Building Proposals

A proposal is your chance to make a great first impression. Gilded's document builder gives you a rich editor, reusable sections, automatic merge fields, and a live preview so you can see exactly what your client will receive.

Starting a New Proposal

From your event detail page, click Create Document in the action panel, then select Proposal as the document type. This opens the document builder.

If you want to start from a template, you will see the option to choose one before the builder opens. Templates pre-fill your sections so you can customize from there rather than starting from scratch.

The Builder Layout

The builder has two main areas:

• Left panel — where you add and edit sections
• Right panel — a live preview that updates as you type

Everything you change on the left is instantly reflected on the right, so you always know what the finished document looks like.

Adding Sections

Click the + Add Section button to open the section library. Sections are pre-built content blocks you can drop into your document. For proposals, you will see options like:

• Welcome / Introduction
• About Us
• Services Offered
• Pricing / Investment
• Timeline
• What's Included
• Terms and Conditions

Click any section to add it to your document. You can add as many sections as you need.

Editing Content

Each section has a rich text editor where you can:

• Format text with bold, italic, and underline
• Create bulleted and numbered lists
• Add headings within the section
• Adjust alignment

Write naturally — this is your pitch to the couple. Be specific about what you are offering, what makes your approach unique, and what they can expect.

Using Merge Fields

Merge fields are placeholders that Gilded replaces with real data when the document is previewed or sent. Type them using double curly braces:

• {{client_name}} — the client's name
• {{partner_name}} — the partner's name
• {{event_date}} — the wedding date
• {{venue_name}} — the venue name
• {{total_price}} — the package price
• {{deposit_amount}} — the required deposit
• {{balance_amount}} — the remaining balance (calculated automatically)
• {{business_name}} — your business name

These fields pull from the event details and your business settings, so you never have to manually type client names or dates into your documents.

Section Options

When editing a section, you'll see toggles at the bottom of the editor:

• Show planner photo — displays your profile headshot next to that section's content. Great for "About Me" or "Meet Your Planner" sections to make the proposal feel personal. Upload your photo in Settings > Profile first.

Rearranging Sections

Drag and drop sections to reorder them. Grab the handle on the left side of any section and move it to the position you want.

Applying a Brand Preset

In the builder toolbar, you can select a brand preset to style your document. This applies your logo, color palette, fonts, and footer settings. If you set a default preset in Settings, it will already be applied.

Previewing and Saving

The live preview on the right shows you exactly what your client will see. You can also download a PDF preview to review offline.

Your document saves automatically as you work. When you are satisfied, head back to the event page — your draft will be waiting in the documents section, ready to send.

Next Steps

Learn about Building Contracts if you need a signed agreement, or skip ahead to Sending Documents when your proposal is ready to go.