you will have added confidence when it
come time to make a decision, and mak-
ing confident decisions will help alleviate
unnecessary stress. As with developing a
relationship in any other aspect of life, the
first step is usually meeting them.
ence of communication. These are also
important questions to ask when you
meet with any vendor, to ensure that they
align well with your own preferences. It is
important to remember that just because
wedding vendors are not in your industry,
doesn't mean they don't enjoy a reason-
able 9 to 5 schedule during the week. Try
to arrange meetings and calls with them
during theses times, and let them know
you are making an effort to do so. If this is
difficult because of your own work sched-
ule that's understandable, communicate
that to your vendor and arrange a time
in the future for you both to meet either
after hours or on the weekend. Do so with
plenty of notice, your vendor will appre-
your best to avoid Mondays. Many brides
forget that vendors work weddings and
other events on the weekends, and yes
they view that as a workday. Many ven-
dors like to ease into Mondays or take
them off. Feel free to let them know you
intend to avoid Mondays, they'll love you
ful, understanding, and nice. By doing so
your vendors will always look forward
to your calls and meetings, and in re-
turn you will enjoy conversing with them
more. This means a quick response time
to your questions. It is important when
dealing with your vendors to remember
to ask questions or to ask for things. Be
conscious that you are not giving orders.
Your wedding vendors will always ap-
preciate doing things for you if they feel
you value their time and talents. Asking
questions, understanding their answers,
and empathizing with them can achieve
this. As I stated before, planning a wed-
process and vendors realize this. They
will be more likely to sympathize with you
and be more accommodating if your re-
lationship has been mutually considerate.
for you when planning your wedding. It
to your email and messages, an extra flo-
ral arrangement for your bar, or could
even be a free upgrade to your package.
These steps are some of the same prin-
ciples that we as planners use to develop
long-term relationships with vendors in
order to obtain better pricing and ben-
efits for our clients. Treating your vendor
relationships as you would a new friend-
ship, meeting your vendors, respecting
their time, and continually having positive
interactions with them will inevitably help
you become their favorite bride.