The Vision Meeting, Pre-Loaded
Every planner knows the first client meeting that could have been an email: date unknown, guest count a shrug, budget phrased as ‘it depends’. A pre-event brief moves those answers onto a form the client completes at their kitchen table — so the vision meeting starts with decisions instead of interrogation, and the venue shortlist is already half-built.
The Non-Negotiables: Guests, Date, Place
- Headcount. A number field for expected guests — venue capacity, catering math, and budget all scale from this single figure.
- Date, and how real it is. The preferred date first; then the honest question: how movable? A flexible date doubles the venue options, and a multiple choice captures that in one tap.
- Place. City or dream venue, plus whether anything is already booked — which quietly changes whose problem the logistics are.
How the Day Should Feel
Three adjectives for the atmosphere. One must-have moment — the first dance, the keynote, the fire garden — named in the client’s own words. And inspiration as uploads: a mood-board screenshot through file upload says more than a paragraph ever will. Planners who collect the feel in writing quote more confidently and argue about linens less.
The Budget Conversation, Early
Planners delay the money talk and pay for it in redrawn proposals. Bands lower the barrier; the trade-off question does the real work: if the budget shrank twenty percent, what goes first? An opinion scale ranking food against entertainment against décor makes priorities explicit — and a client who won’t name a budget will still answer what they’d cut.
After They Submit
A thank-you page carrying the calendar link converts a finished brief into a booked consultation. In the run-up, planners live in WhatsApp anyway: share the brief on WhatsApp, generate a tap-to-open link with the WhatsApp link generator, and let forwarding drop each submission into the planning group as it lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Weddings and corporate galas — one form?
One core, branched details. An event-type question reveals the relevant section: weddings get family and timeline questions, corporate gets attendee demographics and objectives.
What if the client refuses to name a budget?
The trade-off question works without a number. Priorities first, bands later — some clients need to feel control before they’ll share figures.
How detailed should guest questions be?
Count now; dietary requirements at booking stage. The brief scopes the event — it doesn’t cater it.
Can vendors see their slice of the brief?
Yes — export filtered views from the responses dashboard: caterers get catering, florists get florals. Related formats live in the event forms collection, the plan-events category, and the event-planning use case.