If you’re heading into a new season thinking, “I really want to use Dubsado better this year… but I do not have the time or brain space to rebuild my entire business,” you are absolutely not alone. You’re booking couples months (or years) in advance, juggling timelines, emails, and payments—and Dubsado is supposed to make that easier. Instead, it often turns into one more tab you feel guilty about ignoring. Let’s fix that. In this post, I’m walking you through exactly what I would set up first in Dubsado if I were starting fresh as a wedding professional, so you can book more confidently, support your couples better, and take a whole lot of mental load off your plate.

Here’s What I’m Talking About:

These are the core pieces we’ll walk through:

– Simple, high-impact Dubsado setup for wedding pros

– The lead capture workflow that stops inquiries from slipping through the cracks

– Booking support that makes consults easy (for you and your couples)

– Proposals, contracts, and payments in one smooth flow

– What to do in the “long middle” between booking and wedding day

– Offboarding that earns you referrals and repeat work

– How to build this in stages so it actually gets finished

Who I Am:

In case we haven’t met yet, I’m Amy, the systems strategist behind Amy Gould & Company. I help wedding professionals—photographers, planners, DJs, florists, hair and makeup artists, and other creative entrepreneurs—work less, make more, and wow their clients using smart systems and automation tools like Dubsado and HoneyBook. I genuinely love automating the admin-y, repetitive parts of your business so you can get back to the work you actually enjoy (which, I’m guessing, is not “manually chasing invoices at 10:30 pm”).

Rather Watch This Post?

If you prefer listening over reading, you can hear me talk through this entire topic in the video version of this episode. I walk you through what to set up first in Dubsado as a wedding pro, with examples and context for each step.

Why Your Dubsado Setup Feels Overwhelming (And What To Do Instead)

Here’s what I see all the time: you sign up for Dubsado with the best intentions. You open it up and think, “Okay, I’m going to build all my workflows, customize every email, use every feature, and automate my entire business.” Ten minutes later, you’re deep in YouTube and Google searches, trying to figure out how to make Dubsado do The One Very Specific Thing—while your brain slowly melts.

The result? Nothing actually gets finished. You might have a half-built workflow, a few forms, and some canned emails, but nothing is connected in a way you feel confident using. Dubsado ends up collecting dust while you keep paying for it, and your processes stay mostly manual.

So instead of asking, “How do I build everything?” a better question is: “Where would automation help me the most, guilt free?”

For most wedding pros, that means focusing on the most predictable, repeatable parts of your client journey: inquiry, booking, the long middle, and offboarding. If you set up support in those four areas, your business will immediately feel calmer and more professional—without replacing the personal parts of your client experience that really matter.

And if you want help doing this in a more structured, guided way, this is exactly the kind of thing I work on in my System Strategy Sessions and done-for-you Dubsado setups at Amy Gould & Company. But let’s start with the essentials you can tackle yourself.

Start With a Simple Lead Capture Workflow

The very first thing I’d set up—after your basic Dubsado settings like branding, payment details, and scheduler preferences—is a lead capture form and a simple lead capture workflow.

Keep this part light and simple. Your lead capture form does not need to be an interrogation. For most wedding professionals, you only need a few key fields, like:

• First name
• Email
• How they found you
• Wedding date
• Maybe one short freeform question if absolutely necessary

That’s it. The goal here is to remove friction for your couples. You can always ask for more details later with a questionnaire once they’ve booked.

Then, connect this form to a very basic workflow. When someone submits the form, they should get an automatic email right away that:

1. Confirms you received their inquiry

2. Tells them when they’ll hear back from you

3. Sets expectations for what happens next

4. Optionally gives them one helpful resource to explore while they wait

That resource could be:

– A short video introducing you, how you work, and what your services look like

– A blog post or guide that helps them choose a professional in your field

– A case study or gallery that showcases your work and process

This one automatic confirmation email alone can dramatically increase booking confidence. Couples don’t expect you to personally write back at 9:47 pm—but they do want reassurance that their inquiry didn’t disappear into the void and that they’re in good hands.

“Dubsado works best when it handles the predictable moments, so you can stay human where it matters most.”

Amy Pearson

Automate Booking Support With the Dubsado Scheduler

Once your inquiry process is handled, the next place to add support is booking. For many wedding pros, this includes a consultation call where you:

• Learn more about the couple and their wedding
• Answer questions about how you work
• Diagnose what they actually need
• Recommend the best-fit package

Think about it like a car repair. The mechanic doesn’t send you ten different repair options and ask you to pick one. They look under the hood, tell you what’s wrong, recommend the fix, and give you the price. Your services should work similarly.

Dubsado can support this by making it incredibly easy for couples to book that consult call. Use the Dubsado scheduler to:

• Set clear availability for consults
• Connect it to your calendar so it automatically blocks out conflicts
• Embed it in your confirmation or follow-up emails so couples can book with one click

From the couple’s perspective, they just see: “Oh, they’re available at these times—I’ll pick what works for us.” They don’t see your kid’s soccer game, your dentist appointment, or your editing days. It’s streamlined and professional.

Then, use Dubsado’s automated emails to send a confirmation and one or two reminder emails that:

• Confirm the date and time
• Share what you’ll talk about
• Suggest anything they should prepare (like a rough timeline, budget range, or venue details)

You’re reducing no-shows, making the experience smoother, and showing up as the organized professional they want to hire.

Make Proposals, Contracts, and Payments Friction-Free

After a great consult, the next step is sending a proposal. This is another area where Dubsado shines—but only if it’s set up in a clean, intentional way.

Instead of overwhelming couples with too many options, use your consult to diagnose what they need. Then use your proposal to say, “Based on our conversation, here’s the package I recommend for you,” with the option to add a few relevant add-ons if that makes sense.

What you want is one smooth, professional process that lets couples:

• Review the proposal
• Sign the contract
• Pay the invoice

All in one sitting, without downloading, printing, scanning, or jumping between platforms.

Dubsado makes it possible for a couple to approve your proposal, sign their contract digitally, and pay their retainer in about five minutes. That’s huge. The fewer steps they have to take, the less room there is for delay, confusion, or ghosting.

When you remove friction here, you’re not just making your life easier—you’re actually protecting the momentum of that “yes” they felt after your consult.

The Long Middle – Stop Ghosting Your Own Clients

Here’s where a lot of wedding pros unintentionally drop the ball: the long middle. This is the stretch of time between booking and wedding day. For wedding professionals, that can be months or even over a year.

What often happens is:

• You onboard them
• You send a welcome email or two
• And then… silence, until just before the wedding

From your side, you’re busy. From their side, it can feel like they’ve been forgotten.

Instead, I want you to think about a small handful of intentional, automated touchpoints you could add to this middle phase. For example:

• A check-in email a few months out asking how planning is going and reminding them you’re here to help
• Educational emails that help them get the best results from your services
• For hair and makeup: tips for skin prep before the wedding, what to avoid the week-of, how much water to drink, etc.
• For photographers: engagement session planning, what a first look is, what a bridal session is, or how to build a timeline that protects their photos
• Reminder emails before key milestones (like engagement sessions or final detail meetings)
• Packing lists or day-of reminders so they feel fully prepared

These touchpoints serve a few purposes: They position you as the expert (because they’re not wedding pros—you are. They make your couples feel held and supported throughout the process. They create opportunities for thoughtful, non-sleazy upsells (like first looks, bridal sessions, or anniversary sessions)

The best part? These emails are totally guilt-free to automate. You can base them on the wedding date in your Dubsado workflow, write them once, and let Dubsado send them at exactly the right time for every single client.

Offboarding That Earns Referrals and Repeat Clients

The client journey doesn’t end at the send-off line. Your offboarding process is where referrals and rave reviews are earned.

Inside Dubsado, you can create a simple, powerful offboarding sequence that includes:

• A thank-you email the day after the wedding, celebrating their day and reminding them what’s coming next
• Clear expectations for when deliverables will be ready (first look gallery, full gallery, album design, video, etc.), so they’re not anxiously emailing you every week asking “Are they ready yet?”
• A smooth process for delivering those items in the timeframe you promised
• A review request or feedback form once they’ve received everything, so you can collect testimonials and case studies

You can even continue the relationship with a few thoughtful touches later on, like:

• An anniversary email
• A reminder 8–9 months in advance with first-anniversary gift ideas (like albums or prints for photographers)
• A first-anniversary session offer

It feels thoughtful to your couples, and it quietly supports repeat business and referrals over time. Again, all of this can be built into Dubsado once and then quietly work in the background for every future client.

Build in Layers, Not All at Once

If you’re thinking, “This sounds great, but there is no way I’m building all of this in a weekend,” you’re right—and you don’t need to.

Instead of trying to create a perfect, finished system, think of your Dubsado setup as something you’ll build in layers. Start with:

1. A simple lead capture form and confirmation email

2. A scheduler and a basic consult workflow

3. One clean proposal–contract–invoice flow

Once those are working, you can come back and add:

• A couple of long-middle touchpoints
• A basic offboarding sequence
• Bonus educational emails and nurture content

Your systems should always be evolving. You’ll constantly notice, “Oh, clients keep asking this question; I should add that to my workflow,” or “This email could be clearer.” That’s normal and healthy.

If you want help figuring out what to build first and how it all fits together, I created a mini-course called Map Your Client Experience in 30 Minutes. It walks you through the entire client journey, step by step, and comes with a handout so you don’t miss any key touchpoints.

And if you’d love a second set of eyes—and an actual plan—you can book a System Strategy Session with me. We’ll review your client map together, outline your workflows, and create a content list so you know exactly what to build in Dubsado instead of bouncing around and forgetting things. From there, you can either build it yourself or hand it off to me and my team for a done-for-you setup.

The Big Picture:

You don’t need a perfect, fully-automated Dubsado empire to run a calm, professional wedding business. You just need a few strategic pieces:

• A simple inquiry process that responds instantly and sets expectations
• Booking support that makes consults easy and proposals clear
• A long-middle plan that keeps clients supported between “yes” and “I do”
• An offboarding process that delivers beautifully and invites reviews and referrals

Start with one area, get it working, and then add the next. Done is always better than “perfect but still in your head.”

If you’re ready to stop paying for a tool you’re barely using and start letting Dubsado actually support your wedding business, check out my Map Your Client Experience in 30 Minutes mini-course or book a System Strategy Session with me. We’ll turn “I’ll figure that out someday” into a clear, doable plan—so you can work less, make more, and wow your clients at every step.