Getting Set Up

There is no setup wizard to sit through. When you create your account you land straight in the app — already populated, so you are never staring at a blank screen wondering where to begin.

Your Sample Wedding

On your first visit, Gilded seeds a sample wedding — a fictional couple with a finished proposal already built. It is clearly marked with a "Sample" badge and does not count toward your event or document limits.

It is there for you to explore. Open it, click through the proposal, see how a document is structured, and view what your client would see. When you are done, you can remove it anytime from the event — it will not come back.

The Getting Started Checklist

Your dashboard shows a Getting Started checklist in the right column. It is the guided path through setup — but nothing is forced, and you can do the items in any order (or skip them and dive straight into creating an event).

The checklist covers:

1. Complete your business info — name, address, and contact details. These fill in automatically on your documents through merge fields like {{business_name}} and {{business_address}}.
2. Add your personal info — your photo and phone number, which can appear on your documents.
3. Set up your branding — your logo, colors, and fonts, so every document matches your business.
4. Create your first event — your first real client engagement.
5. Import a document (or Create your first template) — bring an existing proposal over and we will rebuild it as a reusable template, or build one from scratch.
6. Send your first document — get a proposal or contract in front of a client.
7. Set up payments — connect Stripe so you can collect deposits and balances.

Each item links straight to where you complete it, and checks off automatically as you go — no need to mark anything done yourself. Once everything is complete the checklist celebrates and you can dismiss it. Dismissing it (and any other in-app hint) is remembered on your account, so it stays gone even if you switch browsers or computers.

Why Business and Branding Come First

The checklist leads with your business info, personal info, and branding for a reason: those details flow into every document you create. Filling them in once means your very first proposal already shows your business name, address, logo, and colors — no per-document cleanup. It is the fastest way to make everything you send look polished from day one.

What to Do Next

Once you have set up your business details, the natural next step is creating a real client engagement. Head to Your First Event to get started.