Event planners on Instagram: turn "are you free on our date?" into a booked call
For an event planner, Instagram is where people first see what you can do. A couple watches a reel of a wedding you styled, a company sees your summer party, and they message "are you free on 14 June and roughly what do you charge?". You may be on site at another event when it arrives. An AI agent can reply straight away, check the date against your calendar, ask the few questions you always need answered, and book a consultation. Quotes, design ideas and supplier conversations stay with you. This playbook shows how to set that up and keep your account safe.
Why the first reply matters
People planning an event usually contact several planners in the same evening. The first to reply with something useful, such as "yes, we are free on that date, can I ask a few questions?", often gets the consultation. A slow reply can mean the client has already booked calls with others.
You cannot reply in the middle of a ceremony or a setup. An AI agent handles the first steps: the date, the type of event, the guest count, the location and a rough budget. It books a call, and you arrive at that call already knowing the basics.
Qualify kindly
Not every enquiry is a fit, and that is fine. Give the agent your minimums, the events you specialise in and the area you cover. It can share them politely and suggest a call, without turning anyone away in a cold way. You decide who you work with.
What customers ask on Instagram
- Are you free on 14 June next year?
- Roughly how much do you charge for a wedding?
- Do you do corporate events?
- Can you do just on-the-day coordination?
- Do you travel for destination events?
- Can you recommend a venue?
- What's included in full planning?
An example conversation
This illustration shows a couple who found the planner through a wedding reel. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Sam | Hi! We love your work. Are you free on 14 June next year for our wedding? |
| AI agent | Hi Sam, congratulations! We are currently free on 14 June. Could you tell me roughly how many guests you are expecting, and the area or venue if you have one? |
| Sam | About 120, we're looking at barns near Oxford. |
| AI agent | Lovely. Full planning starts from £4,500 and on-the-day coordination from £1,200, and Bella tailors every quote after a call. Would a 30-minute video call on Tuesday at 6pm or Thursday at 12 suit you? |
| Sam | Tuesday at 6! |
| AI agent | Booked. Bella will send a link and look forward to hearing your plans. |
What the agent answers
- Checking whether a date is free, from your calendar, without promising to hold it.
- Asking your standard questions: date, event type, guest count, location and rough budget.
- Your packages and starting prices, with a note that every quote is tailored.
- The kinds of events you do and the areas you cover.
- Booking consultation calls into the times you set.
- Your process, from first call to the day itself, in general terms.
What it always hands to you
- Quotes, contracts, deposits and holding a date.
- Design ideas, themes and creative questions.
- Venue and supplier recommendations, which carry your reputation.
- Existing clients and anything about a booked event.
- Complaints, cancellations and refunds.
- Supplier and venue partnership enquiries.
Never let the agent hold a date
"Are you free?" is the most important question, and "can you hold it for us?" usually follows. The agent can say whether a date is currently free, but it should never hold one. Holding a date is a business decision tied to a contract and a deposit. Tell the agent to say Bella will discuss holding the date on the call.
The Instagram limits that matter here
| Limit | Spaces limit per Instagram account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 80 a day |
| Gap between messages | At least 15 seconds |
| New conversations you start | 6 an hour, 20 a day |
Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best.
Set it up in an afternoon
- Write a planner note: event types, areas, packages and starting prices, your standard questions, consultation times and the topics that come to you.
- Connect your Instagram account in Spaces. You sign in to Instagram through a secure link and approve the connection.
- Connect an always-on AI agent, such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes, using the steps for your client on our agents page, so it can answer messages as they arrive (chat apps such as ChatGPT and Claude act only when you ask them in a chat), and give it the note and access to your calendar if it can reach it.
- Set aside consultation slots so the agent offers real times.
- Decide whether the agent replies in the evenings, when many couples message. Most planners let it reply and book calls for the next week.
- Read every conversation for the first few weeks and add anything the agent did not know to the note.
A sample planner note
BUSINESS: Bella Rose Events. Weddings, parties and corporate events.
AREAS: Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. Destination events by request.
PACKAGES (examples): full planning from £4,500,
partial planning from £2,500, on-the-day coordination from £1,200.
Every quote is tailored after a call.
STANDARD QUESTIONS: date, type of event, guest count,
venue or area, rough budget.
CONSULTATIONS: 30-minute video calls, Tue 6pm, Thu 12pm, Sat 10am.
DATES: say whether a date is currently free. Never hold a date.
ALWAYS HAND TO BELLA: quotes, contracts, deposits, holding dates,
design ideas, venue or supplier recommendations, existing clients,
complaints, cancellations, partnerships.Engagement season and busy evenings
Enquiries cluster around the new year and after big holidays, when many couples get engaged. Spaces paces every reply and keeps your account inside Instagram's limits, so on a very busy evening some replies may take a little longer. The agent still answers far sooner than a planner on site at someone else's wedding.
Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best. For a planner, that is no problem, because enquiries start with the client.
After the call
Once you have spoken to a couple or a client, the conversation becomes yours. You can tell the agent to stay out of that chat, or to handle only simple things like confirming a meeting time. Proposals, contracts and creative work stay with you. A follow-up a few days after a proposal is fine when it is personal and the client is expecting it. Workflows can do this and stop as soon as the client replies.
A second example: an enquiry outside your range
Some enquiries do not fit your packages. The agent should be honest and kind, share what you offer and let the client decide. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Priya | Hi, we're planning a small birthday dinner for 20 next month, budget about £600. Could you help? |
| AI agent | Hi Priya, thanks for thinking of us. Our smallest package is on-the-day coordination from £1,200, so it may be more than you need for a dinner of 20. If you would still like to talk it through, Bella has a call free on Thursday at 12. |
| Priya | Ah ok, thanks for being upfront. I'll think about it. |
The agent did not turn Priya away, and it did not pretend the budget would work. It shared the facts and left the door open. If Bella would rather take smaller events in quiet months, that goes in the note.
Corporate enquiries and briefs
Corporate clients usually message with more structure: a date range, a headcount, a city and a request for a proposal. The agent can collect the brief, ask for an email address and the decision-maker's name, and book a call. Proposals, pricing for a specific event and any supplier contracts stay with you.
Some companies will ask for references, insurance details or past work. Give the agent a short answer for each, or tell it to pass these requests to you. It should never send documents you have not approved for sharing.
Common mistakes planners make
- Letting the agent hold dates, which can lead to double bookings.
- No starting prices in the note, so every enquiry needs you.
- Long questionnaires in the first reply. Two or three questions, then a call.
- Messaging people who liked a post but never got in touch.
Who you message
In short
For an event planner, an AI agent on Instagram answers the first, most important question within moments: are you free? It asks the basics, shares starting prices and books a consultation. Quotes, dates, design and suppliers stay with you.
Spaces keeps your account inside safe limits and paces every reply, but Instagram can still restrict accounts that behave unusually, so keep the agent to replies to people who message you.
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent hold a date for a client?
It should not. It can say a date is currently free, but holding a date is a business decision tied to your contract and deposit. Tell it to leave that for the call.
Can it give quotes?
It can share your packages and starting prices from your note, with a clear line that every quote is tailored. The actual quote comes from you.
Can it recommend venues or suppliers?
Keep recommendations with you. They carry your reputation, and they often depend on details only you will hear on the call.
What about corporate clients?
The agent can ask the same standard questions and book a call. Many corporate clients prefer email for contracts, so it can take an email address and pass it to you.
Will it follow up after a proposal?
Only when you ask it to, and only with people expecting to hear from you. Spaces workflows stop the moment the person replies.
Can it reply in the evenings?
Yes. That is when many enquiries arrive. You can tell it in its notes to reply at any time, or pause sending whenever you like.
Should it say it is an AI?
Many planners do in the first reply. A line such as "I'm Bella's AI agent and I can book you a call with her" is honest and friendly.
Can I take over once a client is booked?
Yes. When you reply in a chat, the agent stays out of that conversation until you hand it back. Many planners keep every booked client's chat for themselves and let the agent handle new enquiries only.