CRM shopping for wedding vendors gets noisy fast. Feature grids. Template marketplaces. AI badges. Meanwhile you still need to know whether Saturday’s delay reached the band.
Here’s a practical checklist you can use without drinking the marketing Kool-Aid—including ours.
1. One client record from inquiry to delivery
If leads, contracts, invoices, and galleries are different “people” in different apps, you’ll pay for that confusion every week.
2. Craft tools that don’t trap you in a silo
Photographers need galleries. Planners need guests and seating. DJs need requests. Venues need spaces. The platform should respect the craft and let those roles share an event when it matters.
Replyva’s model is explicit about that: every vendor on the guest list. Browse vendor pages or a specific craft like venues or DJs.
3. Day-of is part of the CRM, not a PDF export
Ask demos:
- Can vendors open a live run of show on their phones?
- Can a delay cascade without five chats?
- Is there voice when typing fails?
If day-of is “export to PDF,” budget for chaos.
4. Storage and seats that match how you work
Some vendors barely deliver files. Others deliver terabytes. Your plan structure should admit that—without locking features behind craft gates.
5. Honest AI
AI that drafts a reply or scores a lead can help. AI that invents availability or fabricates testimonials is a liability. Prefer tools that keep you in the loop.
6. Migration reality
Ask how you get data out. Ask what happens to client portals if you leave. Pretty onboarding means nothing if exit is a hostage situation.
How to run a fair trial
- Import or recreate one real client
- Send one real proposal path (even to yourself)
- Walk a mini day-of board with a teammate
- Time how long “where’s the deposit?” takes to answer
Thirty days is enough to feel the seams.
Further reading
For general CRM evaluation frameworks (industry-agnostic), public resources like HubSpot’s CRM buyer guides explain selection criteria such as pipeline stages and reporting—useful vocabulary even if you’re not buying a generic sales CRM. Translate every criterion into wedding-vendor jobs: inquiry handling, deposits, delivery, day-of.
Try Replyva on those terms
We’re built for wedding and event vendors who are tired of single-craft silos. Free for 30 days. Judge us on a real wedding path, not a slide deck.
