One of the coolest things about owning your own floral design business (other than the playing with flowers part!) is that you get to decide how you communicate your brand to your clients and how you want your processes to flow. You have complete control over your workday.

When I was first starting my floral design business, it took a while for me to get into a rhythm with my inquiry process and correspondence style.

Soon enough, though, I felt like I was constantly typing out the same emails from scratch and starting to feel overwhelmed by my ever-growing inbox.

One day, I took an afternoon out from the admin to go over each part of my inquiry process and streamline it with templates to make it work for me. I didn’t have a budget in the beginning to manage this, so I used Microsoft Word to easily create templates as it was already installed on my laptop. In just a couple of hours, I created templates for the three main areas below that were pain points in my inbox (and taking up too much of my time!).

Three Emails to Streamline in Your Floral Business

Wedding Inquiry Response Email Template

This was streamlined into a template which includes a short form with all the important details we need to know about the wedding in order to provide a quote. The form asks for practical details such as the couple’s full names, full venue addresses, timings, guest count, bridal party details, and table quantity (including shape) as these factors will determine the floral décor. It also asks for details on the couple’s vision for their day, and any colour themes they may have. I also made sure the template shows our style through the language I use throughout the email.

Quote and Proposal Email Template

This is where I email our quote and proposal attachments to the client. This email template details all the information that’s important to Flower and Fern, such as where the flowers are sourced and what’s included in our service—things I need to make clear when sending the quote and proposal documents.

We use locally grown blooms during the UK growing season and use environmentally friendly mechanics and waste disposal practices, so we tend to highlight those points. We also reiterate that this is full service floral design, so their flowers are bespoke to their day and we only take on one wedding per weekend to give them our undivided attention and focus. This ensures that the client understands what makes us special and worth booking over other florists they might have asked to quote.

Day-of Plan email Template

The day-of plan email is sent about six weeks before the wedding or event. This template is to finalise all the details and put the client’s mind at ease. After reading it, they should know exactly where we’ll be and at what time on the day of their wedding.

It contains all of the addresses and timings for the wedding and our timeline plan, as well as a contact number for us and a contact for the bride and groom (such as the maid of honour). Getting married is overwhelming and huge, so we show that we know exactly what we’re doing and are in control. It’s also the time that I remind the client about any payments that are due and check for any last-minute additions.

Creating email templates for your floral business is quick, amendable, and free! Plus, it helps to get a consistent brand message across to your clients. It’s also an essential tool should you decide to take on staff or even sell your business in the future.

After implementing these templates, I almost instantly found I had so much more time to work on and grow other areas of my business—and received numerous reviews from happy clients that praise our communication.

To learn how to increase the professionalism of your client communication, check out this Team Flower article—it includes practical writing tips!