Betcha didn’t imagine spending 95% of your time as a wedding planner writing emails?

You had visions of attending tastings with elaborate table mock-ups, digging into the design process, and actually getting to bed at a decent hour. But right now it’s all you can do to keep up with your inbox.

Email Templates are a huge part of productivity for wedding planners. It’s keeps us from rewriting our routine emails from scratch every time we need to respond to an inquiry, ask a client to complete a questionnaire, or share timeline information with a vendor. 

Today I’m sharing my checklist of 51 email templates you should have in your arsenal to take your wedding planning business from soul-sucking email factory to creatively fulfilling career.

This list might seem overwhelming at first but, instead of looking at it like a list of everything you don’t have, use it to guide you through creating a time saving template database you can use to fly through those frequently needed emails.

SALES PROCESS

Your sales process should take a couple from initial inquiry to happily booked client without spending all day figuring out what to say or stressing over when and how (or when) to follow up! Creating email templates for each step will help you respond faster leading to a higher booking rate because inquiring couples LOVE fast responses from planners. (Did you know that 90% of people book the planner they talk to first?!?) 

Bonus points if you add these to your lead tracking software (like Aisle Planner or Honeybook) so you can send it off with just a click. 

• Initial Inquiry Response
• Graceful Decline  

Psst… check out my freebie “How to Say ’No’ With Grace for a ready-to-use template all about redirecting poor-fit couples with kindness.

• Proposal Delivery
• Proposal Follow-Up(s)
• “Thank You Anyway”

I always send a response to couples who let us know they’ve chosen to go with another company asking them if they can tell me how you landed on their final decision. And/or was there anything in our process we could improve that would have made their decision different. It’s arrogant to believe that our system is flawless and if you hear a consistent response from those who pass on your services, it might be wise to see how you can edit your process to eliminate this hang-up for prospective clients.

• Sending a Contract & Invoice
• Contract Follow-Up(s)
• Incomplete Booking Notice
• Welcome to the Family

CLIENT PROCESS

If you have a streamlined client process, and you definitely should to increase productivity and ensure consistent client experience, you’ll find that there are routine points in the process where you’re sending the same email over-and-over. Avoid the time suck rewriting each time creates but putting together plug-and-play email templates you can take a client from booking day to the day they say ‘I Do’ while feeling supported and informed. 

• Questionnaire Request
• Meeting Confirmation/Reminder

Make this quick and clear. Just keep to the specifics, time, date & location. I know some planners do this via text, so make this fit whatever works best for your ideal couples.

• Meeting/Call Follow-Up 
• Request for Approval (of Design Plan, of Timeline, of Layout, of Whatever)
• Information Outline to VIPs
• Check-Ins for Partial Planning/Coordination Clients
• “Per Our Office Policies”… 

Establishing healthy boundaries is so very important for a long-term career in the creative industry. Especially when we’re just starting, we want to sign every lead so badly that we say anything to get them to book with us. But, this often puts us in uncomfortable situations that lead to frustration for both ourselves and our clients. Respecting yourself from the beginning and setting realistic expectations with your clients is better for you and, honestly, for them, too. Explaining things like response times and setting up a good guide for how our creative process will flow helps them feel supported from the start. Make sure your clients know you take your role and business very seriously. Clearly detail your office hours and policies. You might want to make sure they understand if weekday meetings are preferable, and in what cases you make exceptions.

• Response to Event Cancellation/Being “Let Go” 
• Invoice for Expenses Incurred 
• Post-Event Follow-Up Email

TO WEDDING VENDOR PARTNERS

As planners, we’re only as good as our team. Communicating with our team in a respectful and effective way is key to creative weddings as functional as they are beautiful. I’ve found that while many planners have clear processes for their client experience, they don’t give the same attention to their vendor partner experience. I don’t know about you, but my vendor partners account for a huge chunk of my direct referrals – mostly because they feel so supported through my communication processes. 

• Quote Request
• Contract Request
• “We’ve Gone a Different Direction”

Don’t you hate it when a potential client ghosts you? So do your partners! Giving them a quick, to-the-point notice when your couple has chosen a different vendor for this category is a courtesy your vendor partners deserve. You don’t have to get specific or make it personal, just inform them and let them know you’re looking forward to the next chance to team up!

• Meeting/Call Follow-Up
• Template for Client to Use to Introduce You to Vendors Already Booked

I’ve personally found it so beneficial to have clients directly introduce me to the vendors they’ve already booked. It’s a clear transition of primary contact that ensures the vendor partner knows you client is not only on-board with but excited to have you taking over the communication. I provide my couples with a template they can use to introduce me to their vendors. All they have to do is Cc me and I take it from there! 

• Response to Introduction Email 
• Month-Out Timeline, Layout, & Payment Date Reviews
• Week Before Final Details Confirmations
• Week-Of Communication
• Notice of Publication 
• Cancellation Notice

No one wants to imagine their couples may not make it to the altar, but as planners, we should be prepared for any possibility. Time can be precious when handling the cancellation of a full wedding’s day worth of team members. Having a cancellation notice on hand to use  in these cases can be a sanity saver. 

TO YOUR INTERNAL TEAM 

If team work makes the dream work, you better take care of that dream team! With so many projects, client work, vendor questions, and life running by it can be SO easy to forget to keep up with your team. Creating template emails – with reminder of when to send them – can ensure that you’re taking care of those who help you take care of your couples. 

• Response to Interest in Employment
• Interview Confirmation
• Offer Letter
• Monthly/Quarterly Routine Housekeeping 

You probably have regular reminder that you need to send out to your team about paperwork, meetings, and other business housekeeping. Setting up an automated newsletter you can just input updated info into each month with help you to streamline the process of keeping your back end business on track. 

• Event Sign-Ups for Assistants
• Assistant Confirmation 
• Week-Of Team Communication
• Request for Event Feedback

Just like listening to feedback from our clients and vendors are key, hearing what our team has to share can be key to fixing issues before they become service failures. Often they can see the cracks before the leak begins to show. They also can spot ways to improve client (and team) experience and take your services to the next level. 

• Departure Follow-Up**

Please note, you should never, ever, EVER, fire someone over email. A face-to-face meeting is best for this, or a phone call if a face-to-face simply isn’t possible. However, following up with a clear, concise email about expectations of departure and next steps is crucial to ensure there is no miscommunication and that your requirements are well documented. 

FOR BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

Editorials are great for building a portfolio of your ideal aesthetic, gaining experience with local vendors, and creating images for marketing material. But beyond the physical product of the shoot, how you communicate with vendor partners can win you referrals and gain you fans that will go beyond the pretty pictures.  

• Pitch 
• Pitch Follow-Up(s)

I’m big about including deadlines for response in your pitch and pitch follow-ups. Your time is precious as a planner. Editorials and styled shoots are great for stretching your creative muscles and adding some content to your portfolio, but you’ve got paying clients you have to serve! Our friend-ors are just as busy as we are and not everyone will be available the same day the venue is. This means that you might not get your first choice on board and you’ll need time to source the perfect team. If you leave your email open ended and say “let me know when you get a chance”, you’re giving them permission to put off responding which only brings you stress. 

• “Thank You Anyway”
• Welcome to the Team
• Details Confirmations
• Day Before Reminders
• Thank You with What to Expect
• When You Receive Images from Photographer
• Submission Process Started Notification
• Inevitable “Where are we in the process?” Response

It’s going to happen. Someone is going to send that well-meaning, albeit so annoying, “Where are we in the process?” email. Having a template on-hand of how to respond can ensure you are always kind and courteous in your response to partners. 

• Acceptance Notification
• “We’re Live!!”