Manage a wedding from A to Z with Joinways

A wedding takes months to prepare. The couple visits several venues, changes the guest count, adds a brunch, and expects clear answers at every step. Details slip easily between emails, a spreadsheet and paper notes.

This guide follows a wedding in Joinways, from the first inquiry to the balance received. The wedding lives in a single event that holds the conversations, quotes, BEO, tasks and files. Each step links to the article that details the screens.

What you'll learn

• Reply fast and hold the date with no risk of double-booking.
• Enter a two-day wedding, with hours and rooms for each day.
• Price it with options the couple ticks themselves, get it signed and invoice the deposit.
• Handle a change after signature with an amendment.
• Prepare the day with the BEO, the client form and vendors.

Prerequisites

• The Pro plan or the 30-day trial: quotes, e-signature and invoicing aren't included in the Free plan. During the trial, three e-signatures in total.
• Your spaces with their "Capacity per layout" (banquet, cocktail…) and their "Set-up and tear-down": see Create your spaces.
• Your catalog: venue hire, menus, drinks, furniture, and your wedding packages: see Sell bundled packages.
• The venue's deposit and security deposit, set in "Settings" > "Venues" > the venue > "Proposals & invoicing".
• Recommended: the "Event venue" preset in "Settings" > "Event stages".

1. Receive the inquiry and reply

A couple often writes to several venues on the same day. A fast reply, with a checked date, makes the difference.

1. Open the inquiry in "Inquiries". Check the "Extracted data": date or period ("sometime in June"), guest count, budget.
2. Look at the badge next to the date: "Available", or "1 conflict" with the details on hover.
3. Reply with the reply arrow (or R): "Reply" loads your "Info request" template. Offer a visit and ask one or two targeted questions rather than a long questionnaire.

If the couple sends their request again, Joinways records it as a follow-up ("Follow-up" badge) instead of creating a duplicate. With automatic triage, the Joinways agent prepares the reply as soon as the inquiry arrives; you review and approve it before anything is sent. See Process an incoming inquiry and Automatic triage of new inquiries.

2. Hold the date with an option

Never promise a date without holding it in Joinways. The option protects it while the couple decides.

1. Click "Convert" (or C). The form opens as an "Option", with the venue, the date, the client and the guest count. Fix anything the AI misread: this is where the correction is saved.
2. Choose the spaces (barn, garden, reception room). With none chosen, the event takes the "Entire venue". The form flags events already placed in the same spaces and the venue's closures.
3. Click "Convert to event". On the calendar, the option shows as dashed on its spaces.

An option doesn't expire on its own. Give the couple a deadline (7 to 10 days, for example) and create a dated task to follow up: see Tasks and follow-up. With stages, set "Visit scheduled" as soon as the visit is booked.

Tip: a second inquiry arrives for a date already on option? Create it as an "Option" too, then choose the "Second hold" stage in the status menu. If the first option falls through, you know whom to call. See Track progress with event stages.

3. Enter both days and the rooms

A wedding often runs over two days: ceremony and dinner on Saturday, brunch on Sunday.

1. On the event, click the dates in the "Properties" block. Select the Saturday, then the Sunday.
2. Turn on "Different hours each day" and enter each day: for example 15:00 → 02:00 on Saturday (an end before the start finishes the next day, up to 06:00) and 11:00 → 15:00 on Sunday.
3. In a venue with several spaces, the "Room schedule" block books each room for its slot: the ceremony in the garden, drinks on the terrace, dinner in the barn. Each slot can have its own layout.

These hours are used everywhere: calendar, conflict checks, quote, BEO and calendar sync. See Create and structure an event.

4. Price the wedding

1. In the "Proposals" tab, click "New proposal", then "Empty proposal". "Generate with AI" instead prepares a draft from your comparable signed events.
2. Add catalog items: venue hire, meal package, drinks, furniture. A per-person item takes the guest count as its quantity; a wedding package saved as a package comes in as a single line.
3. Set as "Option" what the couple can add (brunch, fireworks, rooms): the line leaves the total and the couple ticks it on their page. "Offer" sets a line to zero while still showing its value.
4. Read the minimum spend warning if it appears, then click "Send".

If no follow-up is in place, the sent quote offers "Enable the day 3 / 7 / 12 sequence". The tracking strip switches to "Viewed" as soon as the couple opens their page. See Create a professional quote.

5. Get it signed and collect the deposit

1. The couple opens the link, ticks their options, clicks "Sign proposal" and enters the 6-digit code received by email ("Verify and sign"). No account is needed.
2. The quote moves to "Signed" and the event to "Confirmed". The couple receives their signed copy by email.
3. On the quote, click "Invoice" > "Create deposit". The window uses the deposit set for the venue; check the due date, then issue the invoice.
4. When the transfer arrives, click "Mark as paid". The "Billing" block shows what's collected and what's left to invoice. With Stripe, the couple pays from their page and the payment records itself.

Your venue keeps its terms in a separate contract? Choose "In a separate contract" in the venue's "Proposals & invoicing", then "Generate the contract" on the accepted quote. See Get a quote signed online, Invoice a signed quote and Generate and sign a rental contract.

Important: to validate each signed wedding yourself, turn off "Confirm the event on signature" for that venue, in "Settings" > "Workflows", "Built-in" tab. The signed event then stays an option, marked "Signed, to validate". See The Workflows page: your workflows and built-in automations.

6. Handle a change with an amendment

The couple adds twenty guests or changes the menu after signing? The signed quote is locked: the change goes through an amendment.

1. Open the signed quote and click "Edit through amendment #1".
2. Adjust the lines. Added lines show "New", changed lines "Changed", and the pre-tax difference is displayed.
3. Click "Send amendment". The couple signs it with a code, like the quote.

Once signed, the amendment becomes the contract: its hours apply to the event and "Create balance" works out the remainder on the new total. See Manage amendments to a signed quote.

7. Prepare the day

• BEO: "BEO" tab, "Proposal" view on the right. "Add all to the BEO" carries each line into its section; a line tied to a slot becomes a schedule item, with its room. See Prepare a BEO.
• Client form: "Form" view, then "Send by email". The couple gives the running order, the person to call on site and dietary needs; "Carry over all" files each answer in its section. See The BEO client form.
• Vendors: "Vendors" section, "Add a vendor" for the caterer, the DJ, the photographer or the florist. "Notify" sends them their link: they confirm, propose their menu and upload their invoice. See Work with vendors.
• Staff: "Staff" section, "Add a staff member", with each person's role and hours. See Assign staff to an event.
• Sharing: "Share" gives the full "Team" link and the "Client" link. From their link, the couple can "Approve the BEO".

The links always show the latest version: a last-minute change doesn't mean resending the BEO, and you can see who has read it since.

8. Wrap up after the wedding

1. Click "Create balance", then "Mark as paid" when the payment arrives.
2. Write the debrief in the "Notes" tab: what went well, what to improve.
3. Leave the event "Confirmed": it counts in your reports and serves as a reference for AI-generated quotes. Archiving hides it everywhere.

With the "Event venue" preset, "Deposit received" sets itself when the deposit is collected, and "Done" once the event is over.

Example: a 120-guest wedding at an estate

Léa and Marc write to the estate for a Saturday in June, 120 guests. The badge shows "Available"; the manager replies within the hour with the "Info request" template and offers a visit. After the visit, she converts the inquiry into an option on the barn and the garden, adds the Sunday for the brunch with "Different hours each day", and creates a follow-up task in ten days.

The quote uses the catalog's wedding package, with the brunch and rooms as options. The couple ticks the brunch and signs one evening from their phone: the event moves to "Confirmed" and the manager invoices the deposit. Three weeks before, ten extra guests come in through an amendment signed the same day. The couple fills in the client form, the caterer confirms from their link, and the balance goes out the week after the wedding.

Troubleshooting

The availability badge doesn't show on the inquiry

Cause: the inquiry has no venue or no exact date ("sometime in June"). Solution: check the date on the calendar, or convert the inquiry choosing the venue and date: the form then flags conflicts.

The signed wedding stays an option

Cause: "Confirm the event on signature" is off for this venue. Solution: click "Validate the booking" at the top of the event, or turn the setting back on in "Workflows", "Built-in" tab.

I can't edit the quote lines

Cause: the quote is signed, so its items are locked. Solution: click "Edit through amendment #1" and get the amendment signed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I avoid booking two weddings on the same day?

Hold the date as an "Option" as soon as the inquiry is serious. The inquiry badge, the creation form and the calendar flag any option or confirmed event in the same spaces.

Does Joinways block a second booking in the same room?

No: it shows it as a conflict and lets you decide. Only closures can block creation, if the venue chose "Block creation". See Manage availability and avoid double-bookings.

When should I invoice the deposit?

Right after signature, with "Invoice" > "Create deposit". The signature confirms the event; the deposit collected secures the date.

Can the couple choose their options themselves?

Yes. A line set as "Option" stays visible outside the total; the couple ticks it on their page before signing, and the total updates.

How do I follow up on an unsigned quote without thinking about it?

Turn on the follow-up sequence offered on the sent quote, or create a workflow on the "Proposal sent, no reply" trigger. See Workflow examples to copy.

See also

• Manage availability and avoid double-bookings
• Get a quote signed online
• Prepare a BEO
• Work with vendors
• Which industry guide should you follow?