The problem
Couples choose venues partly on reviews on Google and wedding directories, but asking for them depends on someone remembering in the busy week after a wedding. If a venue holds 5 weddings a month and the coordinator remembers to ask only 2 of the couples, 3 a month, 36 a year, are never asked, and each request that is sent takes about 15 minutes to find the details and write.
What the AI does
For each wedding, add a calendar event in Google Calendar 7 days after the date, titled 'Review request' with the couple's email added as a guest. A two-step Zapier automation starts when that event begins and sends the couple an email through Gmail with a thank-you and your review links, such as your Google Business Profile and the wedding directories you list on. Every couple gets the same request, whatever their wedding was like, and the coordinator reads and replies to what comes back.
A worked example
A country house venue in Cheshire holds about 5 weddings a month and lists on Google and two wedding directories. The coordinator adds the review reminder when a wedding is confirmed, and the email goes a week after the day.
Before
5 weddings a month, with about 2 couples asked, at 15 minutes each
After
Every couple asked 7 days after their wedding, with about 2 minutes per wedding to add the calendar event
What it's worth
About $350£263€313A$505C$494 a month in profit if more reviews help win 1 extra wedding a year: $11,970£9,000€10,710A$17,280C$16,920 at an assumed 35% margin is $4,190£3,150€3,749A$6,048C$5,922 a year, about $350£263€313A$505C$494 a month. That extra wedding is an assumption, not a promise. Zapier's Free plan allows two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month, so 5 emails a month fits, and the time saved isn't counted.
How to set it up
- Collect your review links: your Google Business Profile review link and each wedding directory profile.
- Write one short thank-you email in your own words with those links, and ask your manager to read it as a couple would.
- For each confirmed wedding, add a 'Review request' event to Google Calendar 7 days after the date, with the couple's email as a guest.
- In Zapier, start a Zap when that event starts and send the email through Gmail.
- Once a month, check every wedding had a request sent, and reply to each new review yourself.
What goes wrong
- Ask every couple, not just the happy ones. Google's review policies don't allow selectively asking for positive reviews, and UK consumer law treats hiding or faking reviews seriously.
- Zapier can fail silently, for example if the Google connection expires. The monthly check catches it.
- Don't offer discounts or gifts for reviews; directories and Google have rules against incentives.
- Couples' emails are personal data. A review request about their own wedding is fine, but don't add them to marketing without consent.