little farmhouse wedding proposals
Hi folks! I popped on Instagram live last Month after some questions about how we use my floral illustrations in wedding proposals. I was hoping to do some live drawing that night, but it turned into a more of a walk through of our proposals and how we construct them. Still useful, I think.
I'm all about streamlining the process. The part of my job that I love is making - making things with flowers, drawing flowers, photographing flowers, writing about flowers - I think you get it. The paperwork is...well...part of the job that helps me do the things I love. But I certainly don't want to spend too much time on it. What you see below is our current method. We're still relatively new to flowers. Proposals aren't things that seem widely shared, perhaps for good reason. But, in the spirit of lifting each other up and of collaboration over competition, I'm happy to share these ideas with you.
I keep a programmed spreadsheet invoice that automatically adds up orders, calculates taxes, and builds in delivery fees. That makes pricing a cinch. I export an image of the spreadsheet and add it into the proposal document. Here are how the other pieces fall together for us.
I use a template that I built in the web-based platform, Canva. It is a free, easy to use graphic design program that requires no downloads or storage space on your computer. We use it for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest posts that involve text elements - often for notices about sales in our online shop. I also started to keep all of our wedding proposals there, where I duplicate and edit a template to build custom documents. I keep photos of our flowers and greens in labeled folders in my Canva account by color so that I can just drag and drop them right into new proposals.
Cover Page: large image, client name or initials, wedding date
Basic Details: Clients' names, date, ceremony and reception locations and start times, flower color and style preferences, and a list of flowers and greens likely to be in bloom (we take this sheet into the field as a harvest list).
Client Photos: A collection of images supplied by the clients from which to draw inspiration. (Often pulled from a Pinterest link they share with us)
Flower Photos: Between 18 and 27 photos of flowers and greens likely to be available on the wedding day. These are images of flowers from the list on the second page. Together with the couple, we remove any flowers that are absolute "no's" and replace them with alternatives.
Sketches: 2-4 photographs of the custom sketches of arrangements that I make for each client.
Invoice Summary: An image of the clients' invoice spreadsheet with an itemized list of the order and prices.
Contract: A one-page contract with the major expectations for our work together. The primary details include an allowance for changes up until 30 days before the wedding (no subtractions after 30 days out, please), refunds available up to 30 days before the wedding, a deposit due to book the date, rental expectations, a reminder that the Mother Nature makes it impossible for us (or anyone, really) to promise a certain flower type. (The designers will use their best discretion to select alternatives, if necessary.)
To view a sample proposal as a .pdf file, click here.
To edit this document log into your Canva account or set up a new account. Make a copy of the document at this link. Select "Use as Template." Rename your copy and away you go! Be sure to replace our logo with your logo, update the fonts to match your business or use the fonts in this sample, insert your contract, and change the contact information in the footer. Keep a version of the document to use as a template. Make a new copy each time you want to build a new proposal. Add photos of the flowers and greens that are likely in bloom, select one image to serve as your cover design. If you are not sharing sketches, share whatever you normally share -- a mood board, etc. or delete that page. I hope this works. Please let me know if you have any issues or questions. I'm happy to help.
Best,
