The details to give Claude up front

Claude can only plan around what it knows. A vague brief gets vague suggestions: "a rustic barn venue" when you needed one with a step-free ceremony space within an hour of an airport.

The brief is one short document, plus the Details tab in the sheet. Write it once, put it in project knowledge, and update it when something changes.

What goes in it

• Date. A single date or a range, and how flexible you are. "Any Friday or Saturday in September or early October" opens far more doors than one fixed Saturday.
• Place. The region, how far guests will travel, and whether ceremony and reception are in one place.
• Guest count. A target and a hard maximum. Zola puts it plainly: guest count affects most wedding costs, which makes it one of the biggest budget decisions you'll make. Agree it before you talk to a single venue.
• Budget. The total, and who's putting in what. If a parent is paying for the venue and expects a say in it, write that down. Strings attached are part of the budget.
• Priorities. Your top three, ranked. Money follows priorities, so when Claude has to suggest where to cut, this is what it reads.
• What you don't care about. Just as useful. If neither of you cares about favors, Claude stops suggesting them.
• Deal-breakers. The things that rule a vendor out, however good it looks otherwise.
• Accessibility. Who needs what: step-free routes, accessible restrooms, seating near an exit, a quiet room, dietary needs. Ask every venue the same questions and log the answers. Don't assume a venue covers it. ADA.gov notes that the ADA's rules for businesses open to the public don't apply to religious organizations, and some private clubs may be exempt too, so ask even when a venue says it's accessible.
• Family constraints. Only what Claude needs to plan around: "keep these two apart at dinner", "no alcohol at the rehearsal". Leave out the history. Claude doesn't need it, and you'll be sharing chats.

Getting it out of two heads

The easiest way is to let Claude interview you. Each of you does it on your own first, then you compare. Disagreements come out in a chat, not at a venue in front of a sales manager.

Interview me to write our wedding brief. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Cover: date or date range and flexibility, region and travel, ceremony and reception, guest count target and hard max, total budget and who's contributing, our top three priorities, what we don't care about, deal-breakers, accessibility needs, dietary needs, and family constraints we need to plan around. When we're done, write the brief as a short document with a heading for each, and list anything I wasn't sure about.

Then, with both briefs in one chat:

Here are two versions of our wedding brief, one from each of us. Put them side by side. Where we agree, write the combined line. Where we disagree, don't pick for us: list each difference as a question we need to settle together.

Settle the differences together, then ask Claude to write the final version. Save it in the shared folder, add it to both projects' knowledge, and copy the key numbers into the Details tab.

Sam and Riley's brief (made up)

Date: a Friday or Saturday, mid-September to mid-October next year.
Place: within 90 minutes' drive of Riley's parents. Ceremony and reception in one place if we can.
Guests: aim for 90, hard max 110.
Budget: one total we've agreed between us, plus a fixed amount from Riley's parents toward the venue. No other strings.
Priorities: 1. food 2. a great band 3. everyone can get there easily.
Don't care about: favors, a big cake, matching outfits for the wedding party.
Deal-breakers: a venue that needs a shuttle. No vegetarian main.
Access: Riley's grandmother uses a wheelchair. Step-free ceremony space and restrooms are a must.
Dietary: two guests with celiac disease, one nut allergy.
Family: keep Sam's uncle and his ex-wife's table apart.

That's enough for Claude to rule out half the venues in a region before you spend a weekend touring them.

When the brief changes

It will. The guest count creeps up; the date moves; a parent offers more, or less. When it does:

1. Change the brief doc and the Details tab.
2. Re-upload the brief to both projects. Project knowledge is a copy, so the old version stays until you replace it.
3. Log it in Decisions, with why.
4. Ask Claude what the change breaks:

Our guest count target just went from 90 to 120. Read the sheet. Which booked or shortlisted vendors does this affect? Check capacity, per-head pricing and minimums where we have them, and tell me what to ask each one. Don't guess at numbers we don't have.