Complete Weddings + Events Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $68K – $79K
- Disclosed sales
- $361K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (3)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Complete Weddings + Events is an event services franchise providing photography, videography, DJ, and coordination for weddings and events. Franchisees run local operations, booking clients and managing crews and on-site event execution.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS franchise requires a total initial investment of $68K – $79K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $361K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $68K – $79K
- 22nd pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $361K
- 4th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 33rd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 69
- 42nd pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $68K – $79K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $361K/year (median $236K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 78/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 3 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -29.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Complete Music, Inc.
- CEO title
- President, Treasurer and Director
- Eric Maas
- Incorporated in
- NE
- HQ
- 110 North 9th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68102
- Auditor
- Lutz & Company, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.2M
- vs $4.3M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Maas
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Eric Maas
- Headquarters
- NE
- Founded
- 1974
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 45% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Storage Space | $0 | $600 | |
| Equipment | $13K | $15K | |
| Computer Software | $1K | $2K | |
| Business Set-up Costs | $500 | $2K | |
| Opening Supplies | $0 | $2K | |
| Media Set | $1K | $1K | |
| Opening Advertising and Promotion | $750 | $2K | |
| Initial Training Expenses | $1K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $500 | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $68K | $79K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $68K – $79K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $133 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 47% below the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$75K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $361K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $236K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross receipts
- Sample size
- 57 outlets
- vs category median 37
- Range (low → high)
- $58K→$2.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 31 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Revenue is 4.9x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $361K/year in gross sales. Median is $236K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Business Services median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -29.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Business Services medians
How Complete Weddings + Events Compares
Category median of published Business Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 69
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.3%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +3.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -29.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 6
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 25.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
43 current owners across 25 states.
- FL 5
- CO 3
- GA 3
- SC 3
- TX 3
- KS 2
- MN 2
- MO 2
- NE 2
- PA 2
- WA 2
- CA 1
- +13 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $375K
- Median loan
- $125K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (3)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 3 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (3)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (3)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
A stagnant events franchise with a history of regulatory compliance failures, undisclosed profitability metrics, and high ongoing costs relative to disclosed average revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Three government regulatory actions: Illinois AG (2019) fined $4,000 for unregistered franchise sales; Indiana SOS (2019) fined $1,500 for unregistered franchise sales; Minnesota DOC Consent Order (2022) fined $3,000 for unregistered franchise sales/renewals.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Lutz & Company, PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total Revenues for FY2023 of $4,215,171 comprise Initial Franchise Fees and Royalties ($2,162,607), Video ($682,831), Photography ($402,817), Technology ($512,983), Corporate Bookings ($264,597), and Other ($189,336). Audited statements of Complete Music, Inc. d/b/a Complete Weddings and Events for years ended Dec 31, 2023 and 2022.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 78 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORMultiple state regulatory actions (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota) indicating compliance failures and unregistered franchise offerings across three years
- 02MINORStagnant unit growth of only 3.0% YoY with 69 locations suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in mature system
- 03MINORNo Item 19 (Net Income) disclosure prevents validation of $361k average revenue claim and obscures true profitability for franchisee ROI calculation
- 04MINORHigh royalty rate of 8% on gross receipts combined with $50k franchise fee creates cash flow pressure, especially if net margins are thin
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NE |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three government regulatory actions: Illinois AG (2019) fined $4,000 for unregistered franchise sales; Indiana SOS (2019) fined $1,500 for unregistered franchise sales; Minnesota DOC Consent Order (2022) fined $3,000 for unregistered franchise sales/renewals.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- Omaha, NE and franchisee's location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks Online and proprietary software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks Online and proprietary software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
43 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS franchise?
The total investment to open a COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS franchise ranges from $68K – $79K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $361K. The median is $236K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS?
COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS is franchised by Complete Music, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS has 69 total units in the United States, including 68 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates COMPLETE WEDDINGS + EVENTS as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 78 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.