Merge fields
Every merge tag Hailo can fill in for you, what each one resolves to, the ones you must fill in yourself at send time, and the tags that are easy to mix up.
A merge tag is a placeholder in double curly braces, such as {{first_name}}, that Hailo replaces with the real value when an email is sent or previewed. Most tags fill themselves from the lead, the wedding, or your studio profile. A smaller group are manual: Hailo cannot know the value, so you type it in before you send.
Tags are filled in at the moment of sending. In the composer you can leave {{first_name}} in the body and it goes out as the couple's name. A tag Hailo cannot fill shows as [missing: name] in the preview.
Client
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{first_name}} |
The first partner's first name | Alex |
{{partner_name}} |
The second partner's first name | Sam |
{{couple_names}} |
Both names together, or the record's display name | Alex & Sam |
{{greeting_names}} |
Names shaped for a greeting. Falls back to the first name alone when no partner is on file, so you never get "Hi Alex and ," | Alex and Sam |
{{client_email}} |
The couple's email | alex@example.com |
{{client_phone}} |
The couple's phone | (555) 123-4567 |
Use {{greeting_names}} in the opening line instead of {{first_name}} and {{partner_name}}. Many imported clients have no partner name on file.
Event
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{wedding_date_long}} |
Wedding date, written out | September 14th, 2026 |
{{wedding_date_short}} |
Wedding date, numeric | 9/14/26 |
{{wedding_day}} |
Day of the week of the wedding | Saturday |
{{wedding_date_iso}} |
Wedding date as year-month-day | 2026-09-14 |
{{ceremony_venue}} |
Ceremony venue | Sundance Resort |
{{reception_venue}} |
Reception venue | The Tree Room |
{{getting_ready_venue}} |
Getting-ready venue | The Cliff Lodge |
{{planner_name}} |
Planner's name from the event | Jordan Lee |
{{photographer_name}} |
Photographer's name from the event | Casey Park |
Filmmaker (you)
These come from your studio profile under Settings.
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{your_name}} |
Your first name | Cody |
{{your_full_name}} |
Your full name | Cody Giles |
{{business_name}} |
Your studio name | Films by Stanton |
{{your_email}} |
Your email | hello@filmsbystanton.com |
{{your_phone}} |
Your phone | (555) 987-6543 |
{{your_website}} |
Your website | filmsbystanton.com |
{{your_instagram}} |
Your Instagram handle | @filmsbystanton |
{{scheduling_link}} |
Your scheduling link (Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com or any booking URL) from Settings > Integrations > Scheduling | https://calendly.com/you/discovery |
{{calendly_link}} |
Same value as {{scheduling_link}}. Kept so older templates keep working |
|
{{governing_state}} |
Governing state for contracts | Tennessee |
{{edit_hourly_rate}} |
Your edit hourly rate for contracts | 100 |
{{reschedule_fee}} |
Your reschedule fee for contracts | 750 |
{{retainer_fraction}} |
Retainer fraction for contracts | one-third |
{{retainer_terms}} |
Your default payment terms from your business profile. Falls back to a standard non-refundable line when none are saved | the retainer is non-refundable per our agreement |
Date
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{today_long}} |
Today's date, written out | May 23rd, 2026 |
{{today_short}} |
Today's date, numeric | 5/23/26 |
{{year}} |
The current year | 2026 |
{{next_year}} |
Next year | 2027 |
Delivery
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{gallery_link}} |
The couple's gallery link. Fills itself, so it is safe in automations | https://client.example.com/d/avery-and-steven |
{{saved_link}} |
The "We've saved them" link for the download reminder. Only has a value when there is a gallery behind the email | https://client.example.com/d/avery-and-steven/saved |
Vendor
Only offered when the template's Recipient is vendor or planner.
| Tag | Fills in with | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{vendor_name}} |
The vendor's name | Jordan |
{{vendor_business}} |
The vendor's business | Lee Events |
Manual tags: you fill these in at send time
Hailo has no record to read these from. They are in the picker so you can drop them into a template as a reminder, but you replace them with real words before you send. In the builder they are marked "You fill this in at send time".
| Tag | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{amount}} |
A dollar amount | $1,500 |
{{due_date}} |
A due date | August 14th, 2026 |
{{link}} |
Any link | https://example.com/gallery/abc |
{{passcode}} |
A gallery or download passcode | love2026 |
{{file_size}} |
A file size | 180GB |
{{reason}} |
A reason for a delay or change | an unexpected hardware failure |
{{weather}} |
The forecast | sunny, 72°F |
{{location}} |
A place | Provo Canyon Trailhead |
{{time}} |
A time | 6:30pm |
{{arrival_time}} |
When you arrive | 1:00pm |
{{first_location}} |
Where the day starts | The Cliff Lodge |
{{coverage}} |
The package or coverage they chose | Signature Coverage |
{{personal_detail}} |
Something specific to this couple | the surprise vow you're writing |
{{delivery_window}} |
Your delivery window | 12-week |
{{remaining_weeks}} |
Weeks left until delivery | 10 |
{{original_date}} |
The original date, for a reschedule | August 14th |
{{new_date}} |
The new date, for a reschedule | August 28th |
{{old_date}} |
The old date, for a cancellation or change | September 14th, 2026 |
{{review_link}} |
Where to leave a review | https://g.page/r/abc/review |
{{inquiry_link}} |
Your inquiry form link | https://filmsbystanton.com/inquire |
{{number}} |
Any number | 24 |
{{months}} |
Month names | January and February |
{{dates}} |
A list of dates | Jan 17, Feb 7, Feb 21 |
{{day}} |
A day of the week | Saturday |
{{year_milestone}} |
Which anniversary | 5 |
An automation sends with nobody watching, so it cannot fill a manual tag. Keep manual tags out of templates that automations send, or the couple can receive the placeholder.
Older spellings that still work
Some earlier templates use shorter tags. These map to the tags above, so they keep working.
| Older tag | Same as |
|---|---|
{{wedding_date}} |
{{wedding_date_long}} |
{{date}} |
{{wedding_date_long}} |
{{today}} |
{{today_long}} |
{{venue}} |
{{ceremony_venue}} |
{{phone}} |
{{your_phone}} |
{{year_count}} |
{{year_milestone}} |
{{handle}} |
{{your_instagram}} |
{{calendly_link}} |
{{scheduling_link}} |
Tags that are easy to mix up
{{day}}is manual,{{wedding_day}}is automatic. If you want the day of the wedding, use{{wedding_day}}.{{day}}is for a day you are naming yourself, such as a call day.{{link}}is manual,{{gallery_link}}is automatic. For a gallery email, use{{gallery_link}}.{{link}}is a blank for any other URL you paste in yourself.- The venue tag is
{{ceremony_venue}}.{{venue}}also works as an older spelling.{{venue_name}}is not a tag and never fills in. {{couple_names}}and{{greeting_names}}differ when a partner is missing or when you file a couple under a surname.{{greeting_names}}never uses the display name, so a couple filed as "The Millers" does not get "Hi The Millers,".
If it didn't work
- The email arrived with
{{something}}in it. The tag is misspelt or is not one of the tags above. Check the spelling against the tables and use Insert merge tag to be sure. - The preview shows
[missing: tag]. Either the record has no value for it (for example no wedding date yet) or it is a manual tag. Fill in the record, or replace the tag with words. - A vendor tag shows as missing in a client template. Vendor tags only fill in when the template's Recipient is vendor or planner.