Reply fast, answer what they asked, and end with one easy question. That's most of it. A couple who sends an inquiry on The Knot or WeddingWire is usually sending the same message to several vendors in your category, and the first useful reply tends to become the conversation they keep.
WeddingPro, the company behind both sites, says up to 50% of bookings go to the vendor who responds first, and that following up within 5 minutes makes a vendor 9 times more likely to convert. Read WeddingPro's guide. Below is a simple way to hit that speed without living in the app, plus reply templates you can adjust for your business.
Where the leads show up
On The Knot, inquiries land in the Leads tab. On WeddingWire, they land in the Messages tab. Both show the wedding date and the guest count, which are the two details you need before you say anything about price.
Both sites also let you save Quick Replies, which are editable templates. WeddingPro recommends replying from your storefront rather than from your own email, because email replies can end up in spam. Set up the templates below as Quick Replies so the first answer takes a few seconds. The names, prices and policies in them are examples; use your own.
How fast is fast enough
WeddingPro's own advice is to reply within a few hours if you can, within 12 hours at the outside, and never let an inquiry sit past 18 to 24 hours. See their reply guide.
Treat 24 hours as the floor, not the goal. Most inquiries come in at night and on weekends, when couples finally sit down to plan. If you work events on Saturdays, Saturday's inquiries are the ones most likely to wait until Monday, and by then the couple has heard from everyone else.
What a good first reply does
- Uses their names and their date. It proves you read the inquiry and aren't pasting the same note to everyone.
- Says whether the date is open. This is the first thing they want to know. If you're booked, say so kindly and suggest someone who isn't.
- Answers every question they asked. If they asked about price, give a starting price or a range. Dodging it reads as expensive.
- Asks one easy question. Venue, ceremony time, or what matters most to them. One question, not a form.
- Stays short. WeddingPro suggests keeping replies under 200 words. Long replies get skimmed on a phone.
Template 1: the date is open
Hi Priya and Sam, congratulations! I just checked and Saturday, June 13 is open for us. For about 150 guests, most couples go with our 4-hour package, which starts at $1,450 and includes setup at your venue. Where are you getting married? I can tell you exactly what fits the space.
Swap in your own package and starting price. If your pricing truly depends on details, give a range and say what moves it up or down.
Template 2: the date is booked
Hi Jordan and Lee, congratulations, and thank you for reaching out. I'm sorry, we're already booked on October 3. If your date is flexible, Friday the 2nd and Sunday the 4th are both open. If not, I'm happy to send you the name of a great vendor I trust.
This reply still earns something. Couples remember the vendor who helped them even when the date didn't work, and some of them move their rehearsal dinner or after party to you instead.
Template 3: they asked a lot of questions
Hi Alex, great questions. 1. Yes, we travel to Lakeview Farm, there's no travel fee within 40 miles. 2. Setup takes about 45 minutes and we arrive before guests do. 3. A 30% retainer holds the date and the rest is due a week before. Would it help if I sent the full package list by email so you can share it with your partner?
Numbering the answers makes a long reply easy to read and shows you didn't skip anything.
Template 4: the inquiry only says "pricing?"
Hi Maria, happy to help! Our wedding packages start at $1,200 for 3 hours. To give you an exact quote I just need two things: your venue and roughly how many guests. What do you have so far?
A follow-up plan for couples who go quiet
Silence after a first reply is normal. Couples are comparing vendors, waiting on their partner or just busy. WeddingPro suggests reaching out again within a few days and ending with a question. A schedule like this works for most vendors:
- Day 1: "Just making sure my message came through. Did you have a venue picked out yet?"
- Day 3: Answer the question they probably have. What's included, how setup works, or how the retainer works.
- Day 7: Share honest availability. "June 13 is still open. Want me to hold it while you decide?" Only say it if it's true.
- Day 14: A last, friendly note, then stop until they come back.
Stop the moment they reply. If they've moved the conversation to text or email, follow up there instead of in the app. We go deeper on timing in why leads go cold, and you can borrow wording from our quote follow-up text templates.
Keep track so nothing slips
On WeddingWire you can mark each lead as pending, replied, booked or discarded. Use it. On a busy week, the leads that get lost are the ones you meant to come back to. A quick status sweep every Monday tells you who needs a follow-up and who's done.
Also keep an eye on your own reply time for a week. Write down when each inquiry came in and when you answered. Most vendors are surprised by the number, especially for weekend leads.
When you can't answer fast enough
If you're running events most weekends, you physically can't reply within minutes to every couple. That's the gap an AI sales agent fills. Jason replies to new inquiries within a minute by text and email, checks the date against the bookings and blackout dates you set, sends your packages and follows up on the schedule you approve. Big or unusual weddings get handed to you with every detail already collected.
See how it works for photo booth, DJ and event rental companies, and read how fast you should respond to a lead for the wider research on speed.