Happy 2026 and what better way to start the new year than talk about a topic that can help you win LOTS of new business this year.
This article is part 2 from our original how to write an event proposal article so I recommend you read both.
Let’s rewind – I lost a $42,000 corporate retreat in Austin to a planner whose proposal was six pages. Mine was 24. I’d spent eleven hours on it. Custom illustrations. A mood board with 47 images. A timeline so detailed it included bathroom break buffers.
The client’s feedback: “Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what you were actually going to do.”
Stung for weeks.
That was 2019. Since then I’ve tracked every proposal I’ve sent. 115 total. Won 73% of them. And the ones that win? They look nothing like what I was taught in event planning courses. Nothing like the Pinterest-worthy templates people sell for $97.
Most proposals fail for the same reason mine did: they try to impress instead of clarify. They showcase the planner’s creativity instead of solving the client’s problem.
I’m going to show you exactly how I structure proposals now, what goes in a pitch deck versus a written document, and the specific phrases that make clients say yes faster. Fair warning: some of this contradicts the advice you’ve probably heard.
Why Pretty Proposals Lose
Here’s the thing that took me years to accept: clients don’t buy inspiration. They buy confidence.
Confidence that you understand their event. Confidence that you won’t disappear with their deposit. Confidence that October 14th is going to go smoothly.
A mood board doesn’t create confidence. Clarity does.
I reviewed a proposal last month from a planner in my coaching program. Gorgeous document. Sixteen pages of inspiration images, elaborate font pairings, descriptions of “the sensory experience we’ll create.” But I had to read it three times to find her fee. And I still couldn’t tell whether she was handling vendor booking or just making recommendations.
That proposal lost. The planner who won sent four pages. Black text on white background. Here’s what I understand about your event. Here’s what I’ll do. Here’s what it costs. Here’s how to hire me.
Boring? Maybe. Clear? Absolutely.
The Only Three Things a Proposal Needs to Do
Every proposal, regardless of event type, needs to accomplish three things. Just three.
- Prove you were listening. Not listening in general. Listening to them. Their specific concerns, preferences, constraints. When a bride mentions that her mother-in-law is “particular about flowers,” that needs to show up in your proposal. When a corporate client mentions they got burned by their last planner on AV, acknowledge it.
- Show your solution with enough detail that they can picture it. Not every detail. The key decisions. What happens when. Who handles what. If they finish reading and still aren’t sure whether you book the caterer or they do, you’ve failed.
- Make saying yes easy. This means clear pricing, obvious next steps, and no friction. The number of proposals I’ve seen that don’t include a clear call to action is honestly embarrassing.
That’s it. Everything else is decoration.
My Proposal Structure (Steal This)
I’ve tested probably fifteen different formats. This one converts best.
Section 1: What I Heard
Half a page. Maybe less. You restate their event, their goals, and the specific things they told you matter most.
For a wedding, this might read: “You’re planning a 120-person wedding at Prospect House on March 8th. You want it to feel relaxed and joyful, not stuffy. You mentioned that great food matters more to you than elaborate decor, and that keeping your mom calm during the process is a priority.”
See how specific that is? It couldn’t be sent to any other client. That specificity is the whole point.
For corporate, adjust the language: “You’re planning a two-day sales kickoff for 85 attendees at the Thompson Hotel downtown. The primary objective is launching the new commission structure in a way that generates buy-in rather than resistance. You mentioned that the Las Vegas event last year felt ‘too much like a lecture’ and you want this one to be more interactive.”
This section does more work than anything else in the proposal. When clients feel understood, they trust you. When they trust you, they hire you.
Section 2: What I’ll Do
One to two pages. Break it into phases or categories depending on what makes sense for the event.
For weddings, I use: Planning and Design, Vendor Management, and Event Execution.
For corporate, I use: Pre-Event Strategy, Production and Logistics, and On-Site Management.
Under each phase, list the specific deliverables. Not vague promises. Actual things they’ll receive.
Bad: “Comprehensive vendor coordination”
Good: “I’ll research and present 3 catering options that fit your $85/head budget, schedule tastings, negotiate contracts, and manage all communication through the event date.”
Bad: “Day-of timeline management”
Good: “I’ll create a minute-by-minute timeline, distribute it to all vendors two weeks out, run a walkthrough with key vendors the Wednesday before, and manage the entire day so you don’t have to answer a single logistics question.”
The specificity matters. It’s the difference between sounding like every other planner and sounding like someone who actually does this.
Section 3: The Investment
One page. State your fee clearly. I put the number in bold. No hiding it.
Break it down if there are components: planning fee, design fee, day-of fee. But don’t over-complicate it. Three line items max.
Clarify what’s not included. “This fee covers my planning services. Vendor costs (venue, catering, florals, etc.) are additional and typically range from $35,000-$50,000 for weddings of this size.”
That last part matters more than you’d think. I once had a bride cry on a call because she thought my $6,500 fee was the total wedding cost. She had $10,000 to spend. The confusion wasn’t her fault. My proposal wasn’t clear.
Section 4: Next Steps
Half a page. Tell them exactly what happens if they want to move forward.
“To book your date, I need a signed contract and a $2,500 retainer (50% of the planning fee). Once received, I’ll send your welcome packet and schedule our kickoff call within five days. Your October 14th date will be held for seven days from the date of this proposal.”
That last sentence matters. Soft deadlines motivate action. “Let me know whenever” motivates nothing.
Section 5: A Little About Me (Optional)
If they’ve already met you, skip this. If the proposal is going to someone who wasn’t in the initial conversation, include a brief bio. Three sentences. Maybe a photo. Not your life story.
Pitch Decks vs. Written Proposals
Different tools for different situations.
Use a written proposal when:
- The client will review it alone or share it with others who weren’t in your meeting. Written documents travel better than slides. A deck without a presenter is just confusing pictures.
- The event is straightforward. A wedding, a birthday party, a small corporate dinner. You don’t need 30 slides to explain these.
- The client seems analytical. Some people want to read and think. Give them a document they can mark up.
Use a pitch deck when:
- You’re presenting live, whether in person or on Zoom. Slides give you something to talk through. They keep the conversation structured.
- The event requires visual explanation. An elaborate venue transformation, a branded experience, a multi-day conference with complex logistics. Show them, don’t just tell them.
- You’re pitching a large corporation or agency. They expect decks. It’s the format they think in. Match their expectations.
My honest preference: I use written proposals for 80% of clients and pitch decks for the 20% where visual presentation matters. I’ve watched planners spend 15 hours building beautiful Canva decks for $3,000 day-of coordination gigs. That math doesn’t work.
Building a Pitch Deck That Doesn’t Waste Time
If you do need a deck, keep it tight. Fourteen slides max. Here’s what goes where.
- Slide 1: Title. Event name, client name, your name, date. That’s it.
- Slide 2: Their vision in one sentence. “A launch event that makes your competitors nervous.” Something that shows you understood the assignment.
- Slides 3-4: What you heard. Their goals, concerns, constraints. Mirror their language back to them.
- Slides 5-8: Your concept. This is where visuals earn their place. Inspiration images, color direction, design ideas. But anchor everything to something they said. “You mentioned wanting it to feel like a ‘really good house party.’ Here’s how we get there.”
- Slides 9-10: Your approach. Phases of work, key deliverables, what you handle versus what they handle.
- Slide 11: Investment. Don’t bury this at the end of a 40-slide marathon. Get to money before they get bored.
- Slide 12: Timeline. When things happen. When decisions are needed.
- Slide 13: Next steps. What you need from them to move forward.
- Slide 14: Contact. Your info. End clean.
I’ve sat through pitches that ran 45 minutes because the planner had 60 slides and felt obligated to cover all of them. The clients checked out around slide 22. I could see it happen. Don’t be that planner.
Pricing: Where Most Proposals Get Weird
Something happens to planners when they write the pricing section. They get apologetic. Or they hide. Or they over-explain until the client is more confused than before.
State your price like you believe in it. Because if you don’t, they won’t either.
“Planning Fee: $6,500” is better than “The investment for your special day would be $6,500, which reflects the value of comprehensive coordination services and my years of experience…”
Nobody needs the justification. They need the number. If they think it’s too high, they’ll tell you. Then you can have a conversation. But the rambling pre-justification just makes you seem unsure.
What about showing multiple packages?
I do this for weddings. Three tiers. Month-of coordination, partial planning, full planning. Clear scope differences between each. Clients can self-select.
I don’t do this for corporate. Corporate clients usually have a specific need and budget. Showing them three options when they know exactly what they want wastes everyone’s time.
What about negotiating?
Your proposal price should be your real price. Not an inflated number you expect to negotiate down. That game annoys sophisticated clients and trains unsophisticated ones to always push back.
If someone asks for a lower price, respond with scope changes, not discounts. “I can bring that down to $4,500 if we move to month-of coordination instead of partial planning.” You’re not cheaper. You’re doing less. That’s different.
The Follow-Up (Where Deals Actually Close)
Here’s something I wish someone had told me earlier: the proposal doesn’t close the deal. The follow-up does.
Most clients need to be asked to decide. Not pressured. Not hounded. Just reminded that a decision is needed.
My follow-up sequence:
- Day of sending: Quick email or text. “Just sent over the proposal! Let me know if anything’s unclear or if you’d like to talk through it.”
- Day 3-4: Check-in. “Wanted to make sure the proposal came through okay and see if any questions came up as you reviewed it.”
- Day 7-8: Direct ask. “I’d love to work with you on this. Any questions I can answer to help you decide?”
- Day 14: Closing attempt. “I’m starting to book up October dates and want to make sure I don’t accidentally book over yours if you’re still interested. Let me know either way when you get a chance.”
After that, I let it rest. Maybe one more touch a month later. But the four-touch sequence above closes about 60% of proposals that don’t close immediately.
Look, I know following up feels awkward. It feels salesy. But I’ve had multiple clients tell me they hired me because I followed up when other planners didn’t. They were busy. They meant to respond. Life got in the way. My follow-up reminded them to act.
The planners who send proposals and wait patiently for responses lose to planners who send proposals and follow up like professionals.
Common Mistakes (I’ve Made All of These)
Leading with your bio. Nobody cares about your background until they know you understand their event. Put yourself at the end, not the beginning.
Including full terms and conditions. Save legal language for the contract. The proposal should feel like a conversation, not a document from your lawyer.
Making it too long. My 24-page disaster taught me this. For events under $15,000 in planning fees, keep proposals under 6 pages. For bigger events, you can go up to 12. Beyond that, you’re just showing off.
Using someone else’s template without changing it. I’ve received proposals with “[INSERT CLIENT NAME]” still in them. I’ve seen the same Canva template from three different planners in the same month. If your template is recognizable, you’ve lost the personal touch that wins business.
Forgetting to proofread names. I once spelled a groom’s name wrong throughout an entire proposal. They didn’t hire me. Can’t blame them.
Wedding Proposals vs. Corporate Proposals
The structure stays similar but the emphasis shifts.
Wedding proposals should spend more time on:
How you’ll manage stress and family dynamics (this is often the real service being purchased)
Your process for understanding and executing their vision
Your vendor relationships and how you’ll find the right fits
What the wedding day itself looks like with you running it
Corporate proposals should spend more time on:
Business objectives and how the event supports them
Technical capabilities (AV, registration systems, apps, live streaming)
Risk management and contingency planning
Budget tracking and reporting
Post-event analysis and metrics
The emotional language changes too. Wedding clients respond to words like “celebration,” “vision,” and “stress-free.” Corporate clients respond to words like “objectives,” “deliverables,” and “ROI.” Match your language to your audience.
One Last Thing About Winning
I have a theory. Your conversations is what wins business. Proposals just confirm decisions people have mostly already made.
If someone loves you after the initial consult, your proposal needs to not screw it up. It needs to be clear, professional, and correctly priced. It doesn’t need to be a work of art.
If someone is lukewarm after the initial consult, even the most beautiful proposal probably won’t save you. The real work needed to happen in the meeting.
So yes, write good proposals. Follow the structure. Be clear about scope and price. Make next steps obvious.
But invest even more in becoming someone clients want to hire before they ever see your paperwork. That’s where deals are actually won.
Your Next Move
Pull up the last proposal you sent. Read it like you’re the client seeing it for the first time.
Can you find the fee in under twenty seconds? Can you explain what the planner is actually doing? Does it feel like it was written for this specific client, or could it have been copy-pasted to anyone?
If you don’t like your answers, rewrite that proposal using the structure here. Then use it as your starting point for the next one.
And follow up. Seriously. Go send that follow-up email to the proposal you’ve been waiting on. Today.
