Guide
How to send a wedding client questionnaire by email (with a script you can copy)
The questionnaire only works if the couple fills it in. Most delays come from the email around it: sent too early, too long, or without a deadline. Here is a simple approach and a script you can adapt.
When to send it
Four to six weeks before the wedding is a good default. Earlier, and the couple does not know their timeline or family list yet. Later, and you are planning the week of the wedding. For long engagements, send a short “getting to know you” form at booking and the full planning questionnaire closer to the date.
What the email should do
- Say why it matters to them, not to you: “so nothing important is missed.”
- Give a deadline with a date, not “when you can.”
- Say how long it takes, honestly.
- Say what to do if they do not know an answer yet.
A script you can copy
Subject: Your wedding photo plan: 15 minutes before [date]
Hi [names],
Your wedding is six weeks away, so it is time to plan the photos. The questionnaire below takes about 15 minutes. It covers your timeline, the family photos you want, and anything with a story we should not miss.
Could you send it back by [date, two weeks from now]? If you do not know an answer yet, write “not sure” and we will figure it out on our planning call.
[link or attachment]
Thank you, [your name]
Following up
If it is not back by the deadline, send one short, friendly note: “Just checking this did not get lost. It takes about 15 minutes, and I would like to have your family list before [date].” If it is still missing a week later, ask for a 15 minute call instead and fill it in together. Many couples prefer talking to typing.
After it comes back
Reply within a day or two to say thanks and confirm one or two things you noticed: “I see your grandmother will need to sit, so we will do her photos first.” It shows the couple you read it, and it catches mistakes early. Then turn the answers into your timeline and shot list.
Keep the form short
If couples regularly skip parts of your questionnaire, it is too long. Cut anything you can learn from the planner, the contract, or the timeline. See what to ask in a wedding photography questionnaire for the questions that matter.
If the full questionnaire feels too long to send at once, split it into three short sends across the months before the wedding.
Send a questionnaire couples finish. The client questionnaire is a printable, editable HTML file ($19). The studio kit adds the client emails, a shot list, and forms ($39).
Related: Questions to ask wedding clients
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- Split a wedding questionnaire into three sendsWhy one long wedding questionnaire goes unanswered, and how to split it into three short sends across the months before the wedding, with emails to copy.
- Wedding photographer client onboarding checklistA dated onboarding checklist for wedding photographers: what to send and ask at booking, 6 months, 3 months, 6 weeks, the week of, and after.
- Wedding photographer inquiry reply emails to copyFive copy-ready emails for a wedding inquiry: first reply, date unavailable, two follow-ups and the booking confirmation, plus rules for using them.
- Wedding client questionnaire: what to askWhat a wedding photographer should ask before the booking call: six groups of questions, and which answers change the timeline.