Congrats boss lady, you’ve gotten that deposit and signed contract! Now, how do you welcome your new couple? Enter the lovely welcome packet.

I’ve seen so many posts about these from photographers, but very few specific to planners. Since we are so involved in every step of the process, what can we give our clients up front to show them we are excited and offer additional value at the same time? Today, I’m going to share what I send to our HHE couples to officially welcome them into the family!

While there are many options and I am sure this will evolve for future couples as our business grows, I am a big fan of the packaged folder option. It allows me to send a letter, brand it up a bit and provide a few fun surprises as well! For me, the intent of our welcome packet is to surprise our clients with a sweet gesture of gratitude, while also providing them useful and important information. What does that include? I’m so glad you asked!!

Welcome Letter – In addition to a hand written note, what better way to say thank you than to tell your couples how gosh darn excited you are?!

Office Policies – This is a wonderful opportunity to remind your brides about your policies. They should also be outlined in your contract, but let’s keep it simple for them. This policy sheet is straight forward and clear. I include office hours, meeting guidelines for scheduling or rescheduling, and communication expectations. I also include a copy of their signed contract for reference.

Key Dates – Again, I like to simplify things as much as possible and make things easily accessible. If there are dates that you know are milestones for action, note them here. I also include payment schedules.

Worksheets – These will look different depending on your workflow and your client’s individual needs. Some examples I enclose are a vendor contact sheet, budget management tips, top three budget priorities, timeline builders, how to tell your love story and many more. Get creative and add some surprising options in here that will help inspire your couples!

To Do Checklist – All of our collections come with an online portal and to do list. However, some brides prefer to go analog (or use both). The one included in the welcome packet is higher level to again, keep it simple.

Social Media Card – We all LOVE social media! Those hashtags you researched and use all the time mean something, right? How will your couples know what to use when they are raving about you and looking for something you have done if we don’t tell them. Help yourself and empower them to use your hashtags, to follow your media pages and spread the word about your amazing business! They already love you, so request that they help you spread the love!

Branded Packaging & a few Surprises! You didn’t think that I would just send this all in a basic folder, did you? I order these luxurious pocket folders and tuck a few surprises in it. A small token of my gratitude from the Southern Weddings Shop, some fun confetti and all tied up with a sweet bow!

What kind of items do you include in your welcome packets? How do you bring your clients on? I’d love to hear how we are all loving our clients to the best of our abilities!!

xoxo, Jenn