So I know I’ve posted about this before, but it’s been a while, and with a new wedding season starting and a whole new group of brides, I thought it would be beneficial to touch on some of these points as a refresher. :)

When I was a bride, I honestly think I had no awareness of time. I would send an email to one of my vendors and then STALK my email, waiting for their response. If I didn’t hear from then within a few hours, I would start to get mad. Now realizing that vendors don’t sit at their computers all day and they have to actually work, I look back and think: “OMG. Seriously? Did I really do that?!”

Photo by ELV photographer, Vue Photography

I had no clue- it’s not like I had anyone tell me that the photographer had to *actually* leave her studio to take those photos that she was paid to take and that my planner had other meetings with other brides. I had no clue about networking events, and how important it is for wedding pros to mingle and meet new people to keep their businesses thriving. Or even better- that they had weddings on the weekends, so when I emailed on Friday, I most likely wasn’t going to get a response until a few days later! You would think that it was common sense, but when you’re in bride mode, common sense has a tendency to fly out the window. No. Freaking. Clue.

But now I know, and I want to share this knowledge with you all, because ultimately, it’s communication that makes your wedding happen, and you want to have GOOD communication with your wedding vendors!  So here are some tips to keep in mind when communicating with you vendors:

1. The very first thing to keep in mind is that wedding vendors are PEOPLE. They have families, they try to have lives outside of work (which doesn’t always successfully happen) and responsibilities. For some reason, I’ve seen that that since weddings are so cool and fun, it creates the thought that the normal rules of business don’t apply to those who work in the wedding industry. It’s so weird, but it’s true. It was my own thought process when I was a bride! Perhaps it’s because they’re so accommodating and fun to work with. But the key here is to remember that your wedding vendors are PEOPLE, just like you! :)

2. Be mindful of business hours. Yes, I realize that wedding pros work odd hours and weekends and are incredibly accommodating to schedules, but during the week (for the most part) the majority strive to keep normal business hours. The reality of it all is that you don’t always know what their schedules are. So sending an email or leaving a message at 4pm, asking for an answer right away, and then getting mad if you don’t hear back by 7pm? What if they’re out at meetings and have no access to email? Or what if they have an event that day and won’t be done until 11pm? You never know. Think of it this way: I’m sure many of you have jobs in the professional world. So how do you feel when your boss or a coworker emails you late at night?

3. Be informative. So this one is simple- just give as much information as you possible can. Sometimes not everything is necessary, but the more, the better! The less emails that have to go back and forth between you and vendor, the better! :)

4. Be open to conversation. If you’ve been emailing and one party isn’t quite understanding the other, the best solution is going to be chatting it up on the phone for a few minutes. As convenient as emailing is, sometimes a phone call is just so much more efficient and effective!

5. Be happy. Just because everything is better when you do it with a smile! :)

And then also throw in there everything that I said in this post and this post! Like I said before, communication is the key to making your wedding happen, and I want everyone to have a happy, pleasant experience planning their wedding! If you have any questions about communicating with your vendors, feel free to ask! Or if you have any other tips that you’ve found have worked well for you, please share in the comments! :) Happy Thursday!