It takes a lot of effort to plan your wedding and choosing the team that will help you is the first step to get the ball rolling. But once you’re all set and all vendors and suppliers an on board, how can you work with everyone seamlessly and efficiently?
Look at this way, the people who will be working behind the scenes to make your dream wedding come to life are your partners. Therefore, you want to build a healthy working relationship with each and every one of them. If you are able to achieve this from the get go, then your wedding planning journey will be a breeze. You might also end up finding lasting friendships when everything is over.
So, how do you build a good working relationship with your team? Read this.
To work seamlessly and effectively with your vendors, communicate expectations from the very beginning of your engagement. Make sure that your expectations, as well as vendors’ expectations from you are all agreed upon. This way, accountability is clear and each member in your wedding team knows what he or she must do. When responsibilities are clear, there are less chances of misunderstandings appearing along the way.
Once you’re already set expectations, give your vendors space to work. You might feel like messaging them all the time about your ideas, or asking for frequent face-to-face meetings to discuss regularly. Enthusiasm is good, but it can be stifling for vendors. They need a certain level of autonomy to be able to do their job well. And while they are supposed to be there for you and your needs, keep in mind that they have personal lives too. So give them space and trust in their expertise and experience.
What if you don’t like something created or done? Voice out your concerns respectfully. Vendors know that your wedding is the most important day of your life, so they know how much every little detail matters. If they don’t meet expectations or if they do something that you aren’t happy about, let them know and talk to them politely. Even if you’re frustrated or stressed, don’t let your emotions foil the working relationship. Instead, try to firm up the next steps together–they’re your partners in this, after all.
Affirm your vendors if they’re doing a good job. Let them know if you like their work and even how they work so they get confirmation of what you like and can apply this as they move along with the rest of their tasks. Knowing that they are going in the right direction will help them a lot and will make the wedding planning process easier for them and you.
On the wedding day, don’t forget to plan for your vendors’ needs, too. Make sure you’ve prepared meals for them throughout the day. You don’t want them to go hungry–how can anyone work well on an empty stomach? Check also when they’d like to eat and relate this to whoever is taking care of their meals. You can also ask them beforehand if they need anything else on the wedding day and have these prepared, too.
Part of the wedding etiquette is to tip your wedding vendors. Generally, you can follow the tipping etiquette amount in this article, but if you’re very happy with your vendors, there’s really no limit to what you’d like to give to express your gratitude. Apart from the tip, you can also send a thank you note or a little token of appreciation after the weddings.
Lastly, when sharing your wedding photos and videos, don’t forget to credit your vendors for their work. Your vendors worked hard on all your wedding details, so they will appreciate it if you acknowledge them when you share your wedding to others. It’s also a way you can help them get new clients, especially if other brides-to-be view your wedding and like what they see.
Hopefully with these, you’ll have an amicable working relationship with your wedding vendors and everything pans out well for your wedding day!
