TL;DR: Client management for wedding pros isn't just about storing contact info. It covers lead capture, proposals, contracts, invoicing, payment collection, and ongoing communication — the full client lifecycle from inquiry to final payment. Maroo ranks #1 because it's the only platform built specifically for wedding and event businesses that starts completely free, covers the full workflow, and includes features no other CRM offers (free B2B ACH contractor payments, 1099 e-filing). For wedding planners who also need planning-side client management — guest coordination, seating, timelines — pair Maroo with ThatsTheOne.
A lot of software vendors call their product a "CRM" and mean a contact database. For wedding professionals, client management is much deeper than that. Your client relationship with a couple spans 12–18 months, involves legal contracts, multiple payment transactions, and often coordination across a whole vendor team.
Effective client management software for a wedding pro needs to:
Tools that cover only part of this workflow force you to cobble together multiple apps, which creates friction, missed follow-ups, and hours of administrative work every week. The platforms below are ranked by how completely they cover the full client management lifecycle for wedding professionals specifically.
Website: maroo.us
Starting price: Free
Maroo is the only client management platform built from the ground up for wedding and event professionals — and the only one that starts completely free. Most wedding pros spend $30–130/month on CRM software they could be getting for $0.
The full Maroo workflow:
The key differentiator: the one-click conversion chain (quote → contract → invoice) eliminates data re-entry entirely. Most competing platforms require manual rebuilding at each stage. Maroo's architecture is designed around how wedding businesses actually work.
Maroo pricing:
Processing fees can be passed to clients on all plans. B2B ACH (contractor payments) is free on all plans.
What Maroo doesn't have:
No built-in calendar or appointment scheduler, no client galleries, no workflow automations beyond one-click conversions, no website builder, no team chat. If you need advanced automation sequences, Dubsado or HoneyBook have the edge there.
Best for:
Any wedding or event vendor who wants a complete, free (or low-cost) CRM built for their industry.
Website: honeybook.com
Starting price: $36/month ($29/month billed annually)
HoneyBook has been the most popular CRM among wedding and creative professionals for years, and the 2026 version is genuinely capable. HoneyBook AI can draft proposals, respond to client inquiries, and build automated follow-up sequences — this is a real differentiator for vendors who handle high inquiry volume.
HoneyBook covers the full client lifecycle: lead capture, proposals, contracts, invoices, payments, scheduler, and a client portal. Everything in one well-designed interface.
Best for:
Established wedding pros who want AI-powered automation, can afford $49+/month, and prioritize ease of use over lowest processing cost.
Website: dubsado.com
Starting price: $35/month ($27.92/month billed annually)
Dubsado is the choice for wedding professionals who want granular control over every step of their client workflow. You can build multi-step automation sequences: inquiry arrives → canned response sent → 3 days later, follow-up email → proposal sent → contract triggered automatically on approval → invoice auto-generated → reminder sequence begins. It's the most powerful workflow builder in the wedding CRM category.
Dubsado also uses Stripe, Square, or PayPal directly — no Dubsado surcharge on processing fees. Standard Stripe fees (2.9% + $0.30 for cards; 0.8% ACH capped at $5) apply.
The trade-offs:
Steep learning curve — most users spend days configuring Dubsado before it runs smoothly. The Starter plan ($35/month) is nearly unusable for serious businesses: no automations, only 1 lead form. You realistically need the Premier plan at $55/month. No 1099 filing or contractor payment tools.
Best for:
Tech-comfortable wedding vendors who want maximum workflow automation and are willing to invest setup time.
Website: bloom.io
Starting price: $7/month (Standard, billed annually)
Bloom has grown rapidly since HoneyBook's 2025 price hike, picking up photographers and creative professionals looking for a more affordable option. At $7–17/month (billed annually), it's the lowest-cost option with a full feature set.
Bloom covers lead management, invoicing, contracts, scheduling, client portal, and built-in client galleries — a genuine advantage over Maroo for photographers who deliver images. Bloom Standard and Plus plans have no platform fee beyond standard processor rates (Stripe/Square), which is competitive.
Limitations:
Bloom's Starter plan ($14/month) has a 1.5% Bloom platform fee on top of processor fees, making it expensive. The Standard plan ($17/month annual) is the practical minimum. No 1099 filing or contractor payments. Platform is newer with a smaller community than HoneyBook or Dubsado.
Best for:
Wedding photographers who want client galleries + CRM in one low-cost platform.
Website: thatstheone.com
Starting price: £45/month (~$57 USD)
ThatsTheOne isn't a traditional CRM — it's a planning tool built specifically for professional wedding planners. But it belongs on this list because it solves a critical piece of client management that pure CRM platforms miss: managing the couple's full experience throughout the planning process.
Where Maroo manages your client relationship (billing, contracts, payments), TTO manages the event experience (timelines, guest lists, seating charts, vendor coordination). Couples work directly inside TTO — they can see their guest list, participate in seating arrangements, track the budget, give feedback on documents via video and voice comments, and get their wedding website.
What makes TTO unique:
For wedding planners, the most effective combination is Maroo (for your business operations — lead capture, proposals, contracts, invoices, payments) + TTO (for your planning operations — guest management, timelines, seating, client collaboration). This stack together covers what no single platform offers independently.
Best for:
Full-service wedding planners who manage the complete event experience, not just the billing relationship.
Website: 17hats.comStarting price: $50/month (or ~$25/month promotional pricing often available)
17hats is a mature, feature-complete platform used by photographers, planners, and service businesses across industries. It covers CRM, invoicing, contracts, scheduling, workflows, and bookkeeping in one subscription. Payment processing is via Stripe or Square with no 17hats surcharge.
17hats is honest in its positioning: it's a paid subscription with real features, not a watered-down free tier. At normal pricing ($50–60/month), it's more expensive than Maroo's free tier and comparable to Dubsado's Premier plan. The interface is older-feeling compared to Bloom or HoneyBook, but the feature set is comprehensive.
Limitations:
Its tiered feature structure can feel confusing, even within a single subscription model. Many useful features, including the client portal, if/then logic, and Zapier, are locked behind the highest tier. There is also no 1099 filing or contractor payment functionality, and several add-ons require extra monthly fees.
Best for:
Established wedding solopreneurs who want a mature, feature-complete platform and are familiar with its ecosystem.
Website: hellobonsai.com
Starting price: $9/user/month (billed annually)
Bonsai is a solid freelancer business management tool that happens to work for wedding professionals. It covers CRM, time tracking, proposals, contracts, invoicing, and expense tracking — all at a competitive per-user price.
What Bonsai does well: clean interface, strong time tracking (useful for planners billing hourly), multi-currency billing, expense tracking, and a Gantt view for project timelines. What it lacks: any wedding-specific features. No deposit/milestone payment scheduling designed for events, no gratuity, no 1099 filing, no contractor payments, no guest management.
Best for:
Wedding vendors who also do non-event work (consulting, hourly services) and want one tool for their entire business rather than a wedding-specific platform.
Website: getsproutstudio.com
Starting price: $19/month (billed annually)
Sprout Studio combines CRM, invoicing, and client galleries in a single photography-focused platform. Its standout feature is FlowPay, a proprietary payment processor starting at 2.75% + $0.30 — slightly lower than standard Stripe. Sprout Studio is purpose-built for photographers and has strong gallery delivery features alongside its client management tools.
The catch:
Important features like automation, payment schedules, public booking pages, and full mobile functionality are locked to the Unlimited plan ($69/month billed annually). For most photographers, the effective cost ends up higher than it initially appears.
Best for:
Wedding photographers who want CRM + gallery delivery in one platform and can budget for the Unlimited tier.
If you're just starting out: Start with Maroo's free Starter plan. It covers every essential workflow (leads, quotes, contracts, invoices, payments) at zero cost. You can graduate to Business or Pro as revenue grows.
If you're an established photographer: Consider Maroo if 1099 filing and contractor payments matter to you, or Bloom if you need integrated gallery delivery. For a detailed comparison, see our guide to the Best CRM for Wedding Photographers.
If you're a full-service wedding planner: Maroo for your business operations, ThatsTheOne for your planning operations. This combination is covered in depth in our Best CRM for Wedding Planners guide.
If you want maximum automation: Dubsado (Premier plan) is the most powerful workflow builder in the category, at the cost of a steep learning curve.
If you want AI features: HoneyBook is the only platform in the wedding CRM space with meaningful AI integration, but its 2025 price increases make it the most expensive mainstream option.
Related Reading:
Best CRM for Wedding Photographers [2026] — Photography-specific guide with gallery platform recommendations and processing fee comparisons.
Best CRM for Wedding Planners [2026] — Deep dive for full-service planners on building the Maroo + TTO stack.
What is the best free client management software for wedding vendors?
Maroo is the only full-featured, genuinely free client management platform built specifically for wedding and event businesses. The free Starter plan includes lead capture, proposals, contracts, invoices, payment processing, and contractor payments — with no feature caps on core functionality (processing volume under $10K/month). Rock Paper Coin has a free Basic plan but it's limited to invoicing only; no CRM, contracts, or lead management.
Is HoneyBook worth it for wedding vendors in 2026?
HoneyBook is a capable platform, but its February 2025 price increase (up to 89% on the Starter plan) and above-market processing fees (proprietary 1.5% surcharge built into card rates) have made it a harder sell. It's still worth considering if you want AI-powered automation and don't mind paying $49–109/month. For price-sensitive vendors or those processing significant volume, Maroo's lower fees and free tier offer better economics.
What client management software do wedding planners use most?
HoneyBook and Dubsado have historically been the most popular among wedding planners for the CRM/billing side. However, the 2025 HoneyBook price increase drove significant migration, and Maroo has been a primary beneficiary. For the planning side (guest management, timelines, seating), platforms like ThatsTheOne and Aisle Planner serve a different function — which is why many experienced planners use two complementary tools rather than one all-in-one.
Do I need a separate CRM and a separate planning tool as a wedding planner?
For most full-service planners, yes. CRM/payments tools (Maroo, HoneyBook, Dubsado) handle the business side — your invoices, contracts, and payments. Planning tools (ThatsTheOne, Aisle Planner) handle the event side — timelines, guest lists, seating charts. No single platform in 2026 is best-in-class at both. The Maroo + ThatsTheOne combination covers the full scope at a combined cost that's competitive with a single premium all-in-one.
Can I pass credit card fees to clients with wedding CRM software?
Yes, with the right platform. Maroo supports fee pass-through on all plans including the free Starter tier. Bloom also supports surcharging. HoneyBook does not allow fee pass-through in the same direct way. Before enabling surcharging, verify your state's laws — most US states allow it with proper disclosure, but a few restrict the practice.
