Wedding planner questionnaire for clients: 31 questions and where each answer goes

When to send it and how long it should be

Send the questionnaire after the couple has booked you and before the planning kickoff meeting, so you arrive at that meeting having read their answers instead of collecting them.

Keep it to five short sections and about thirty questions. A wall of one hundred questions gets half-answered or abandoned, and the couple is still deciding most of it anyway. Ask for what you need to start, and keep the deeper conversations for the meeting, where a hesitation tells you more than a typed answer.

Tell the couple that “I don’t know yet” is a fine answer. An honest blank is useful: it tells you which decisions are open and which task to schedule first.

How to send it and what to do with the replies

Send the questionnaire in whatever form your own clients already use, such as a shared document, a form from your usual tools or a list you read out on a call, because MyWedding Pro has no questionnaire or form feature.

That is worth saying plainly, because many pages about this topic sell a form builder. The questions are the valuable part. Whichever format you pick, do two things: give the couple a deadline (a week is reasonable), and read the answers before the meeting, marking the three that need a conversation.

The table at the end of this page is organized the other way round from most templates. Instead of grouping questions by topic only, it tells you where each answer goes: the task list, a budget line, the guest list, the vendor list or the day-of timeline. If you cannot name where an answer goes, drop the question.

Section 1, the basics: names, date, venues and a guest estimate

Start with the facts that fix your calendar: names, date, venues and a rough guest count.

Ask whether the date is fixed or still a choice between two, and whether the ceremony and reception venues are booked, being considered or not started. Each answer sets a different first task. A booked venue means you request its rules and access times. An unbooked one means a site visit goes to the top of the list. Ask too whether the ceremony and reception are in the same place, since a move between venues adds transport and a gap in the timeline.

The guest estimate is a range, not a promise. “Between 90 and 110” is enough to size the budget conversation and the first guest list.

Section 2, priorities and budget: ask what matters, not how much to spend

Ask for the couple’s top three priorities first, because they decide how you split the budget before a single quote arrives.

Then ask what they would happily cut. Couples find this easier to answer than a ranking, and the two answers together show you where the money should concentrate. After that, ask for the budget range, who is contributing, and any amount already committed or paid.

Your job here is to record, not to judge. Do not comment on the figure in the questionnaire, and do not suggest amounts per category until you have seen real quotes in their area. Note any payment deadline they already know about, such as a venue deposit, so it goes on the timeline of payments from day one.

Section 3, guests and family: structure first, sensitivities second

Ask about the guest list’s structure before its names: households, children, plus-ones and the people who must be invited.

If the couple already keeps their guest list in a spreadsheet, ask them to send it with the questionnaire. Having the file early saves you from retyping it, and you can see how they have grouped people. Then ask about family situations that will affect seating and photos, such as divorced parents or relatives who do not speak. Phrase it as “Is there anything I should know about how family members get along?” and let them decide how much to share.

Close the section with practical needs: dietary restrictions they already know about, access needs, and out-of-town guests who will need lodging. Each one points at a task you can schedule now rather than discover in the last month.

Section 4, vendors and style: booked, still to book and non-negotiable

List which vendors are already booked, which are still needed, and which the couple wants to work with or avoid, so your vendor list starts with the right rows.

A couple who has already paid a photographer deposit has told you something about their priorities and their timeline. Ask for the contract details only for vendors already booked, and treat any vendor they love as a referral to contact, not a decision to approve.

For style, ask for three words and a handful of images instead of a long description. Add one question about cultural or religious traditions, since those shape the ceremony order and the day-of timeline, and one about the must-haves: the one or two things that, if missing, would make the day feel wrong to them.

When you reach the vendor shortlist, the vendor contact list template shows the columns you will want for the day itself.

Section 5, communication: channel, decision makers and response time

Ask how the couple wants to be reached, who makes the final call, and how quickly they usually reply, because those three answers prevent most misunderstandings later.

Some couples live in text messages, some answer only email, and some want one weekly call. Write it down and use it. Ask who decides when the two partners disagree or when a parent is paying: the honest answer is sometimes “we both do, but we check with my mother,” and it is better to know that now.

Finish by asking who else you may need to speak to, such as a parent or the friend who will help on the day. That list feeds the contacts on your day-of timeline, and the day-of coordinator checklist shows what those people will be asked to do.

Turning the answers into a project: tasks, budget, guests and vendors

Each section feeds one part of the project: the basics set your task dates, the priorities set your budget lines, the guest answers start the guest list and the vendor answers start the vendor list.

In MyWedding Pro, a new wedding is created with the couple’s first names and starts from your own templates: your tasks, with due dates set from the wedding date, and your budget lines. So the date answer tells you when the clock starts, and the priorities answer tells you which of your budget lines to adjust. The day-of timeline of a new wedding arrives ready to adjust, which is where your venue and ceremony answers go.

The guest list is held by household, with categories and an age range, and each guest is invited to some moments of the day only. If the couple sent a spreadsheet (Excel .xlsx or CSV), it can be imported into the wedding’s project: the columns are recognized, households are formed, and you check everything before saving. Importing the same file again does not create duplicates.

Vendors go in with a status (contacted, quote received, confirmed, declined) and attached documents. Budget lines show the quoted amount, what is paid and what remains.

Inviting the couple so they complete their own details

Once the project holds their answers, invite the couple from the card of their wedding, and let them complete the guest list and details themselves.

The invitation email carries your agency’s name. The couple then sees the whole project of their wedding: guests and replies, budget, seating chart, timeline and vendors, and they can complete it. They do not see your other weddings, your templates or your subscription. On the list of your weddings, each card shows whether the couple is connected or the invitation is pending, with a button to resend it.

This changes the questionnaire from a one-way form into a first draft. You have entered the facts you gathered, and the couple corrects and extends them where they know best, such as who sits where or which cousin is vegetarian. For how this works across your clients, see a client portal for your couples, and for keeping each wedding apart when seasons overlap, managing multiple weddings.