But we were told we could have the courtyard for drinks
A couple booked with your sales manager eighteen months ago. At the show-round, they were told drinks could be in the courtyard even though their package normally uses the orangery, and that their dog could be part of the ceremony. The sales manager has since moved on. The couple's first meeting with the wedding coordinator is friendly until they mention the courtyard. Nothing about it is in the booking.
The coordinator now has to decide whether to honour a promise she cannot verify, and the couple's trust has taken a knock at the start of their planning.
Promises live in conversations
Sales conversations are where couples share what matters to them, and where venues make small commitments to win the booking. These are rarely written into the booking system, because the system has fields for date, package and price, not for promises and preferences.
- Show-round notes are in a notebook or the salesperson's head.
- Agreed extras and exceptions are in email threads.
- Discounts are recorded as a price without the reason or the terms.
- Personal details that matter (access needs, family situations) are not written anywhere shared.
- Handover happens months after booking, when memory has faded.
The start of planning feels like starting over
Couples expect the venue to remember what they said. When the coordinator does not know, they feel unheard, and the planning relationship starts on the back foot. Forgotten promises create disputes, sometimes about money. Coordinators spend the first meeting reconstructing the sale instead of planning the wedding.
How we build a sales-to-coordinator handover
- From the first enquiry, each couple has one record that carries through booking and planning, instead of separate sales and planning files.
- Show-round notes are captured on a phone during or after the visit, and the enquiry form answers are attached.
- At booking, a short handover form must be completed: agreed exceptions, extras promised, discounts with reasons, important personal details and anything the couple is worried about.
- Emails with the couple are linked to their record, and a summary of commitments made in them is suggested for the salesperson to confirm.
- The coordinator receives the handover as a single page before first contact, and confirms they have read it.
- The couple can see a summary of what was agreed in their planning area, which gives them a chance to correct anything early.
| Handover item | Example |
|---|---|
| Agreed exceptions | Courtyard for drinks instead of orangery |
| Promises | Dog included in the ceremony |
| Discounts | Midweek offer, with its terms |
| Personal details | Grandparent needs step-free access |
| Worries | Concerned about rain for outdoor ceremony |
A first planning meeting that picks up where sales left off
The coordinator opens with, I see you have been promised the courtyard for drinks and your dog is joining the ceremony, let us plan how that works. The couple feels known. Nothing is argued. If the salesperson leaves, the promises do not leave with them.
Managers benefit too. When every discount and exception is written down with a reason at booking, you can see what is being given away to win weddings, and whether the same concession keeps coming up often enough to become part of a package.
Is your venue losing details at handover?
- Different people sell and plan weddings.
- Couples have mentioned promises the coordinator did not know about.
- Show-round notes are not stored anywhere shared.
- Discounts are recorded without their reasons or terms.
- Couples repeat their story at the first planning meeting.