How we chose
We started from the event planners Google Maps shows across Telford, matched each one at Companies House, and read its own website for services, areas and terms, alongside the customer reviews on its public listings. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Twelve firms met all three, and the ten highest scores make the table. What customers say counts most toward the score — the star rating itself, since beyond a small handful of reviews volume adds nothing — then proof of competence, then whether the firm has traded two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the help to the job before you contact anyone. A full planner takes the whole event from venue search to breakdown, a partial planner fills the gaps you name, and on-the-day coordination hands your finished plans to someone else to run. Stylists, furniture firms, DJs, bar teams and balloon artists each sell one piece of the day. Say in your first enquiry which one you need, with your date, venue, guest numbers and anything already booked.
Event planning carries no mandatory register, so there is no licence number to demand the way you would for gas or electrics. Two voluntary markers appear in this round: Academy accreditation for planners, where you should ask for the membership details and confirm them with the Academy, and Magic Circle membership for magician hosts, which you can check on the Circle's own find-a-magician list [4]. Where nothing is stated, our table shows Can't be sourced, and the enquiry has to fill the gap.
Sort the licensed extras early. Selling alcohol or putting on regulated entertainment at a venue without its own licence needs a Temporary Event Notice served on Telford and Wrekin Council at least ten clear working days before the event, for a fee of £21 [1] [2]. Ask your bar supplier or venue in writing who serves it, because a notice served late comes back void and the bar cannot run. For a bigger public event, the council's events toolkit reminds organisers that they carry the legal responsibility for safety, insurance, first aid and risk assessments [3].
Ask about insurance and kit in the same enquiry. Anyone bringing furniture, bars, speakers, lights or LED walls to your venue should give you their public liability details in writing, and DJs with their own rig should show current safety certificates for the equipment. Where a supplier brings staff, ask for the employer's liability certificate too. Firms that publish none of this are not necessarily uncovered, but you should hold the paper before you pay a deposit.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same scope, so you compare like with like. Each quote should separate the planning or coordination fee from supplier pass-throughs, and show delivery, setup and collection, travel, staffing hours and whether VAT is included. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or excluded. A deposit to secure the date is normal; full payment long before the event is not. If money goes wrong, Citizens Advice publishes template letters and steps for purchases that go wrong [8].
Close with paperwork that names everything. Your booking confirmation should show the date, venue, arrival and strike times, exactly what is supplied and who runs the day, plus cancellation terms and what happens if an outdoor setup faces bad weather. For weddings, agree the final timeline and one contact number for the morning itself. Keep every quote, invoice, receipt and certificate together where you can find them after the event.
Pricing
As of summer 2026, a national guide puts full wedding planning in the UK between £4,000 and £15,000 or more, usually charged at ten to fifteen per cent of the total wedding budget, with a minimum fee commonly starting between £4,000 and £8,000 [5]. Fees sit highest in London and the South East, so Telford bookings usually land below the top of those bands [5].
On-the-day coordination typically ranges from £1,000 to £2,500, with extra staffing costs for large guest lists or complex venues [5]. An evening DJ set runs £350 to £800 for four to five hours, or £600 to £1,200 for full-day cover from ceremony to last dance, with Midlands averages at the lower end of the national picture [6]. A standard professionally installed balloon arch for a party or wedding falls between £150 and £300 [7].
What moves the price is the shape of your day. Summer Saturdays cost most, while Fridays, Sundays and midweek dates come in lower [6]. Guest numbers, staffing hours, dry-hire venues that need everything brought in, travel and setup time across Shropshire, and extras such as uplighting, dance floors and photo booths all add lines to the bill [6]. Size, materials and labour do the same for decor: a simple garland starts far below a large organic arch with premium finishes [7].
Ask whether each figure includes VAT, since guides mix the two, and get the scope in writing before you pay anything: exactly what is supplied, which staff and hours, setup and collection, what changes the price, and the cancellation terms. Firms in this round mostly price bespoke through quotes rather than publishing rates, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer.
Red flags
Quotes full planning without asking your date, venue or guest numbers.
Cannot name the person who will run your event on the day.
Will not put the scope, price and setup times in writing before taking a deposit.
Asks for full payment in cash long before the event, with no written terms.
Brings bars, speakers or lighting but shows no liability cover or kit certificates when asked.
Plans alcohol or late entertainment at an unlicensed venue with no mention of the council notice it needs [1] [2].
Goes quiet after the deposit, with no timeline and no named contact in the final weeks.
The bottom line
For most couples planning a Telford wedding, start with LMS Weddings: a dedicated planner rather than a supplier with planning on the side, with starting prices published and accreditation stated. Its review base is small but spotless, so read the full review page and send your date, venue and guest numbers through the enquiry form.
Match the rest to the gap in your plans: SilversurfDJ for the evening party, My Its Magic for hosting with magic, Beano's Events or Up, Up and Away for the look, Event Furniture Hire for the seating, Red Rooster for staffed bars and Shropshire Festivals for big outdoor or corporate days. Get two or three itemised quotes on the same written scope before you agree anything.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.