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Create a Wedding Idea Kit for Brides

Brides and grooms who are planning a wedding desperately want help in making the right decisions – they want ‘trustworthy’ information…and they would love for it to be free! The wedding planning company that is smart enough to give potential clients what they want – that’s you (you clever so-and-so) – goes a long way to gaining their prospects’ trust…and ultimately their business.

I refer to my free information for brides as my Wedding Idea Kit. Basically it’s a packet full of useful articles, tips and ideas that are affordable and doable created for prospects.

Each idea or topic is presented as an individual tipsheet and then packaged together (either with a paper clip, binder clip or presented inside a folder) as a ‘kit’. It’s inexpensive and very effective!

No need to reinvent the wheel, here! Simply select a few topics/articles that a bride-to-be might find useful. Flip through some of your bridal magazines for inspiration and then create each tipsheet (in Microsoft Word or Publisher, for example) and dedicate each topic to its own page(s). The possibilities are endless and only limited by your wonderful imagination!).

Here are a few suggestions of what to include in your very own Wedding Idea Kit (and you can call your information packet whatever you want–‘Wedding Information Kit’ is what works for me.)

I’ve indicated with an asterisk the documents that I personally include in my own Wedding Idea Kit:

  • Bio* – A light-hearted gossip-style article that provides background information about the story behind, you, the wedding planner.
  • A list of the wedding planning packages* and services you provide. (If I’m giving this out after the first meeting, I include a detailed list including pricing.)
  • FAQ’s* – Frequently Asked Questions by clients considering working with your company.
  • Wedding Planning ‘Lingo’ – Clarify the definitions of any unfamiliar terms a bride might hear while planning her wedding (e.g. ‘ganache’, ‘off-site’, ‘corkage fee’)
  • Wedding Invitation Tips* – If you sell wedding invitations, your wholesale stationery supplier should already have tips in place for you to share with your customers; if not refer to a wedding etiquette book or bridal magazine to use as a guideline for this tipsheet.
  • Local marriage legal requirements* – Include things like the cost of a marriage license, how far ahead the couple needs to apply for one, what forms of payment the city accepts–you get the idea. Do the legwork for your brides.
  • Seasonal Floral Chart – Create a list of flowers that are locally in bloom during each of the four seasons–spring, summer, winter and fall–and explain that selecting flowers that naturally bloom in each season saves a considerable amount of money. Why not go one step further and include images of each flower?
  • Bridesmaid Gift suggestions – If you sell bridal accessories, make sure to tie in your suggestions with products that you currently offer. List them as your ‘favorites’. Including photos of the gifts you are suggesting is a must!
  • Event Decor Tips – ‘How to transform the church hall into your dream reception’; think of a few key points or better still, why not present this tipsheet in the form of a ‘makeover’ and take pictures of a room before and after you have decorated. If an entire room is not something you readily have access to, do a table makeover. As a professional wedding planner, your local rental company will probably loan you items that you need with just a credit card hold–i.e. no cost. Include some design tips along with your photos.
  • Wedding Planning Organization – Create a bride’s checklist of things she needs to do before her big day arrives; and/or share some pointers on keeping all of her receipts, contracts organized.
  • Wedding No-no’s* – This is always a popular and light-hearted item in my kit. Include faux pas such as ‘including bridal registry information in the wedding invitation’ (don’t do it!).
  • Bridal Party Responsibilities – List some of the roles of the bridal party: Best Man, Maid of Honor, Mother of the Bride, etc. A bulleted list is probably the easiest way to present this tipsheet.
  • Bridal Shower Themes/Tips– Be creative with this one and think beyond the typical shower themes that have been done over and over (yawn!). Your brides can hand this tipsheet to their maid/matron of honor.
  • Wedding Myths/Traditions – Research some popular wedding traditions and share with your prospects how they came about. Be careful not to make this a dry or boring tipsheet. Add a touch of humor if you can.
  • Centerpiece projects/ideas* – I especially like sharing non-floral ideas for reception centerpieces. Bridal magazines and websites are a good source of ideas for this tipsheet.
  • Your most current (printed) newsletter – if you have one.

Again, these suggestions are just to get you thinking. There are tons more ideas you can use. Just remember that you can’t use all of them. Pick out a few of your favorites and get started.

INCLUDE A GIFT CERTIFICATE

If you sell wedding invitations, give prospects an incentive to order their stationery from you and include a gift certificate in your Wedding Idea Kit. (After all, they have to get invitations somewhere, right?!)

  • * Using one of your favorite wedding invitation designs, create the wording offering a discount, have 25-50 printed and invite prospects to a sale or discount ($25% off their order of wedding invitations). Be sure to give them a deadline/date to respond in order to take advantage of the opportunity.
  • * Research various paper companies such as Paper Direct for printable gift certificates.
  • * Purchase a date stamp for use with your Gift Certificates.

SHARING YOUR WEDDING IDEA KIT

Don’t ever be afraid of ‘giving away’ too much information with your Wedding Idea Kit. Creating this kit will position you as THE local wedding expert and brides will gravitate towards you. (Send the kit to a few media contacts, too!)

The beauty of the Wedding Idea Kit is in the design and packaging. Make sure everything looks consistent–same font, some colors, etc.–for each tipsheet and be sure to include your company name and contact info on each page. (If you’re using Microsoft Word, utilize the Header/Footer function for this.)

Make sure the style reflects who you are. And most of all have fun with this!

The wrap-up of your very first face-to-face meeting with a couple is the ideal time to hand them your Wedding Idea Kit. Alternatively, you could mail your kit along with your thank you letter after your meeting.You can also offer your Wedding Idea Kit as an incentive for new brides to contact you. Include a note on your website or on the back of your business cards. Try something like:

“Ask me how you can receive your FREE Wedding Idea Kit”

Potential customers are always pleasantly surprised when I hand them a Wedding Idea Kit and I guarantee you’ll get the same type of response. The best part is that once you’ve spent the time to initially create your kit, the hard work is done. You simply print out the same pages for each potential client.

I bet you can come up with a few ideas that you can use for several tipsheets right now. Check your computer files and your file cabinet drawers.

Don’t put this off! Get a move on and start creating your own wedding idea kit now–you can always add more tipsheets to your kit as your business grows. Let me know how yours turns out.

HAPPY PLANNING!

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Comments on Create a Wedding Idea Kit for Brides

This Post Has 58 Comments
  1. Thanks so much for this information. I have never thought about creating a Free kit for my brides. I love it, great Idea.

  2. Do you have any sample pages of your Kit? I would love to see them! Thank you so much for the insights!

    1. You are a true angel! Thank you so much for freely sharing such valuable information! I’m going to start straight away to put my Wedding Idea Kit together!

      J

    1. Hey there, Natasha!

      Glad you like the concept. Recipients are always pleasantly surprised when they get one. 🙂

  3. I am just getting started in the wedding planning business. I plan to work with budget challenged brides, and this will be such an excellent idea.

    Thanks for all of your knowledge and expertise.

    1. Hi Cheryl,

      Thanks for taking the time to write. 🙂

      Good move on selecting a specialty for your new wedding planning business. Your marketing and branding will be sooo much easier, now. Please, keep me posted.

      –Debbie

      1. I am new getting into the business and I am looking all over for ideas. This is so informant and a great idea. I am going to uses these ideas and make me a binder so that I can show it to my brides.

        Thank you so much for this idea.

  4. OMG…Awesome Idea….you are a superstar for this….do you have samples of this would love to see it. Thanks so much…and to let you know I am “hooked” to your site and all the amazing info…..WOW!

  5. I am going to start creating mine this weekend. I’ve done alot of research so I am confident I can have a very informational Kit. I decided to call mine “In-The-Know”.

    1. Ooooh! I love that name. And, what a great project for the weekend, Athena. Please, let me know how your “In the Know” kit turns out.

      –Debbie

  6. This is a great way to let potential clients know how skilled you are at this industry. I really love this INformation Kit Idea! Thanks for the info!!

    1. Hi Dominique,

      Thanks for your feedback. The key is to make your Idea Kit fun and informative…something that a potential client would want to hold on to. Good luck with yours!

      –Debbie.

  7. I was just wondering why some of your categories for the Information Kit are not bold. I know you said you put an * next to any you use. Great stuff, I love your site. Thank you!

  8. Your wedding kit idea is amazing! I put one together and call it my “Down the Aisle in Style” wedding kit. I have given some to brides to be and have had very positive comments. THANK YOU so much for this marketing idea. It’s great!

  9. I am still in school, getting my Hospitality Degree, and my emphasis is wedding planning! I’m really glad I found your website because I’m still all too new to all of this and need all the help I can get!

  10. I just love your site. Im a newbie when it comes to wedding planning and I just love your thoughts on a variety of topics. I am just so happy I came across your site. It is very informative. Hope I can have access to your wedding idea kit 🙂

  11. What a great way to showcase your knowledge about the event process and the various wedding etiquettes! I second the idea to personalize it, and additionally, always keep your brand in mind because you want the kit to “work for you” in terms of marketing for future brides. For example: a brides maid who works closely with a bride to organize certain details of the event can also benefit from the information provided by clarifying her role as a BM or provide tips/suggestions that make head spearing the bridal shower less stressful. The kit now becomes more than just a few pages of general knowledge, but a valuable resource. Ultimately, the credit comes back to you and hopefully creates FUTURE business with the type of client that YOU WANT to work with. Great post!

    1. You hit the nail on the head, Kay. Love the idea of re-purposing the kit for bridesmaids and others. Makes perfect sense. Great feedback. Thank you.

  12. I am so glad that I found your website today!! This was a great post and I am really looking forward to giving this to my couple at my first in person client meeting with them on Monday. Thanks!!

    1. Hey Angela,

      Thanks for your feedback. Best of luck with your client meeting. The Wedding Idea Kit is a nice surprise for prospects/clients and a great way to break the ice.

  13. I have a guide to creating great invitations that I would be happy to share with people who want to put it in their idea kit along with a gift certificate toward one of my invitation collages. I also have created small collages that are perfect for landing a new client or sending as an anniversary, holiday, or Valentine’s gift. I did a call today about how planners can use my collages to double their clientele and WOW the ones you already had for the Community of Wedding Innovators (COWI) today. There will be a replay. Please visit http://www.cowiconnect/learnfromcowi for information about the replay. To learn more about my collages, invitation guide, and New Year’s sale, and ways you can use collages to build your business, please email me [email protected]

  14. Debbie for President!!!!!

    The information you offered is eye-opening to say the least, Debbie (as usual)!
    As a relatively new Wedding Planner, I’ve learned so much from your videos!
    I’ll stay tuned for more exciting tips, tricks, ideas and motivation!

    1. Hey there, BigDayPlanner,

      How funny! Thanks so much. Happy to know that the info is helping you. 🙂

      –Debbie

  15. I am starting my kit but not sure what it should look like. Do you have samples to share so that I can get a idea of how thing should look.

  16. Please help I meet with a bride in 24 hours and have nothing to present………I have planned weddings in past but now I am leaning toward a business idea is there any you can help me get started???

  17. Great posting Deb!!! I created a wedding planning kit but I was afraid that it provided too much information; until I read this post. I am so happy I came across your site because now I know that the kit is a way to showcase my professionalism and creativeness as a wedding planner. You provided some excellent tips to include in the kit. I will definitely be hard at work this weekend incorporating many. Thank you so much. I really love your blog and audio recordings 🙂

  18. Great info Deb! I have a invitation business (everything for any event, accessories) would this be good for that as I am not a event planner? I would like to be one of those that a planner would like to work with.

    Suggestions?

    Thanks

  19. Hi Debbie! Love your ideas. Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to see the video of your ‘Wedding idea kit’, can you help me with the link?
    Thank you!
    Virginia

  20. I juat stumbled on your website, I am indeed very grateful for this useful piece of information as I have always been scared of dishing out too much informTion but thanks to you. Bless.

  21. Hey Debbie,

    I saw where you would post a sample of your “Wedding Idea Kit” by the end of last February and was wondering if you could send me a link? I love this idea and have been doing this with my clients and they love it, so thanks for sharing!!!

  22. I also just happened upon your website and Im soooo happy I did! Wonderful suggestions. Thank you for being willing to share your expertise with beginners like myself.

    1. Hello Michelle,

      Thanks so much for your feedback. Glad you’re finding the info on this site helpful.

      — Debbie 🙂

  23. Thank you so much for writing this article! This is such a great idea! I’m going to start working on our own wedding kit now. Thanks again! Love your website!

  24. pls i love this article and am new to wedding planning, pls can i get a sample of the wedding idea kit. thanks and how can i categorise my packages

  25. Hi Debbie, I was wondering would this be both a welcome package too? If the package is for prospectives then what would be your suggestion for welcoming brides? I look forward to your answer.

  26. Thanks for the idea,I’m just starting my business and I’d like to add to my page the ”ask how you can get one”message.What can I say when they ask?

    1. Hello Nararet,

      When asked, your reply would depend on what you’re sending. If you are sending a physical wedding idea kit, you’ll need at least a name and a mailing address. If your kit is in a digital format you will need an email address.

      Additionally, as a wedding planner, you should ask the when, where and whom related to the wedding date of the person contacting you.

      Hope this helps.

      – Debbie

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