The people behind the scenes play an important role in your wedding, Yes! I’m very much talking about wedding suppliers or wedding vendors. Your wedding suppliers are responsible for creating your big day the way you want it to be. They are the ones who arrange your entire wedding look from your wedding venue to the wedding flowers, wedding cars to wedding photography, wedding food to the wedding drinks, wedding music to the wedding entertainment, and everything else in the process!
In order to have a perfect day, it is just as important to establish a solid working relationship with your wedding vendors as it was spending all those hours researching them in the first place. It is crucial to foster great relationships with all your wedding suppliers during one of the most stressful times of your entire life.
Idea of hiring vendors is to simply take the wedding pressure off ourselves and make sure that everything will be done professionally. Multiple times you may need to call and connect with these wedding vendors during, before and after the wedding. Many couples fail to successfully handle their vendors. Have you ever thought what could be the possible reasons? Why it happened? And I’m sure you would never want to have the same stress which your cousin went through. Already your wedding planning is a huge stress at times. Well, here are some important points to keep in mind while you deal with your wedding suppliers. Do follow these tips to corroborate successful relationships with your wedding supplier. Here we go…
Book only when you are comfortable with the supplier
First things first, your vendors will help you create the perfect day of your life, hence it is crucial you book them only if you find yourself comfortable with them. And that is not very tough to know, one can’t hide his/her behavior for long. Also, do a lot of research, read reviews, and if possible talk to some of their past clients. Take your first step cautiously.
Meet them in person
It is crucial that you meet your wedding suppliers in person, if you do so it will be easy for you to understand them and their work clearly. Do not book them over the phone or email.
Be specific
It is crucial to be specific from the beginning of the planning phase, have a clear vision for your wedding day, how do you want it to be and what exactly you are looking for. Having clarity about your ‘wants’ and ‘don’t want’ will help your wedding suppliers create a wonderful day for you. Also, it prevents last-minute changes and chaos.
Communication is key
While you meet your wedding supplier, make sure you have a list of all the key points with you and you go through each of them individually. Ask your supplier questions or for their opinions to ensure that you both are on the same page. Also, it is crucial to keep your suppliers updated with any changes, additional information or developments related to their services as and when they arise.
Reach on time for appointments
Remember, your wedding suppliers’ time is as precious and valuable as yours, so be solicitous and reach for your appointment on time or a few minutes early, but not 15 minutes late. Not being punctual could cause your suppliers a problem, which is not a good sign. If at all some unforeseen situation arise due to which you would get late, call your vendor immediately and tell them about your situation to either reschedule the meeting for another day or to simply letting them know you will be late.
Pay a deposit in advance
Your wedding suppliers will put in a lot of work, and invest in a lot of equipment as well, before your Big Day itself, so it becomes crucial that they are paid a deposit in advance. Once you are okay with the wedding vendor it is advised to book the vendor by paying the deposit in advance. The earlier you pay the deposit amount, the better it is for the smooth functioning. They will feel motivated once they get advance deposit, also your booking is considered final once you pay in advance. So, do not linger on payments.
Be clear about your budget
Whether you are planning a big fat wedding or an intimate low-key celebration with just your loved ones, you need to be clear with your vendors on your budget at your first meeting itself. Only when you will tell your exact budget, your vendor to-be would be able to give you services accordingly, he/she will be able to suggest a wedding menu/wedding photography/invitation packages that is in your pocket and fits your budget.
Bargaining is not a good deal
You may love to bargain for everything and anything. You must be enjoying bargaining. But trust not every time bargains work well. Do not try to bargain with your wedding supplier… A small amount of bargain is still okay, but if you want to break the deal in really some unexpected amount then you will end up getting worse services or losing the right vendor. Be realistic, understand that every service you are paying for costs your vendors.
Signing a contract is mandatory
Once you finalize the supplier, it is essential that you sign a legal contract with your wedding vendor. The contract has everything in detail such as specific services, expectations, prices, payment dates, and timelines. Signing a contract saves you from later chaos and it is always good to go by rules, rather to go by emotions.
Set realistic timelines to get best services
You can’t expect your vendor to do wonders in unrealistic timelines. It is crucial that you give your wedding suppliers plenty of time to do their jobs skillfully. It would be absolutely unrealistic to ask your boutique to stitch your wedding attire in two days, or to expect your wedding photographer to give your pictures in a weeks’ time. That is not done, you need to allow your wedding vendors enough time to finish their task appropriately.
Be professional
It is crucial that you maintain a ‘professional’ working relationship with your wedding vendors whilst planning your wedding. You need to trust your vendors for they have done this dozens of times before and they will be able to offer sound advice on what will work and what won’t.
Trust them
You need to trust your vendor’s expertise and discretion. Give your vendor enough freedom to be creative to create what exactly you want at your wedding. Trust that your vendor also wants to retain you, he/ she will never want to spoil their names in the industry. Their work is based on their past, and present clients. Once you choose your vendor, and have already explained your vision, trust that your wedding supplier will create the best for you. It’s their job and they have been doing it for many years now. Do not expect them to replicate your Pinterest board down at your wedding. Allow them to be more creative and create something unique and special at your wedding that evokes the same style and feeling but in an original way. You’re paying for their expertise so let them freedom to use it!
You need to be organized
If you want your wedding suppliers to be organized, then you need to be organized too. It is crucial that you provide your suppliers with written details so that no piece of vital information is missed out. Don’t miss to supply them the correct details, locations, and times and a full wedding day running order. Also, make sure you set reminders to keep track of payment dates and always pay your wedding suppliers on time. Reply to their emails in a timely fashion and always cohere to contracts. Never delay their payments that will annoy your supplier.
Be polite with them
We understand that the wedding planning journey is stressful, but that doesn’t give you any right or excuse to be impolite with your wedding suppliers. No matter how stressed you get while planning your wedding, there is always room to control your temptations and temperaments. If you really want to get proper services, try to be friends with your suppliers. Work with your suppliers as a team, take their advice, and tell them your ideas. Treat them right, with dignity and respect. This goes for their personal lives too, try to keep calls or contacts within their normal working hours and respect their preferred method of contact.They are the ones who are going to create your biggest day of your life.
Your wedding planning is a two way process, being a client your job is not only to speak and wanting others to listen to you. In fact, it is crucial that you listen to your vendors also. After your vendor listens to and understands your wedding vision, take the time to listen to their suggestions as well. Remember that they are professionals and have a better idea than you. They would be able to give you better advice to create a great day.
Don’t ask for the unwinnable
Your wedding suppliers are providing services for their living. They want to make you, their client, happy and satisfied, and there are many suppliers who even go out of their way to achieve that. But there has to be a limit. Its not advisable to ask for something unachievable or unwinnable in order to make your wedding a great show. You might have a vision to have a particular flower at your wedding, but the season is not apt for the flower. You can’t have unrealistic demands, you can’t simply expect your florist to get you the same flower in the off-season. That’s absolutely unrealistic demand.
Approach them in case of any problem
Today, people tend to cry out on social media rather approaching the right person. It is important for you too… In case of any problem or any crisis situation talk to your supplier before you post your grievance on Facebook. Tell your supplier frankly about what exactly is bothering you. To err is human, give them the chance to fix any errors. And yeah, it is important that you explain your concern calmly and ask for a solution. Trust that they will do everything to make things right.
Foster your relationship with them
You must have chosen your wedding supplier after getting assured about their personality and style, if it is so, then there is already a good chance to strike a good relationship and it’s not surprising for some couples to become great friends with some of their wedding suppliers. Try to make the job more personal for them by involving them in on your other plans, and even inviting them along to your wedding breakfast or drinks reception. Fostering your relationship with your vendors is a great way to ensure a perfect wedding day and it goes a long way indeed.
Arrange for their food& tea/coffee
Some of your wedding suppliers like, the florist, the cake-maker, the wedding photographer, the decorator, etc. will be hanging around all day, while preparing for your wedding. So make sure you arrange for their tea/coffee and dinner.
Make their payments on time
Of course, you will never want to have agitated and distressed supplier on your wedding day, or to get a call from their account office regarding the pending payments while you are on honeymoon. So, make sure you make your wedding vendor’s payment on time, so that there is no chaos later.
Learn to say ‘please’ & ‘thank you’
That’s okay that you are paying your wedding supplier for a service but it takes very little to be polite. It’s always good to say thank you and please to the people for their help. The habit of saying these few polite words really go a long way and can make a great difference in your life. And, it will help you sail through the entire wedding planning process easily and smoothly.
#Protip
Use a wedding planner instead
If you think all this is too hard to manage then you can deter this issue entirely by hiring a wedding planner for your wedding. Wedding planners are professionals and they are skilled in liaising with suppliers on your behalf!
Delegate someone
If hiring a wedding planning is not possible for you either due to your budget or because of any reason then it’s good to delegate someone. Because, while wedding planning you will surely be stressed out with lot of other wedding related tasks. And handling vendors also take a lot of effort. Rather to lose your temperament for everything and anything it’s good to put your wedding party (the parents, in-laws, bridesmaids and groomsmen) on wedding supplier duty.It will allow you time for yourself and all the minor issues such as directions, timings, etc. can be taken care of by them.
Wrapping up…
With the help of all the above tips you would be able to build a great rapport with your wedding suppliers, during the course of your wedding planning. Dealing with your wedding suppliers become super easy once you follow these tips. Also, these tips will help you make the entire experience as pleasant as possible for all.
Moreover, you should never forget that these wedding suppliers are often very busy with other weddings, especially when it’s a peak season. So, if you don’t get a response from the wedding supplier on the spot or promptly, then don’t be tempted to be pushy for a reply. Respect their timings, wait for their response to come, before you start sending them reminders. It actually matter how you initiate your talk with the wedding suppliers. It will leave a long lasting impression on them, and based on that they may or may not want to work with you. So, make sure you start politely, with all the clarity in mind. Because later you will have no reason to complain.
Thanks for reading! With the help of these tips above, you will be able to establish great relationships with your vendors, and have a wonderful wedding!!
