7 Questions You Need A Bride To Answer At Your First Meeting

When you plan your first meeting with a bride you are well-prepared to talk to her about your wedding planning services. You know the information you need to get from her that will help you decide if you can provide the services she wants and if she is going to be a good fit for you.

But this is very likely the first time your bride has ever met with a wedding planner and she might not know how to prepare for her meeting with you.

To make your first meeting more productive, suggest your bride come with information about her wedding that will help you understand how you can best help her.

Here are 7 questions you might want to ask your bride to be prepared to answer at your first meeting:

1) What date has she set?

This will help you determine if you can fit her wedding into your schedule. You will also want to know if the date is flexible in case the venue she wants is not available or may be less expensive on different dates.

 2) Where does she want to have her wedding?

She may have already selected her venue, if not, she should know whether she wants an indoor or outdoor event and the general location.

3) How many guests does she plan to invite?

She should have a good idea if she is planning to invite only close family and friends or if she and her fiance and their families will have extensive guest lists. Her guest count will greatly impact her budget.

4) What general mood and style does she want for her wedding?

She should be able to tell you if she wants a casual, formal, traditional or out-of-the-box wedding. If she has already chosen a theme, you’ll want to know that also but you can help her develop her theme when she hires you.

5) What has she seen at weddings or in wedding magazines that she really likes? And, what has she seen that she really dislikes?

This will help you learn more about her and her style. It is often easier for a bride to tell you what she dislikes than what she likes.

6) Can she bring photos of things she likes?

A bride usually has torn pictures out of magazines of things she likes, ask her to bring these with her. When you review the photos together, find out what elements in the photos appealed to her – the colors, style, mood, etc.

7) What is her budget?

She actually needs to tell you what her budget is before your face-to-face meeting. If she is unsure of her budget, she may not be ready to hire a wedding planner.

You will be asking her more questions and getting to know her better during your meeting but if she can be prepared to answer basic questions, the meeting will go more smoothly for both of you.

Remember to ask her to bring anyone with her who may be instrumental in the decision making process, for example, her fiance and/or her parents. Chances are good that these are also the ones helping her pay for the wedding so they will be helping her decide whether or not to hire you.