American couples and their families call a familiar +1 number about the big day. You answer in an app, or call back in their evening.
Destination wedding planners, venues and photographers outside the US use a US virtual number so American couples and their families can call a familiar +1 number. The TripoSIM number rings in an app, takes voicemail when you are on site and includes 300 minutes a month of calls to the US and Canada. It receives texts but cannot send them.
A couple in Chicago planning a wedding in Tuscany, Tulum or Bali does most of it after work and at weekends. They read your site, send an enquiry and then want to talk. Many will not dial an Italian or Indonesian number from their phone, and their parents, who often help pay, are even less likely to. A +1 number makes the first call an ordinary US call, and it shows you are set up to work with American couples.
The TripoSIM US Virtual Number runs in an app on your phone over Wi-Fi or mobile data, next to your local SIM. It works for planners, venues, photographers and anyone else a couple books from abroad. Be clear about where you are: "Based in Florence, taking US calls in your evenings" is honest, and a +1 number does not give you a US office.
Mostly in their evenings and on weekends, when both partners are free. New York is UTC-5 in the US winter and UTC-4 in the US summer, and couples in California are three hours behind New York. Here is when those calls land where you work:
| Where you plan weddings | 7 p.m. in New York, in your time | Saturday 10 a.m. in New York, in your time | A call window that works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1 a.m. most of the year | 4 p.m. most of the year | Saturday afternoons, and weekday calls at 6 p.m., their lunch hour |
| Mexico (Cancún) | 6 p.m. in the US summer, 7 p.m. in the US winter | 9 a.m. in the US summer, 10 a.m. in the US winter | Their evening is your evening, so most calls can be live |
| Bali | 7 a.m. the next day in the US summer, 8 a.m. in the US winter | 10 p.m. Saturday in the US summer, 11 p.m. in the US winter | Early mornings, after the couple has had dinner |
Cancún keeps the same time all year, and so does Bali, so US clock changes move these times by an hour. Italy changes its clocks on different dates from the US, so for a few weeks each spring and autumn the gap is an hour shorter. The US time-zone clock shows the time in each zone right now, and the best time to call US clients has more countries.
Put both time zones in every call you book: "Thursday 7 p.m. Central, 2 a.m. Friday in Italy" makes it obvious when a time does not work, before anyone sets an alarm.
On many weekends you are at a wedding and cannot answer. The greeting should say so, and tell couples what happens next:
"You have reached [your name] at [company], planning weddings in [region] for couples from the US. On weekends I am usually at a wedding, so leave your names, your date and where you are hoping to marry, and I will call you back within two days. You can also email [your address]."
Messages can be up to 2 minutes, up to 30 a month, kept 30 days. With notifications and the microphone allowed, TripoSIM says calls ring even when the app is closed, so you can silence the phone during a ceremony and play messages afterwards. The voicemail guide has setup steps.
Most of your vendors are local: the florist, the caterer and the venue in your country call your local number, as they do now. The US number is for the people on the American side:
Calls couples make to you are included up to a fair use of 300 minutes a month. Only calls you place use your 300 minutes to the US and Canada. Each outgoing call is rounded up to the next full minute; unanswered calls are free. Three example months, worked out for a year:
| Example | Calls out to the US and Canada | Extra minutes | One year on the yearly plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off season | 2 planning calls a week, 20 minutes each: about 174 minutes a month | None: within the included minutes | $100 |
| Peak season | 6 planning calls a week, 20 minutes each: about 520 minutes a month | 27 × $5 = $135 a year | $235 |
| Peak season plus US vendors | the same, plus 2 vendor calls a week of 15 minutes: about 650 minutes a month | 42 × $5 = $210 a year | $310 |
Incoming calls do not use your minutes (fair use 300 minutes a month). Each plan includes 300 minutes a month out; extra minutes are $5 per 100, and unused extra minutes carry over to the next month, so the year counts the packs for all 12 months together. Prices before tax.
A worked example for peak season. Those 6 calls a week do not all have to be calls you place. If couples dial your +1 number for half of them, about 260 minutes a month come from the incoming allowance and about 260 from your own minutes. Both stay within the plan, with no extra minutes to buy. Put "call me at" and your number in the booking confirmation, so couples know to dial you.
The monthly plan is $12.99 with the same minutes. If the number is on your website, directory profiles and printed materials, keep it active all year: when a plan ends, the number is kept 30 days on the yearly plan or 90 days on the monthly plan, then released. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
The number receives texts from US and Canadian senders, so you see "can we move our call to 8?" in the app. Sending texts is not included, so answer with a call or an email. Write "call or email" on your site, not "call or text".
Many couples are happy to plan over WhatsApp. The number receives the WhatsApp verification code, so you can set up WhatsApp Business on the same +1 number couples call, and share mood boards and timelines there. See WhatsApp Business on a US number.
The same person can have as many TripoSIM US numbers as they like on one account, each with its own plan, minutes and voicemail greeting. A planner who also runs a photography studio, or a venue group with two estates, can give each its own number, so the greeting and the caller's first impression match the brand they found.
Each number is one person's line in their own app. If your assistant takes calls too, give them their own number rather than sharing one.
Two plans with the same number, minutes and app.
$100per year
About $8.33 a month, paid once a year
Renews yearly until you cancel
$12.99per month
Cancel the renewal anytime. $155.88 over 12 months
Renews monthly until you cancel
Prices in US dollars as published by TripoSIM. Payments are not refunded, except a full refund if your ID check fails or your number is not delivered within 72 hours, or where local law requires. Checkout continues on TripoSIM. Right after payment you complete an ID check with a selfie, then choose from the numbers available.