The Lunch Club Podcast
A space for wedding vendors and creatives. We are offering you a seat at the table as we share all the behind the scenes and details to get you feeling creative and celebrated.
The Lunch Club Podcast
Client Onboarding + Protecting Yourself with Contracts
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
A wedding inquiry can feel exciting and exhausting at the same time, especially when you’re juggling design work, proposals, and a calendar that never really shuts off. We get it. So we’re laying out our full wedding florist onboarding process, step by step, and sharing the exact systems we use to qualify leads without wasting hours on the wrong fit.
We talk about welcome guides as a simple, powerful way to introduce your brand, explain your booking process, and share realistic starting numbers. We also get honest about minimum spend, why “reasonably priced” means nothing, and how sharing pricing expectations upfront can actually increase your booking rate by filtering out mass inquiries. You’ll hear how we handle consult calls (Zoom, screen sharing, Pinterest boards and all), how we structure proposals with multiple tiers, and why ranges can reduce sticker shock early while giving clients room to upgrade later.
Then we get into contracts, boundaries, and the red flags we wish we’d taken seriously sooner. We unpack clauses like exclusivity (yes, real or faux), substitutions, payment terms, cancellation and postponement language, a natural life cycle disclaimer, and a price fluctuation clause for tariffs, shortages, and market changes. We also share why reading key contract sections out loud can prevent “I didn’t know” drama and protect both sides.
If you’re building a wedding business and want a calmer booking process that still feels personal, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a fellow vendor, and leave a review with the biggest onboarding or contract question you want us to answer next.
Welcome And Release Schedule
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to the Lunch Club podcast. We are so excited you're here with us. I'm Johanna.
SPEAKER_00And I'm Andrea, and we are so excited to be here with you today.
SPEAKER_01So last week we chatted about our little flower business and kind of some of the not so fun things we hear from other people and the ways that we want to take ourselves more seriously as women in business. Um as a reminder, our episodes are coming out every other week. I did have some people asking where our episode was last week. I know. I know. So every other week, uh you'll get a new episode on Wednesday at noon. So you can sit with us, have your lunch, and chat.
SPEAKER_00Perfect. Um we are so excited for this week's topic. I feel like we're kind of slowly diving into the nitty-gritty, like obviously just trying to not waterboard you with information. But like this is, you know, the whole point in us talking about this is we don't want to gatekeep. We have felt that frustration far too long, and we're not doing that. So this week's episode, I'm very excited about. I think there'll be a lot of anticipation. This is going to be our onboarding process and a little bit of talking through our contracts, just a little bit, and then we'll probably have a part two for contracts because there is so much that we can discover with it now. But we'll give you we'll give you a little taste test this week at least.
SPEAKER_01But let's start with our highs and lows of the week.
Highs And Lows As Owners
SPEAKER_01Andrea, do you want to go first?
SPEAKER_00Yes. Um, my high this week was that I actually took a vacation for myself. Yeah, yeah. Um, as business owners, you know that it's really hard to walk away or to make time for yourself. And maybe not everyone, but I struggle with this a lot. I just get so consumed by like the excitement of booking that rarely do I leave myself time to like be a human being and have a leisurely moment.
SPEAKER_01It's so hard to turn down the work. Like it's I'm doing it right now. It's October. I know with October. I'm like, I just keep saying yes, and I need it needs to stop. I need to be like, okay, no, it's hard. But you did a good job and you were gone for seven days. I literally felt like you were gone for four weeks. Like, I was like, Where is she?
SPEAKER_00And like full disclosure, I was definitely still working. Like, I was doing emails, I was, you know, doing a little bit back and forth, but I really tried to like push anything off that could wait, um, and stuff like that. So that was a high, was like actually getting a second to like have that moment. Okay, and my low is probably that it was harder for me to step away than it should have been. But I actually watched this like I don't know, like reel or something recently that was saying like you should like take vacations to like kind of prove to yourself like where your weak spots are because then you can work on your like you know back systems, and so I think I need to just be better at you know training my assistant so that I can a hundred percent get out of town and like there would be no, but it's just it's hard for me to get out of control. Like, I know that I struggle with that.
SPEAKER_01Ugh, it's so hard, it's so hard. I feel like so okay, this kind of goes into my low. Um I did not do a good job delegating. I had two weddings back to back, and I should have hired more people, and the people that I did hire, I should have had them do more slash stay longer or stay more days throughout the week because I was just really, really tired. And like the the specific low was I think the night before the first wedding. I just was like, I can't do this. I'm so tired, I can't do this. Like two days in a row, and it ended up being great. And by the night, like by the next night, the first wedding went beautifully, and then by the next night, I was jiving and grooving, and like that's kind of where my high was when I made the bouquet. So after the first wedding, I came home. Christian stayed to do cleanup. I came home, and then I made my bouquet for the next day, and that's the really pretty one that I sent you so many pictures of.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it was stunning.
SPEAKER_01I made it, and it was like it just like all worked perfectly. It didn't take me forever, it just like I knew what needed to happen. I was like in the flow state, and it felt really good. And then um, if I may add a baby high, a second high was I got to go to the beach. A secondary, yeah, I got to go to the beach, and that's just always I do. It's just like I'm there and I'm like, oh yeah, life makes sense, it all makes sense here. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yay! Well, I'm glad you could just make the most of it, and I think that's kind of like we'll tie into contracts a little bit, but you learn something after every event, and I feel like that's really why I'm always adjusting my contract. At least that's something I do. I haven't had to adjust it in several months, but for sure the last first three years I was adding to my contracts like almost weekly, yeah, like based on something that happened, and not necessarily always the bad, but just like oh yeah, like they asked me to set up chairs, and I didn't really know how to like go about saying no. Oh, boundaries, you know, that's you need to have the lows. So I love it.
Onboarding From Inquiry To Call
SPEAKER_01Okay, so let's start chatting about our process of taking on clients. Um, we're gonna just pretend like somebody has already filled out our inquiry form. Yeah. Does that feel good?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Do you want to go first? Do you want me to go first?
SPEAKER_01Um, I'll do mine. I feel like it's generally the same, but even like within my system, I kind of tweak it for different clients, like depending on their needs.
SPEAKER_00And how like many versions of your onboarding process have you had? Have you always done it this way that you're gonna tell us, or have you kind of adapted it to be in this, like, you know, 2.0?
SPEAKER_01Definitely adapted.
The Welcome Guide That Qualifies
SPEAKER_01Um, like I do have a welcome guide now, and that's something you kind of taught me. You want to talk about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, well, I actually learned about the welcome guide from Katie from Little Lady. She's like rebranded now, and I'm I think it's Eta K designs. Um, but she I was kind of struggling, um, gosh, like three years ago, maybe two years ago, I think closer to three. Um, my onboarding process just was not I just wasn't actually getting as many inquiries as I had been. And I was trying to kind of poke holes, like, well, what is it? And so she was like, Oh, I have been doing this welcome guide, and that's really helped. And so this welcome guide is basically like a introductory, like like a blurb, just like, hi, this is me. I have a picture of myself. The second page is about like the booking process. So there's literally like three steps. It's like you inquire, we have a consultation, you sign and pay. Because in a nutshell, like that's what it is, and they want people to kind of know what to expect. Um, and then I have a little bit of basic pricing, and it does give like a blurb of like this doesn't include labor, this doesn't include tax, like and like these prices might change, but like this will give you like a little bit. Then I have like a little page of like basically like a miniature portfolio, basically. Um, and so that's what I sent I've sent that to planners. Like, that's something that I'll do at the end of each season, whether it's a planner I worked with that I liked and I want to work with again, or if I'm trying to like reach out to new people, I'll send that welcome guide to the planners and be like, hey, like here's my pricing, like you know, here's a little bit about me, and that's kind of something I feel like helps going into this season because then it's kind of like, oh, this is something I can literally look at, and I don't have to like inquire with you to kind of know like what I'm gonna be spending. So that's kind of like where the welcome guide was born, and I'll talk about it more later on like how I integrate it in my process.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, yeah, because I I haven't really sent it to planners, that's smart, I should
Minimums And Scaring Off Bad Fits
SPEAKER_01do that. Um, but I kind of use mine to qualify my leads a little bit. So um if you don't know, qualifying a lead essentially it's like if somebody's coming to you, you want to make sure it's the right fit, and um certain leads are going to be a better quality than other leads. So I use a platform called Zola. It's kind of like the knot slash wedding wire, which I will not recommend, the knot or wedding wire, let it be known. Okay, but Zola's pretty decent. I've gotten some clients from Zola that I really liked. Um, I feel like it used to be better, and I'm kind of might get off, but I don't know. So when a client reaches out through Zola, wait, can I pause for a minute here?
SPEAKER_00Were you using Zola when you lived in Utah? Because you're based in California and you use it. Do you feel like it was just as helpful in Utah? Or do you feel like the clients Okay, see, that's so interesting.
SPEAKER_01Anything I would say more so in Utah than California.
SPEAKER_00Really? That's actually so interesting.
SPEAKER_01I liked using it. Um and the leads that reach out on Zola definitely are not as good, so they're not as qualified as my leads reaching out on Instagram. It's like they're definitely people who are mass inquiring and they never read my minimum. And I almost use the welcome guide to scare people off. And that is something that's something that has changed because you know you said, like, how was it in the beginning? In the beginning, I was like trying so hard to like immediately respond to people and give them everything I can and to not say pricing until I was like on a call with them because I didn't want to scare anybody away with pricing, and now I'm like, yeah, let them be scared. Like, if my minimum is too much for you, then let's not waste either of our time. Like, exactly. Why would I want to talk to you? Not to be rude, not to be rude. It's fine. It's fine if you don't want to spend seven thousand dollars on wedding flowers, but choose a different florist.
SPEAKER_00And is that so that's your minimum, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Well, it's technically six thousand this year and seven thousand for 2027.
SPEAKER_00Okay, but you feel like most of them are hitting yeah, and see that's how I feel like my minimums are. I feel like maybe we can even do a mini like minimums conversation in here. Um, I remember when I started, I was like, I think minimums are so rude. Like, I think it's rude to be like, you don't spend enough money for me. Because like that's how it came across to me.
SPEAKER_01And I feel like every florist starts out being like, I'm not gonna overcharge. I'm gonna be the budget-friendly.
SPEAKER_00I hate that word. Or reasonably priced. I'm like, you know that that word is so subjective. Like reasonably priced to a millionaire is very different from reasonably be reasonably priced to someone who's like in low-income housing. And like not in a rude way at all, but like obviously a dollar.
SPEAKER_01I really want to make a reel. I really want to make a reel that's like if you're looking for a florist who is not reasonably priced, who does cost an arm and a leg, who is like, you know, like all the things people say when they're like putting on Facebook, they're like, I'm looking for a florist who isn't gonna break the bank. I like want to make a reel that's like I'm gonna break the bank.
SPEAKER_00Like, like and it's just it's just not a helpful, like, like I think there's such a weird like money sensitivity thing in our culture, and like I I get it. Like it's so natural to be like, oh, I feel like it's improper to like tell someone what they're gonna spend or like to talk money. It's very like hush hush, but like that doesn't actually help anybody. No, like in any aspect, and I feel like that could be a whole episode in itself, but it it will be.
SPEAKER_01We will do one on that, and like how do you charge or what do you charge? Because so many people ask us that, and we're like, it's not that complicated, so we will talk about that later.
SPEAKER_00Um, but minimums, yeah. I have a minimum too. Mine is six thousand for this year, but I do feel like my clients are more naturally hitting closer to to seven, like at the end of the day.
SPEAKER_01I know, I'm kind of even wondering if I should jump to eight for next year, but I do like that every year it's gone up a thousand and it matches the year. That's like a weird, you know what I mean? Like 2026 is six thousand, 2027 is seven thousand.
SPEAKER_00That's funny.
SPEAKER_01Um, okay, so back to the onboarding. Yes.
Consult Calls And Tiered Proposals
SPEAKER_01Um, so okay, a client reaches out. If it's on Zola, immediately I'm sending them the welcome guide. And that's kind of to say, like, okay, are you sure you want to book me? This is my style, this is how much you should expect to spend. And then if they want to like keep chatting, then we'll continue chatting. If it's a client that reaches out through my inquiry form, and usually those are coming from Instagram, yeah, then I'm already, I'm not sending them a welcome guide. I'm just gonna like start cultivating. Um, so I send an email that essentially says, like, thank you so much for reaching out. I'm so excited about this. Um, if they haven't already sent a Pinterest board, I do ask for that. And then I set up a consultation um call. I have heard people say, Don't call it a consultation call, you should call it a discovery call. And I tried it and it felt so awkward.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, it's still sell, bro. It's it does.
SPEAKER_01It's a consult. It's a consult. Sorry, it's a consultation. So then we usually get on a call. I used to do like cute little meetings at like bakeries, and I'm like, I just don't do that anymore. And so many of my clients are like two-ish hours away, so I'm like, not gonna go.
SPEAKER_00And see, like a lot of my clients are not local, like they are destination people for Utah, so it's like, yeah.
SPEAKER_01But I also used to try to meet people in person too, and I liked it, but logistically just I also think that COVID just kind of changed how we all think about Zoom, and it's like so much more normal to just do a video meeting with somebody.
SPEAKER_00So I hate video calls, but I do feel like it makes it be like I'm a real human being. Like, yeah, I don't want anyone to be like, who's this random? I've done a couple phone calls, but I do feel like at least having my face on there is like and I like to share my screen. I like to like, hey, here's my like I'll type stuff into Pinterest like all on the call with.
SPEAKER_01100%.
SPEAKER_00And I think that kind of I don't know, I think that that it's a nice feature that they have.
SPEAKER_01Yep. On my consult call, it's usually about 30 minutes. I tell them about myself and my business and like how I became a florist and what my like philosophy is in life and in flowers. I ask them to tell me about themselves and like not wedding related. Like, I want to know what they like to do and how they met and things like that. Then we get into well, like what's the overall vibe for your wedding? What's the aesthetic you're trying to achieve? What do you want it to feel like? And then we talk like numbers. How many tables do you have? Like, what do you envision for this? Um, after that call, I try to do the proposal that day. And I do put a lot of time and energy into my proposals. I know some people say don't do that if like they haven't already signed and paid. I it's gone to a point where like I can make it really, really nice and have a lot of information, and it doesn't take me more than like two hours. So some people like they're like, oh my god, two hours, don't spend that on a person who hasn't paid you. But I it matters to me. It matters to me. So I do it, and all of my proposals have multiple price options. So I do simple, full and luxe. So if I if they say I want a freestanding arch, I give them three different pictures with three different prices. So my proposals um that I send to my clients are usually like 10 pages long.
SPEAKER_00So and how often, out of curiosity, how often are they choosing, like what bracket do they typically pick? Like, are they always going cheapest or no?
SPEAKER_01I would say almost always the middle option is what they're choosing. And the really cool thing is it kind of gives them an opportunity to scale back on things that they don't care about. Like some people, welcome arrangements matter a lot to them. My bride yesterday, or whatever day that was, Sunday, um, like she really wanted the welcome arrangement to be like really pretty. But then other brides are like, oh yeah, do like a bud base on the welcome table. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, or like a gleamy thing.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So it's good to give them options because then they can say, like, ooh, I really want to go luxe on the arch. So then let's do the mid or uh like the lighter option for like table centers, you know. So I think it's good for them to be able to choose. And they don't always choose the cheapest, and they don't always choose the most expensive. I think it just depends on the person, and that's why I like to customize them and make them long because and like a lot of times people just don't know what they don't know. Like sometimes you get a bride that they you you look at their Pinterest and it's like very ugly, and I'm like, oh no, they have like bad taste, but then I show them a really pretty picture and they say, Oh my god, I've never seen flowers that pretty. Yeah, and I'm like, Oh, they just have a bad Pinterest algorithm. So, like that's why I want to show people as much as I can, and that's why my proposals are long. And I do have a really high booking percentage.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say that was my second question. It's like your booking.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would say it's 60, 70% of people that I console and like send a proposal, they book. I don't have a ton of inquiries. That's my issues. I need to get more inquiries, but I'm the same way too.
SPEAKER_00So I think that that's I don't know, kind of where we're at. Um, but is that your yeah, that's pretty much it.
SPEAKER_01Then, yeah, then from there I kind of just say, like, whenever you're ready to move forward, we will sign. Um, I have them pay 25% of the total cost. And because I give them ranges, a lot of people sign while we're still in ranges. So like they don't necessarily choose, I want mid for this, I want Lux for this, I want you know, they don't necessarily choose that yet. A lot of brides, I tell them, like, let's wait, we'll chat four months before your wedding, and then you can make your decisions. So we sign at like the low end of their range. So if the range is like 8 to 12k, we sign at 8k and they put down a 25% deposit on the 8k. And then they can choose like what they want later.
SPEAKER_00I like that. That's really cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I have noticed too that like when people are signing, they're a lot more worried about money than later on when we're closer to the wedding.
SPEAKER_00It's true. I think circles sensitivity has kind of worn them down. Like as they're spending money, they're like the sticker shock's gone away when they're like, Oh, okay, yeah, this is worried. Yeah, and like there's no other option. Like, I don't know. I just think it's like they're so nervous, and then as it's getting there, they're like more. I think they're even just more excited to spend the money, like, yeah, because they can taste the finish line.
SPEAKER_01They're like, Oh, totally, I want that. So I feel like I like having the range, and then later they can say, like, yeah, you know what? Let's go luxe with the bar arrangement.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's super fun. Um, okay, well, I feel like mine's pretty similar, but obviously just like a couple like small differences.
Streamlining Intake With Forms
SPEAKER_00So I feel the same way. So I've actually gone to a really good spot where I don't know. So I have three pinned posts on my Instagram. I did this like over a year ago, and I remember when I told you about it, you were like, that's like a thing. And I was like, wait, really? Do you remember that? Oh yeah, I was yeah, I was like, oh yeah, I learned about that on a podcast. I was like, oh, like I it was totally random. I was like, I think I want to have like like an introductory thing, like a booking process thing, because like you know, like that's what people do. Like they go to your page and like they want the info, but like I don't just want to list pricing. And that's kind of what I feel like the welcome guide is a good combo between like just giving them prices and there's no emotion involved, and then like the welcome guide is kind of like marrying this, like, hey, I'm a real person. This is like the vibe, but here's some pricing, and so it's not like I don't know, I feel like the the turnover rate's a little bit better. Um, so I do feel like my pinned posts have helped a ton with like they scroll through the booking process. So it talks about a minimum, it talks about inquiring, and then like I don't really get DMs anymore unless, like, to be completely honest, like they're not the people that are booking. Like, if someone DMs me and they're like, Hey, I'd like to book you, like, what's your bracing?
SPEAKER_01And then you always say, Here's the inquiry form, and then you never and they don't forget.
SPEAKER_00So, yeah, most of them like I know they're coming from Instagram, like Wix will tell me, like, oh, this person clicked on the link on your bio. They say you use Wix. Yes, I use Wix for like basically like booking, everything payments, all of the stuff. What do you um?
SPEAKER_01I use Wix Studio. Um and then for my invoicing and contracts, I use rock paper coin, which I like. I kind of feel like maybe it's expensive for what it is. I actually have to renew it. I got it for free for a year from a giveaway thing, and now I have to renew it and it's $400.
SPEAKER_00I don't know how it expenses. I feel like when I look at it as a monthly cost, I'm like, oh, that's like not that bad. Like as a whole, you're like, wow, $400 is so much.
SPEAKER_01But I'm like, um Yeah, and I will say I really like it. Yeah. Like I feel like it makes it easy. Okay, so you use Wix.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I use Wix. So yeah, they'll fill out the inquiry form. I ask pretty basic stuff. I used to like ask them up front, like what their so like a quick I used to do it this way where I'd be like, tell me what you want on your proposal. I was sending everyone a custom proposal because I was like, oh, I'll like sell them, you know, right out the gate. But yeah, I was wasting hours and hours of time. Granted, this was before I had kids, so like I had a little bit more free time. Like I could spend hours and hours on it. But right now I'm like, I really need to maximize like the time that I have. So um, yeah, I've switched to they fill out the inquiry. I'm just asking basic info, like location, date. I basically am asking like the vibe. So sometimes it's funny, they're like pink and white, and sometimes it's like very descriptive words. I'm like, okay, Pinterest link and budget. Um, and like the lowest budget that they can pick is my minimum. So I think that that also just like immediately will scare people off, which like it's a little bit hard, but again, it's kind of nice because then the people that I'm talking to are like hot leads, like yes, they they're willing to spend, and like I'm not having to talk them into spending money or giving them sticker shock, which I feel like is what happens to people when they don't have a budget conversation out the Or they don't express a minimum, and then the client's like on the call, and they're like, Well, I have $2,000. And you're like, Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I think that when you do it that way, and like for me having a minimum, I no longer really even ask on the call what their budget is. Because I give them the ranges, it almost just like puts it in their hands. Yeah. Well, how much do you want to spend? How like what do you want?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you tell me what you're spending, but I know that I'm at least controlling the minimum. Like they can't tell me $500. Um, they can't type it in. So yeah, I do get less inquiries, but I do feel like the ones that are inquiring, like my booking rate is probably like I would say 90%. Those that I'm on a call with, they're booking. So I'm getting fewer leads, but like I'm wasting basically no time. I'm I'm not out anything. Um, so yeah, they fill out the inquiry. I usually do look to just make sure that like it is a good stylistic fit, or like sometimes they say things that are just immediate red flags to me, where it'll be like, I it's really important that we use X, Y, and Z. And like then, and and I'm like, okay, you're being a little bit controlling. Like, I know that's crazy, but like I just I can't have a micromanager ride.
SPEAKER_01Let me tell you some of the red flags I've heard in my inquiry forums on Zola. Because like Z you just always get like the crazy ones on Zola. Like it's okay, so um, number one, the girl, the girl with the blue, the blue tulips and the blue orchids. Do you remember I sent you photos?
SPEAKER_00And it was AI. It was blue. Not blue, blue, blue, blue.
SPEAKER_01Like, yeah, like um a blue lily. Like, again, this is not real. A blue lily with like lightning strikes like coming out of it. And it's like glowing. Like, it was weird. Okay, so that was kind of crazy, but then like some of like the words that have been red flags, um, one said corsages and boutoniers that are indestructible because they're gonna be worn on children. And I was like, Okay, impossible because that's impossible.
SPEAKER_00It's not a realistic ask.
SPEAKER_01No, okay, and then another one in all caps, it just said longevity, and then it was like, we want the flowers to last as long as possible. And I was like, nope.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're like, you're gonna be disappointed. Like I'm not interested. That is so funny. Um, so yeah, I can usually tell you within the first five seconds of reading an inquiry if I'm interested or not. Like, I just I don't know what it is. You can just feel the vibe, and then obviously I do click on the Pinterest link. There's been a couple times where I'm like, it's kind of same, like you said, like uh, and then I pitch kind of what I'm thinking, and they're like, oh yeah, that sounds great. And I'm like, oh, okay, cool. Um, so yeah, they fill it out, then I respond back with my welcome guide. So I say, like, hey, I've got your inquiry. I'm available, I'd love to work with you. Here's my welcome guide. Look it over. You let me know if you still feel like we're a good fit. Let's schedule a call. And I'll even give them their date options, like in that email. I'll be like, I'm free this week, this day, this day, and this day. Um, and then that's usually where I'll get goes. Like, if they've made it through the first trial of actually filling out the inquiry, the second trial is are they able to do they still like me based on this, you know, proposal? Um, so yeah, of the ones that actually respond to it, um, then we do the call, we talk
Reading The Contract On The Call
SPEAKER_00it over. Um, and during my call, we're doing, I usually say 45 minutes to an hour, and that's because I do read my contract through with my clients. And not like word by word, but I was on the console? On the console. Yes. So I I had some nightmarish experiences that I want to say I've talked about before, but like dad's showing up at my house, you guys. Like, I just I can't make this up, okay? Some men just really struggle to not control every situation and think that intimidation's gonna work. And guess what? Wrong girl, wrong girl. I don't mess anyway. Wrong girl to mess with. Literally, I'm like, come at me, bro. I watch me. He's like trying to intimidate me. He's like, is it really worth losing a good review for a bad one? I'm like, um, no thanks. Not anyways. So I started having some weird situations. So I started reading like the headings through with my clients, and I really kind of just pinpoint the ones that I know might be like question marks. Um, I'll save some of these when we like actually talk about contracts, the ones that I will read through that I feel like have been very important due to current situations in our political state, I would say. Um, anywho, so um my calls take a little bit longer for that reason when they hop on. I don't do a ton of background on me because I feel like my welcome guide kind of gives that. Um but I'm just like, hey, like where are you guys from? Um, and then I just explain, like, hey, I'm gonna ask you like what you what you want on your bid, and I just kind of reassure them like we can highball this, we can always scale back. Like, don't I would say like let's put it on and then we can take things off if we need to.
SPEAKER_01I do say on my on like that part of the call, I say, and when you get the proposal, it might feel overwhelming. There's going to be a lot of pages, and there's going to be a really big range, and that might scare you. We talked about your budget, you know, when you filled out your inquiry form, it was $9,000. Your um proposal is likely going to be a range probably from $8,000 to about $16,000. And that's only because that would be how much it would be if you chose the most luxury option of every single line item versus the most low-key version.
SPEAKER_00So um, yeah, so I give them that spiel and then we just go item by item. I also like kind of try to like hold their hand a little bit of like we're gonna break this into three sections. We're gonna talk about personals, that's being anything that's being worn or held. So that way a lot of clients I feel like sometimes want to jump around and they just like go all over the place.
SPEAKER_01Okay, peppy back to like your bokeh. That is when you say at the beginning of the call, this is how it's gonna go, this is what we're gonna do, and then they just like completely ignore you. When I say at the beginning, I'm like, so I want you to tell me about yourself, tell me about your vibe. This is not the time to talk about your wedding colors. Like, I just want you, I just want to know about you. And they're like, Okay, okay. So yeah, we met last year. We're really excited about our wedding. Our colors are blue, we want center pieces.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. Because I'm like, I I I cannot follow the flow of like my little paper, like I'm writing these down, like hold on. Um, yeah, so I try to like really, I'm like, we're gonna talk about personals, then we're gonna talk about your ceremony, then we're gonna talk about reception. And and and then I'm like, don't get overwhelmed. Like, there's a plan, there's a process, like, please don't jump around. I mean, they still do, but I think that that helps like I know I'm driving this conversation. Um anyways, and then I I used to again like pre-kid when I was able to just give hours and hours like to one thing at a time. Yeah, um, I would try to deliver the proposal like the same day or like right away. Um, and people love that. Obviously, now I I'm usually like within the next three days. Um, but like this last week, it was a weekend, I had some things going on, and so I was like, I told my bride that I met with last week, like, oh, you'll get it by Wednesday evening, and she's like, Okay, I mean, and it's next July. So it also depends like when this wedding is. If it's like coming up, I'm like, ooh, look, let's get going. Let's get on. If it's next July, I'm like, okay, like there is no urgency here. Um, not that I'm gonna flounder around, but I'm like, hey, this is when you can expect your proposal. Um, you'll have a week to look over it. If I don't hear from you, I will reach out again. We can, you know, talk through it. We can do another call if we need to. Um, yeah, I feel like most of the time though, it's like, oh, add a boot near, add a whatever, like they forget something pretty minor. They do 25%. And then yeah, we usually do a call um about like six weeks before and kind of revisit the whole invoice, make sure everything's like looking good, and then that's when I I do final payment at 30 days before. And that's just so that's when I order the I like order my flowers at that 30-day mark once everything's locked in because then I can guarantee like availability a little bit better, and then I don't think about it and I'm just you know floating.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there was like a few months where I was doing my final payment like two weeks before. Yeah, and that was just like stressful because then people just could continue to like change things, add things, take things off, and like some of the I had already ordered some of my flower, so yeah, it was just was weird. So I'm not doing that anymore. Okay, I did want to ask if this process is like different if a planner refers a client to you.
How Planner Referrals Change Everything
SPEAKER_00Yes, for me, like the planners, I really only work. I'll be so for real.
SPEAKER_01Like, there is one planner that I work with regularly for me, for me, two one for weddings, one for proposals.
SPEAKER_00Like, there's like my main person, so it's like she can do whatever she wants. It depends on her client too. Like, sometimes she's like, I I don't even talk to a client for like months or like honestly ever. Um, where other times like she schedules the call, we get on the call, we go to the colour.
SPEAKER_01She just follows her lead.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I just follow her lead. Sometimes she'll literally just text me, like, hey, do you have this date available? Put it on your calendar. And I'm like, okay. Like, yeah, it's pretty simple.
SPEAKER_01That's how it is with my uh planner who does like the proposals. It's like I don't talk to the client at all ever. But then for my wedding planner who works with me a lot, she sends me the info, and then I put together the proposal before talking to the client, and then I get on a call to go over the proposal with the client, which I actually really love doing that, and it only works when a planner is referring because like she knows all the things to get from them.
SPEAKER_00Yes, you know, they're basically vetting, like they're prepping a client ahead of time. They've talked budget because I've done it that way as well, like with this planner. Like, sometimes it's like, hey, make me a proposal for this. Sometimes it's hey, we're booking you, we'll talk about this later. And I'm like, okay, cool. And I don't have to I don't even have to be picky because I'm like, oh, I know she's giving me like good clients. I don't need to like even ask questions. Like 100%. It's gonna be a good one.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let's get into uh contracts.
Trust Your Gut And Stop Saying Yes
SPEAKER_01I want to talk a little bit, well like kind of you know, explain why we need a contract, and then you can kind of go over the finer points, uh, because you're so knowledgeable about that. I tried. So, okay, just like you were talking about earlier, how there's something like when you're reading an uh inquiry, in the first like few sentences, you know if they're a good fit. Same thing with a console. It's like you're five minutes into the console, and like for there's just something in you that knows if this is right or wrong.
SPEAKER_00And we're gonna stop you right here and just say, you need to trust your gut because you've done this a few times where you're like something's off. I'm like, bail bail.
SPEAKER_01And the times I don't bail, like early on, early on in my career, I heard this advice that was like, say yes to everything, say yes to everything because you're just gonna learn, you know, you need to learn.
SPEAKER_00Some things you don't need to learn the hard way.
SPEAKER_01I'm yes, and I said yes, and I ignored my gut so many times, and every single time I ignored my gut, every single time I thought, ooh, I can take this part out of my contract, I can void this part of the contract.
SPEAKER_00I mean, honestly, red flag. If a client is uncomfortable with something in your contract, that's that's red vlog right there.
SPEAKER_01Like, yes, my worst client ever that you know about.
SPEAKER_00This is actually the story that I thought you were gonna tell when we did like the getting too much.
SPEAKER_01I know I know that you thought that. I I'm not ready. I'm not ready to talk about it. We're gonna talk about it another day. I'm not ready to talk about it. Essentially, um, but how it relates here is I just ignored my entire contract. I wrote a new contract for them. Wow because I'm a dumbass. Like, literally, I was like, uh, like this doesn't work, this doesn't work. And so then I just did like a separate contract. I just did it through like square invoice. And then and then it was like the worst experience ever. And it did come back to money. I was traumatized. So literally trust your gut, trust your gut. Only work with the people that feel right.
SPEAKER_00If people are being also like if their attitude is like standoffish that you have a contract, like that's weird. Like, it's weird. Okay. It's so weird.
SPEAKER_01After my nightmare client, I had somebody inquire, and it's in my contract that you can't have any other florals. Exclusivity clocks, right? I'm gonna be your only floral provider. And this guy read it, and again, I'm just coming off of a really bad experience, so I'm feeling really weary and picky about my clients. And he said, Well, we want to have faux florals, and it's fine that we're bringing in faux florals because it's technically not other flowers, it counts as decor. Um, so we're not breaking the contract by doing that. And I said, Literally, he was, and like, why is the guy talking to me? Why am I talking to a man right now?
SPEAKER_00Like, it's that like there's nothing that gives me the ick more than a man who's like trying to assert his dominance and be like, let me tell you how to run your business.
SPEAKER_01When people tell you what you're gonna do, when uh when you tell somebody a price of something and they say, How about we do $80 for the bridesmaids' bouquets instead of a hundred?
SPEAKER_00Oh, they say when they tell you, I'm like Well, I'm thinking something really simple for the bridesmaids because they can be less really small. So they can be less.
SPEAKER_01No, no, when somebody tells you how it's gonna be, so he's like, So this isn't gonna break your exclusivity clause. And I said, Okay, well, consider this my written statement that yes, it will break the clause. Yeah, you can't do that. Um and then he was like, I'm gonna leave you a bad review, whatever. And I was like, cancel the contract, we're not working together, sorry. And I just like left.
SPEAKER_00Um, the funny thing about the scary dad in my situation is he was doing this pre-like this was my I ignore the red flag. The dad, side meet with Bride, Bride's like super cute. Dad emails me and he's like, um, hi, I'm this girl's dad, and you're asking me to provide a card on file, and I've been working in technology for 30 years, and everything you're asking is against like basically like you're that's against security measure. Like, you can't ask me for a card on file. And I was like, bro, I can ask you for whatever I want. I could ask you for your social if I wanted to, and like you can just also have you ever heard of a subscription service? Like I'm sorry, card on file is the story of our lives. I was stood my ground then, so I don't know why later he thought that his intimidation tactics would work on me. I was like, well, then you can find another florist without this requirement. Like, that's totally fine. And he's like, No, no, no, no, no, no, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. Like, maybe I'll just do like a prepaid. He was like, maybe I'll do like a prepaid visa gift card. I'm like, bro, what do you think I'm doing? And shocker, spoiler alert, he ended up, they ended up breaking my exclusivity clause. They brought in fake flowers. He tried to explain to me why fake flowers weren't considered any florals, and I was like, he was like, Well, we brought them in. And I said, It says any party. And he's like, Well, we're not florists. I was like, it doesn't say florist, it's any party. Florists. That's that's just any and so I ended up charging his card $200 because he broke my contract and he said, Enjoy the $200. And I said, I will. And I bought shoes.
SPEAKER_01So that's so funny.
SPEAKER_00So talk about like those shoes, those shoes don't even fit me, and I've kept them literally as like a memento. Yeah, like but I'm gonna show my kids when they'd be like, These are the shoes that I bought.
SPEAKER_01So just like you said, like, okay, we're gonna, you know, adjust our contract after basically every event, and now my contract says no other florals in parentheses, real or faux.
SPEAKER_00Mine says the same thing. I'm sorry, it's florist or non-florist.
SPEAKER_01No aunts, no grandmas. So, okay, your contract is important, it is there to protect you, it's there to protect your client, too.
SPEAKER_00I mean and you can put whatever you want in it. Like, there is it's your contract. So when people try to tell you that you can't put something in there, that's like literally forcing them to sign it, you're not making them do it.
SPEAKER_01They can they can choose to not do business with you if they're uncomfortable with it. So, Andrea, tell us about
Clauses That Prevent Contract Chaos
SPEAKER_01your contract. What's in it, what's important.
SPEAKER_00Um, the ones that I usually explain to people is payment. So I just say, you know, 25%. And then I talk about like what happens if they um need to cancel their wedding or are um, what is that word? Postponing. Like I talk about like, okay, here's what happens to your deposit. Um, and then I also talk about in the payment one, like, if you don't pay me, like I have the right to cancel your contract. Because I've had that happen before where people ghost me and I'm like, okay, well, I'm not ordering flowers, like if you're gonna and like that happened to me one time where the girl just like never responded. It's like I genuinely don't know like if she's dead or alive. Like I don't know. Yeah, paid a deposit, and then it was time, and I'm like, hey, hello. I called, emailed, like couldn't get a response. So to this day, I'm like, I hope she's good. Like a simple Hope you're okay. It's not happening would do, but I will never know. So I kind of just explained those little like nitty-gritty bits that I'm like, okay, just so that if something happens, you kind of know what to expect. And then I explain there's like three group well can I speak English? Three grouped together. Um, that's basically like trust me. It's like substitutions, I think it's um altering product, and there's like one other one in there. I can't even think of what it is. But basically I group them and I'm like, hey, as long as you trust me and you've expressed things that you are that are acceptable flowers and unacceptable flowers, you just trust me. And if you don't like it, please just tell me. Like, because I don't want you to have to remake your bouquet and have it, I'm sorry, but it's gonna look hideous, and then have you be upset with me later. Like, there's nothing I can do two weeks after your wedding, but on your wedding day, I could absolutely fix your bouquet. Um, and I will spare you guys the story, but yeah, I've had that happen where they try to redo the bouquet, and then they're like, Isn't it so cute? And I'm like, No, it's not, and then they're like, you the worst.
SPEAKER_01And the reason why we have an exclusivity clause, and the reason why we don't want our clients remaking their bridal bouquets is because our name is on this wedding. Okay, when I do a wedding, Vita Fiore did the flowers, and if Aunt Susan decides that she wants to add some Gerbera daisies to the cake or make a I don't know, installation by the welcome sign, then that looks like I used Gerbera daisies and made a weird installation by the welcome sign.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that your color palette was not consistent. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I think that ends up protecting the bride as well because I always say that.
SPEAKER_00I say we want it to look cohesive, we want it to look high-end, we want it to look like good. Yep. Sorry, there's no other way to put that. Um, so I explained that one, and then I have two others that I've added more recently that I explain. One is the natural life cycle disclaimer. So basically, like your flowers are gonna die by the end of the night. I've really never had an issue with it, but there was like one time where I specifically was like, don't leave this in a hot car, and then like it was so dead. I was like, there's no way that they didn't leave this. But then they kept being like, Well, we didn't leave in a hot car, we didn't leave it in a hot car. And there were like ice cubes in the water, like it was so weird. And so I've now just been like, hey, once you have the flowers, they are in your they're your responsibility, but and I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure flowers are looking as fresh, they're as fresh as possible, highest quality as possible. But please know by the end of the day, like some of these are going to be dead, and like that's just how the cookie crumbles. And I just think also like reading it out loud to them has really helped me because I have never had an issue with my contract, and I'm gonna knock on wood right now. I have not had any issues with my contract since reading it aloud because I think there's just no no one's dumb enough to argue with me on it when like they know they thought they were and listened to me explain it. Like there's no way for them to be like, Well, I didn't know, or like, like, even though, yeah, they should have read it, yeah, they signed it. It's like, no, you and I sat here and had a conversation. Like, I know you knew better. Um, my last one that has been super applicable, I'm so grateful. I was like very randomly impressed last year, maybe even the year before, I added a uh price fluctuation clause pre tariffs happening um that basically states that I can adjust the price due to economical factors beyond my control. That can be tariffs, that can be bad weather and shortages. Like COVID had affected prices so drastically my first year, like full year as a florist. I saw like me taking home so much less because I'd promised pricing that I like literally couldn't really offer. Yeah. So I put it in there and I have 90 days before their wedding to adjust the price. Yeah. Um, and that one stipulates that I can either I'll tell them the new total of like the current proposal based on current market value, or they can pull back, and I will offer them an adjusted proposal with. With the same price, basically.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's what mine says. Like, because that kind of helps not it's not just saying, like, hey, I can make this more expensive. It's like sucks for you. If things change and prices change, uh, it's going to be reflected in your quote, and you have the option to do you want to pay the higher price or do we want to pull back somewhere?
SPEAKER_00Um, and I think that's also huge, especially for like I'm I'm booking a client for next July. Like a lot could change between now and then. Um, and so that gives her the heads up that like, while yes, booking someone now is gonna secure a vendor for that date, that doesn't mean you can lock in pricing. I do find it kind of interesting when photographers do that. I haven't seen it as much lately, but I feel like it was a huge thing. I don't know if you've ever noticed this the word photographers would be like, I'm upping my prices at the end of the year, so book now, like before I up them. And I've always just thought it was weird. Like, well, don't you just like want to book at your new prices? Like, I did do it this year.
SPEAKER_01No, I did do it this year. Yeah, when I did um, what was the I I think it was the reel that I did. Um, do you remember when I did the reel that was like this artist and this artist shouldn't be charging the same?
SPEAKER_00And it's like that was like recently, I thought.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it was like the first artist is basically me from like my first year doing it, and then my the second artist is the artist like who I am now. Like, this is the work I'm putting through, and these two people shouldn't be charging the same. And that wasn't about upping my minimum, that was just about like upping my prices in general, because again, yeah, like you said, you noticed like you weren't taking home enough. I noticed this year, I was like, my flower prices. I'm like, this should be $800, like my flower price, and then it comes back and it's like $1,300. And I'm like, oh my like, I noticed that my flower prices are higher and it's not being reflected. And so essentially I just did a 10% across the board increase for everything. So I did say, like, okay, by the end of the month, I'm gonna raise my prices, so get in, get in now if you want to. And I did have one bride racial.
SPEAKER_00Okay, hey. I mean, so that's the thing. I'm like, it it does work, but I'm always like, oh, I'm curious, like, why not just like up it and not even say anything? Yeah, like they probably don't know, but like it is a booking tactic. I did that last October. I didn't really have a lot like the end of the year, and so anyone that inquired, I said, like, hey, I'm offering like a 20% discount. I don't know if it was 20, it was like maybe 10 or something. I was like, Oh, I'm offering, or like a free promo item. A free thing. Yeah, like, oh, I'm taking one more wedding. So if you book, you'll be getting this discount. And I don't know that that's like why they booked, but I do feel like offering kind of little things here and there, like to even an inquiry to soften a deal. Like, I mean, obviously the booking the tactic worked for you, so yeah, there goes to show. There's two sides. There it is. Um,
Pricing Moves And Final Takeaways
SPEAKER_00okay. Well, that was like our little little taste test of contracts. Please like DM us on Instagram, message us if you have any specific questions about contracts or other like areas in onboarding that you like want us to dive into like more. I feel like we could talk about this all day. Like, it's just so interesting. Like, we're two different florists, two different states.
SPEAKER_01For the majority, we do things pretty similar, but yeah, and I do think we have similar like views on things. I wanted to say that like we kind of talked about scaring away clients. If you're in a stage where you're not trying to do that and you're really trying to cultivate and say yes, like kind of ba yeah, and like kind of baby your clients a little bit, like that's totally fine too. There's like a whole philosophy on that. There's a guy the book's literally in my trash because I was like, I'm never gonna read this, but there's a guy that he kind of talks about like really babying your clients and just like taking like nurturing them, taking care of them and trying to not to not scare them away, the opposite of what we do. And if that's your tactic, that's totally okay too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think obviously uh Andrea and Johanna five years ago definitely operate very different from us now. And I it's not like I change anything, but I'm like I I'm like as if we can add value to anyone, I'm like, hey, this is a thing you could consider, like whether that's now, whether that's in two years when whatever's happening in your business is not working for you, like these are some things that you could you could play around with. So 100%.
SPEAKER_01I will say no matter what, you just you need to be trusting your gut and stop saying yes to things that feel icky to you because it never depends on it.
SPEAKER_00If it feels like it, it is. So rather be safe than sorry.
SPEAKER_01Um, we love chatting with you. Please join us next week, um, or I guess two weeks from now. Um episode. Um, and uh please send us your horror stories about contracts uh gone wrong.
SPEAKER_00Yes, please do. We will see you next time. Thanks for sitting with us.