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By Forever Farrah Published 2026-10-20.
How planners onboard a new wedding client: the welcome email, questionnaire, kickoff meeting, shared guest list, communication rules and guest data handling.
Onboard a new wedding client in the first two weeks after they sign: send a welcome email that says exactly what happens next, take the retainer, send the client questionnaire, hold a kickoff meeting, set up one shared guest list and the planning documents, agree how and when you will communicate, and put the first deadlines in both calendars. The aim is a couple who knows their next step without having to ask, and a planner who has every fact in one place.
The weeks after booking are when a couple is most excited and most anxious. They have paid a retainer and want to see something happen. A planner who goes quiet for three weeks after the contract is signed creates the doubt that later turns into late-night messages. A fixed onboarding sequence, the same for every client, is the cheapest way to look organized, because it is organized.
It also protects you. Everything a dispute might later turn on (who keeps the guest list, what was in scope, which vendors were already booked) is settled in writing in the first fortnight.
Do not start work until the contract is signed by both partners and the retainer has cleared. The planner contract guide covers what the contract should say.
Then send a welcome email the same day. Keep it short and practical:
Many planners also send a short welcome guide as a PDF. It is common practice, not a requirement, and an email that does the same job is fine.
Send the questionnaire before the kickoff meeting, so the meeting is spent on decisions rather than collecting facts. The free client questionnaire is built in eight sections, and each one feeds a document you will build later.
| Section | What it settles | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Basics | Names, contact details, date, venues, ceremony type, who else decides | The contract, every document's header |
| Guests | Guest count, children, plus-ones, access needs, allergies, RSVP method | Guest list, floor plan, caterer brief |
| Budget | Total, who is contributing, top three priorities | Vendor shortlist, payment tracking |
| Vendors already booked | Signed contracts, balances, who is still needed | Vendor contact sheet |
| Priorities | What matters most, must-have photos, traditions | Design decisions and trade-offs |
| Style | Feel, colors, formality, music, food and bar | Design brief, vendor briefs |
| Family dynamics | Parents and stepparents, who not to seat together, speeches | Seating chart, run of show |
| Day-of logistics | Getting ready, first look, venue curfew, wet weather plan, who holds what | Run of show, vendor arrival schedule |
Choose the sections that fit the package. A day-of client may only need guests, vendors booked, family dynamics and logistics; a full-service client needs them all.
Hold it within a week or two of signing, in person or on a video call, with both partners. A useful agenda:
The guest list is the document most likely to split into copies. Agree at the kickoff where it lives and who edits it, and set it up before anyone starts a spreadsheet of their own. Each guest needs a name spelled as it will appear on their card, an RSVP, a meal choice, any dietary need or allergy, any access need and whose guest they are. Those are the columns of the seating chart template, and the seating chart workflow guide covers the steps that follow.
Set up the vendor contact sheet at the same time, from the vendors-already-booked answers, so nothing is booked twice.
Write down, and send to the couple:
These are business choices rather than industry rules. What matters is that the couple hears them from you at the start, not by discovering your weekend.
From the first week you hold personal data about the couple and, soon, every guest: names, emails, dietary needs, sometimes health or access needs. Several markets have rules about it.
In practice: collect only what the day needs, share dietary and access details only with the vendors who need them, keep the guest list in one secure place rather than in email attachments, and delete what you no longer need after the wedding.
Once the kickoff is done, set the rhythm. A regular check-in (weekly or fortnightly, depending on the package and how far out the wedding is) with a short written update keeps the couple confident without a stream of ad hoc messages. Put the next milestone at the bottom of every update.
Onboarding a client wedding in Forever Farrah's planner dashboard takes a few minutes: add the couple, import their guest list from a spreadsheet, and invite them in. The couple keeps their own login and sees the same guest list, RSVPs and seating chart you do, so nobody works from an old copy. RSVPs and meal choices come back to that one list, and you can chase RSVPs across every client wedding from one screen. Your first 2 client weddings are free.
A welcome email the day the contract is signed, with dated next steps, your contact hours, the payment schedule and the client questionnaire, then written notes after the kickoff meeting.
Commonly within a week or two of the contract being signed, once the couple has returned the questionnaire, so the meeting is spent on decisions.
Their basics, guest count, budget, vendors already booked, priorities, style, family dynamics and day-of logistics. The free client questionnaire groups them into eight sections you can pick from.
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