Your wedding vendors are in charge of turning your wedding dreams into reality. Over the course of the year leading up to your big day, they work tirelessly to make sure that everything falls perfectly into place, whether it’s your florist picking out the best blooms for your bouquet or your baker mixing up three or four tiers worth of delicious cake. As you start to sign contracts and dive into the planning process, here are 8 things your wedding vendors wish you knew.
1. They genuinely care. The ear-to-ear smile on your wedding planner’s face? That excited email you got from your florist? That’s actually a sincere display of their passion for helping pull together your big day. This may be a job for your vendors, but it’s also more than a job. While you’re paying your seamstress to alter your dress or your DJ to create an epic playlist for your wedding, that doesn’t make it any less of a big deal to them. At the end of the day, they really just want to make you happy. And they will do everything in their power to make sure you have a memorable day for all the right reasons.
2. They will respond. You may get annoyed if your wedding planner doesn’t respond to your urgent phone call, text or email within ten minutes, but be patient. Even if your vendors can’t always get back to you right away, they WILL respond. Your concerns, new ideas, and questions are all very important to the planning process, but keep in mind that you’re not the only client your vendor has. They spend their days in meetings, prepping for other weddings, and ordering the items they need to keep their business running. But just because you’re not their only client doesn’t mean you’re not important — just give them time!
3. They love it when you bring them ideas. Your vendors want to bring YOUR vision to life (with a little direction based on their expertise), so do NOT feel like you are burdening your vendors by sharing your ideas. Obviously there is such thing as TOO many ideas (yes, that 50th Pinterest board is overkill), but it’s helpful for your vendors to have an idea of what you’re picturing for your big day. Words may not be enough to fully describe the escort cards you want or the centerpieces you’re envisioning, so send over inspiration boards full of the little details that mean a lot to you. The more specific you can get, the better your vendors can do their job and execute your vision.
4. They know what they’re doing. It may be your special day, but the professionals you’ve hired know a thing or two about pulling off a successful wedding. This is what they do day in and day out. So share your opinions and give them your feedback, but make sure you let them do their job. After all, if you trusted them enough to hire them, you should trust them to produce solid work. The internet may give you a (false) sense of empowerment as you look up deals and ideas, but your wedding vendors have worked hard to build up industry contacts that give them access to discounts, great products, and even better people that you may never find otherwise.
5. They will do whatever it takes to make your day perfect. When it comes to weddings, your vendors have seen it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly. They know how to find the silver lining in any worst case scenario and have backup plan after backup plan on deck. It’s their job to make sure your wedding day is flawless and they will go to great lengths to make sure the whole day doesn’t fall apart. If your dress rips the moment you put it on, your wedding planner will have a sewing kit ready to go in two seconds flat. Did you wake up with a big ol’ zit on your nose? Your makeup artist will work some makeup magic and make it disappear. What if your florist forgets one of your bridesmaid’s bouquet? He/she will get creative and fix the problem…gathering flowers from the centerpieces to recreate the look. They’re quick on their feet because they have to be.
6. They will keep secrets (but not when it comes to the important stuff). One of the main reasons you hire vendors to help pull together your big day is so they can worry about the little things instead of you. The last thing you want to be thinking about on your wedding day is whether or not you have enough napkins for all of your guests. Your vendors will have a little more knowledge than you will about what’s going on behind the scenes. And that’s a GOOD thing because something WILL go wrong. Keeping some of the day-of disasters quiet is one of your vendors’ best kept secrets to making sure you walk away from your wedding with a big smile on your face. They may keep secrets to help things flow seamlessly, but will loop you in when you absolutely need to know.
7. Their job is a lot harder than you think. Arranging bouquets and hand-writing thank you tags for your favors may seem like a fun job, and it is…usually. But it’s not all rainbows and sunshine for your vendors. In the months and weeks before your wedding, there will be plenty of unglamorous days. Your florist may drive to the ends of the earth to find the right shade of orange for your bouquet. Your caterer will slave away in a tiny kitchen to make hundreds of mini cheesecakes for your dessert table. On the day of your wedding, while you’re getting your hair and makeup done and drinking champagne with your girls, your planner will be running around tying up loose ends. While you may be stressing about the details of the day, your vendors are working extremely hard to pull of those details, so be empathetic, be kind, and say thank you every once in a while!
8. Weddings are expensive. Everything detail, no matter how big or small, costs money. There’s no way around it. Flowers cost a great deal of money. 150 vases for your centerpieces aren’t free. A custom wedding gown requires a lot of man-hours to create. With all the money exchanging hands, it may be hard to remember that your vendors aren’t just pumping you for money. If they’re professionals (which they should be if you hired them), they always have your best interest at heart. They’ll do what they can to get you a great deal and create a beautiful day within your budget, but you will have to pay for what you want. It’s important to keep the lines of communication open and be honest about what you’re looking to spend. If you have a strict budget, your vendors will work within it…and will tell you the truth if they absolutely can’t make it happen.
~Claire Aven for Lover.ly, Shared with me by Denise Bann, floral designer and owner of Greenfinch Floral, a Wedding 101 Member