One page, one version
Write the brief
before you ask for ideas.
Suppliers can only propose what they understand. A one-page brief gives every caterer, venue and planner the same facts, the same priorities and a clear request. It is not a moodboard, a life story or a finished design.
By EventDoIt · Updated 3 October 2026 · 8 min read
Length
One page you can paste into an email
Include
Facts, three priorities, constraints and the decision date
Leave out
A different story for each supplier
Ask for
What is included, excluded and still unknown
01
Use one version for every enquiry
Keep a single brief and send that version, even when you add a sentence about why you are writing to that supplier. Different guest counts or budgets in parallel emails produce proposals you cannot compare. Date the brief and change the date when a fact changes. If you are not ready to share a number, say that the guest count or budget is still a range.
02
Put the facts suppliers need at the top
State the occasion, the date or the dates you can move, the city or area, the guest range, and the format in one or two sentences. Name the venue if it is booked, or say that you are still choosing. Add the start and the latest finish if you know them. These facts do more work than adjectives. A supplier who has them can tell you quickly if they are available and whether the event fits their work.
Occasion
Date and flexibility
City or venue
Guest range, labelled
Format and sequence
Start and latest finish
03
Name three priorities and the non-goals
Choose three things the event must get right, in order. Examples are a meal where people can talk, an easy journey for older guests, or a short programme that ends on time. Then write what you are willing to simplify: decor, favours, a live band, a second location. Non-goals stop a proposal from spending the budget on something you already decided against. If everything is a priority, the brief does not help anyone choose.
04
State constraints without pretending they are final quotes
A budget range is useful. A made-up total presented as a firm quote is not. Say what is already booked, what must be hired, and any limit you already know: step-free access, a hard end time, no amplified music, children attending, or a room that cannot take open flame. Say when you do not know something yet. Suppliers plan more reliably around an honest gap than around a guess dressed up as a decision.
Budget range, or “quotes needed”
Access needs you already know
Sound and finish limits
What is already booked
What is explicitly out of scope
05
Say who decides and by when
Name the person who will reply, who else must agree, and the date you intend to choose. A brief with five decision makers and no date invites a proposal and then a silence. If a company is paying, say the legal name that should appear on the invoice and whether a procurement step sits between “we like this” and “you are booked”. For a wedding or family event, say whether both partners, or a parent, must agree before you confirm.
06
Ask for a reply you can compare
End with what you want back: availability, a scope, what is excluded, and the questions they need answered before a price is meaningful. Ask them to flag the part of the brief that creates the most risk. You are not asking for a free design of the whole event. The hiring guide covers how to compare those replies. The brief’s job is to make the replies about the same event.