering, how to choose the right ones for your business, and how to deliver them through trusted partners rather than doing everything yourself.

Why add-on services matter for planners

Couples already rely on a long list of professionals: The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings Study found US couples hire an average of 13 vendors (The Knot Worldwide, 2026). Many clients would rather have their planner recommend and coordinate the extras than research them alone. Done well, add-ons help you:

Raise revenue per event without taking on more dates.
Differentiate your proposals from planners who offer the same three packages.
Create review-worthy moments, the details guests mention and couples remember.
Strengthen your vendor network, since every add-on is a relationship with a specialist.

How to choose the right add-ons

Not every idea belongs on your menu. Before adding one, ask:

Does it fit your style? A planner known for quiet, editorial weddings should offer different extras from one known for big, high-energy parties.
Can a specialist deliver it reliably? The best add-ons are run by partners who own the set-up, the timing and the clean-up.
Is it easy to explain in one line? If you need a paragraph to sell it, clients won't choose it.
Is the logistics risk low? Check venue rules, power, insurance and load-in times before you promise anything.
Does it suit every guest? Think about accessibility, dietary needs, alcohol-free guests and fragrance sensitivity.

Add-on ideas that delight clients and guests

1. Welcome experiences

The first ten minutes set the tone for the whole event.

Welcome bags or boxes in hotel rooms for out-of-town guests: local snacks, water, a map, the weekend's timeline.
A welcome drink at arrival, served by the caterer or bar team, with an alcohol-free option that feels just as special.
A greeter or concierge to direct guests, take coats and answer questions.

2. Guest favours people actually keep

Favours are easy to forget, so choose ones guests use: local treats, a small plant, a personalized keepsake or a tiny bottle of the event's scent. Our guide to wedding favours guests keep has more ideas.

3. Lounge areas and comfort stations

A lounge with soft seating, low lighting and rugs, especially welcome for older guests during a long evening.
Washroom baskets with essentials such as tissues, mints, hair ties and stain wipes.
A flat-shoe basket, a blanket basket for outdoor evenings, and a phone-charging station.

4. Signature drinks and mocktails

A named cocktail and a matching alcohol-free drink are simple to add and photograph beautifully. Work with the caterer or a licensed bar service, and confirm the venue's rules on alcohol and service before you offer it.

5. Live artists and entertainment

A live event painter who captures the ceremony or first dance on canvas.
A calligrapher or engraver personalizing place cards, glassware or favours on site.
A portrait sketch artist during cocktail hour.
Musicians for the ceremony and reception, from a string trio to a late-night DJ set.

6. The events around the event

Many couples need help with more than the wedding day: the engagement party, the shower, the rehearsal dinner, the welcome party and a morning-after brunch. Offering to plan or style these turns a single booking into a relationship that runs for months.

7. Gifts for the people who matter

Bridal-party gifts, a thank-you for parents, and welcome gifts for honoured guests are thoughtful extras that a planner can source, wrap and deliver. Our guide to bridesmaid and bridal-party gifts has ideas. A reed diffuser in the wedding scent, such as Grand Foyer, makes a lasting keepsake for parents.

8. Signature scent

A signature scent is one of the simplest ways to make an event feel designed rather than decorated. A light, elegant fragrance at the entrance, the reception and the lounges gives the evening a sense of occasion, and it can follow guests home in favours. Research supports keeping it simple: a large review of ambient-scent studies found pleasant scents improved how people evaluated a place and what they remembered, with simpler scents that fit the setting working best and the benefit levelling off as intensity rises (Roschk and Hosseinpour, 2020).

Go light, keep food and ceremony spaces subtle, and offer a clearly signposted scent-free area. the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety notes that reactions to scented products vary from mild to severe (CCOHS). Our wedding and event scenting guide covers placement and strength in more detail.

How to package and present add-ons

Create a short design menu. Six to ten options, each with a photo and one line of description, is easier to choose from than a long list.
Group them by moment: arrival, ceremony, reception, after-party, keepsakes. Clients picture the day as a sequence.
Bundle thoughtfully. A "guest experience" bundle of welcome bags, a lounge and favours is easier to say yes to than three separate line items.
Quote add-ons clearly, with what's included, who delivers it and what the client needs to provide.
Introduce them early. Add-ons belong in the first proposal and the design meeting, not in a rushed email two weeks before the date.

Partner rather than build it yourself

Every add-on you deliver in-house is another set of equipment, staff and risk on your day. For specialist services, partnering is usually the smarter route:

Choose partners who work like you do: punctual, discreet, and happy to follow your run sheet.
Agree who does what, from set-up and teardown to the venue's insurance and load-in requirements.
Keep one point of contact on your side so the client never has to chase two businesses.
Review together afterwards. What guests loved, what to change, what to offer next time.

How we do it at Velour and Vellum

Our wedding and event scenting service is designed to slot into a planner's offer as an add-on. We work alongside planners, designers and venue coordinators: one point of contact, set-up timed around your schedule, nothing left behind. Planners can offer it to their couples and clients as part of their design; to talk about working together, partner with us).

The process has four steps: a complimentary video call; a private consultation and tasting in person in Toronto (a consultation fee applies and is credited in full toward the event if the client goes ahead), or a courier tasting box with a guided video tasting outside Toronto; a deposit to reserve the date; and the day itself, when we bring our scent systems and fragrances, scent the spaces and collect everything afterwards. Couples receive a keepsake gift of their wedding scent.

Our own add-ons include scent favours for guests (small tagged bottles of the event scent), bridal-party gifts, a parents' keepsake reed diffuser in the wedding scent, scenting for the shower, rehearsal dinner or engagement party, and a scent attendant for the evening. Packages (Intimate, Signature and Grand) are sized by space and guest count and quoted after the call. We serve the Greater Toronto Area and travel across Southern Ontario. Book ideally three to six months ahead, and at least eight weeks. Questions go to the Curator at [email protected].

Quick answers

What add-on services can event planners offer? Welcome experiences, guest favours, lounges and comfort stations, signature drinks, live artists, styling for pre-wedding events, gifts for the wedding party and parents, and a signature scent.

How do wedding planners increase revenue per event? Offer a short, well-presented menu of add-ons delivered by trusted partners, grouped by moment and introduced in the first proposal.

Should planners deliver add-ons themselves or partner? For specialist services, partnering usually works better: the specialist owns the equipment, set-up and clean-up while you keep the client relationship.

Is signature scent a good add-on for weddings and events? Yes, if kept light, with food and ceremony spaces subtle and a scent-free area for sensitive guests. It adds atmosphere and can be carried home in favours.

Who offers event scenting that planners can add to their packages in Toronto? Velour and Vellum works with planners and venues across the GTA and Southern Ontario; see our event scenting service for weddings and events.

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