Hello, I do event planning all the time. The thing with it is it can be time consuming if you are just starting out. Once you do it a few times it becomes second nature.

How I do it is I have a consulation with the person and we go over what they are looking to have. Food, Venue, Theme, Guest list, etc. Once I have the initial meeting I will tell them I will get back with them in 2-3 days. At which time I put together a few quotes with a break down of what they can have for that. You have to get a good understanding of what they person wants so that you can go and do your research.

It's a good idea if you are going to do event planning to plan ahead. By this I mean contact a few venues and get price list and such. Make a good connection with a few hotels, DJ's, Caters, Rental Facilities. That way you can call them once you do get a client and find out if they are open for the date they have given you. Also when meeting with them you want to get 3 dates. Just incase your contacts are aviable those dates.

Rate and how to charge. Get the feel for the person and see what they are looking for. Once you get that and if you feel they will be hard to work with or might change their mind a lot then you will want to charge a little more. I usually charge a retainer fee so that I don't waste my time looking for stuff and they decided not to use me after I give them my findings. I have had that happen and basically they just wanted me to give them ideas and find a location and they attempted to do it on their own. Which they ended up calling me to do it in the end and I ended up charging them another retainer. My retainer depends on what they want me to do. For Reunions or larger events I usually ask for a retainer of $150-$200. For birthday parties, retirement parties and events that are a little smaller and not to hard to put together I ask for $50-$100 for retainer.

I will send a copy of some of the questions I ask a little later so that you can have an idea of what to find out to determine your fees.