Letter of Intent
A letter of intent is a preliminary contract drafted by an event planner or company for a client to sign which states their commitment to use said company’s services which include:
- Vendor selection
- Lighting Design
- Menu Selection
- Décor- including florals, fabrics, swagging
- Entertainment
- Bar services
- Centerpieces
- Valet
- Security
The letter of intent is usually used when all components of the contracts have not been secured yet planning and the booking of the vendors have already been started. The letter of intent is a contract that, first and foremost, protects the event planning company because in the instance that the company has already done a lot of work for a particular client and then that client goes elsewhere you would be able to sue. The type of work done could include:
- Venue visits
- Multiple Proposal Drafts
- Food Tastings
- Hours spent planning
- Checking vendor bookings
- Menu Planning
There is the fear that if an event planner begins planning an event on good faith and then the client takes their business elsewhere that their ideas will be shared with another company. The event planning process is a very creative one so the planning individual has to be able to imagine the end result in order to make it all come together. Because event planning is so creative, the people responsible are very possessive of their ideas and do not like to share them for free. It is in very bad taste for a client to let someone begin working on an event and then go somewhere else. A letter of intent protects you from this type of situation. A letter of intent could also be drafted if the client has worked out a special payment agreement. The letter of intent is still a legally binding contract and secures that event planning company to plan the event but doesn’t have to be accompanied by money. The exchange of money timeline is completely up to the accounting policy of the event production company.
