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Using Proposals for Wedding Photography
Light Blue’s proposals feature brings everything you need to book your wedding clients into one simple, professional process. A proposal can present your packages, optional extras, contract, booking form, and payment options all in one place, giving your couples a smooth experience and saving you time.
This guide walks you through how to set up and use proposals in a typical wedding photography workflow.
Why Proposals Are Ideal for Wedding Photographers
Proposals help you present your services clearly and make booking effortless for your clients.
You can:
- Showcase your packages and optional add-ons, such as albums or engagement sessions.
- Upsell extra services naturally by recommending certain packages or offering attractive add-ons.
- Combine contracts, forms, and booking fees into a single seamless experience.
- Automatically generate quotes, invoices, and payment reminders as soon as your client books.
Your clients can review everything, make their selections, sign the contract, and pay their booking fee, all from one link.
Step 1: Creating a Proposal Template
Before sending your first proposal, create a proposal template in your preferences.
Head to: Preferences → Proposals Templates → Add Record.
Name your template something like Wedding Proposal and choose the appropriate price list (e.g., Weddings).
For a full breakdown of template options, see our How to Set Up a Proposal Template guide.
Step 2: Build Your Packages and Add-Ons
A wedding proposal typically includes:
- A Packages block (required)
- One or more Optional Add-Ons blocks
- A Summary block (required)
Your Packages block presents your main collections, for example:
- Collection One: 6 hours coverage
- Collection Two: 8 hours coverage + album
- Collection Three: 10 hours coverage + pre-wedding shoot
You can make one package your recommended option to subtly guide clients toward it.
Your Optional Add-Ons blocks might include:
- Additional hours of coverage
- Drone photography
- Album upgrades or extra pages
- Parent albums
You can even make certain add-ons conditional, so that they only appear when a specific package (for example, one including an album) is selected.
💡 For more detail on package and add-on options, see Packages, Add-Ons & Summary Blocks in Your Proposal.
Step 3: Add Your Booking Form and Contract
To capture extra details and confirm the booking, you can include:
- A Booking Form (e.g., your Wedding Information Form)
- A Contract (e.g., your Wedding Photography Agreement)
Set these up under the Optional Stages tab in your proposal template.
You can create or edit your templates under Preferences → Form Templates and Preferences → Contract Templates.
Step 4: Set Your Booking Fee and Payment Schedule
Most wedding photographers take a booking fee to secure the date.
You can either:
- Charge a fixed fee (e.g. £400), or
- Charge a percentage of the total amount (e.g. 20%).
Then set up a payment schedule for the remaining balance, such as:
- 50% two months before the wedding
- 50% one month before the wedding
Light Blue will automatically create invoices and can send payment reminders to your client.
🔗 See Proposal Booking Fee & Invoice Options for setup details.
Step 5: Customise Your Proposal Emails
You can choose which email templates are used when:
- Publishing your proposal (sending it to your client)
- Sending a confirmation after they’ve completed it
- Sending reminders if they haven’t responded
We recommend duplicating Light Blue’s default templates and tailoring them for weddings, adding your own voice and branding.
You can adjust these settings in the Emails section of the Optional Stages tab of your proposal template.
Step 6: Send a Proposal to a Client
Once your template is ready:
- Open the couple’s Shoot record
- Go to the Activity tab and click the green + button.
- Select Add Proposal and choose your Wedding Proposal template.
- Send your proposal using your chosen email template.
Your client will receive a branded proposal link where they can choose their package and add-ons, complete your form, sign the contract, and pay their booking fee, all in one flow.
Light Blue will then automatically:
- Create a quote with their selected items,
- Generate an invoice and mark the booking fee as paid,
- Set the shoot’s status to Confirmed,
- Apply the shoot date and shoot confirmation workflows.
💡 For more detail on sending and managing proposals, see Sending & Receiving a Proposal.
Step 7: (Optional) Add Proposals to a Workflow
You can even include proposals in a workflow to automate your process, for example, sending a proposal automatically after an enquiry comes in.
To do this, go to Preferences → Workflows, select the relevant enquiry workflow, add a new item, and choose Add Proposal.
For wedding photography, we recommend either adding a short delay to allow time to confirm availability before it’s sent, or sending the proposal manually.
Step 8: Preview and Test
Before sending real proposals, use Preview in Browser to check your branding, images, and layout.
You can also send a test proposal to yourself to make sure the flow feels smooth and professional.
Summary
Proposals give wedding photographers a simple way to:
- Present packages and extras beautifully
- Upsell naturally
- Combine contracts, booking forms, and payments
- Automate quotes, invoices, and payment reminders
Once set up, they save time on admin and create a seamless, polished booking experience for every couple.