So you are engaged and you are starting to realize all the vendors that are involved in making your big day perfect. However, the one thing I have realized over the past few years of doing this, is that they don't know just how many appointments they are going to have or what exactly it means.
Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind. Some of this may seem pretty blunt, but someone has to help brides and grooms have realistic expecations.
Hire a Wedding Planner (sorry shamless plug, but no less truthful) A Wedding Planner/Coordinator have a rapport with other wedding vendors and can make the appointments for you, therefore freeing you up to do other things.
Identify what vendors you are going to need for what. (For example, florist, photographer, caterers, etc.)
Work with your planner to create a timeline for selecting these vendors In other words, not all vendors have to be met with and selected the first week you get engaged.
Schedule the appointments with these vendors. This one is extremely important. Please be prepared to be flexible. The majority of all brides and grooms work during the day, so EVERYONE wants an evening appointment. The same thing goes for weekend appointments. Weddings happen on weekends, so most wedding vendors are going to be booked on weekends. They may not be booked every weekend but the chances of getting them will be far less then let's say an 11:30am on a Tuesday.
We cannot stress enough that when you begin your planning you should be prepared to take some longer lunches, or vacation hours to meet with vendors. Flexibilty is key.
Be punctual for your appointments! Yes wedding vendors are working for you in many cases, but it is not ok to be late or cancel appointments at the last second. We know that things come up, but some vendors book up months in advance so limiting your missed appointments will help ensure you get the meeting times that are optimal.
Wedding Vendors are in the Service Industry but are not 24/7 Lately it seems far too many brides and grooms become frustrated when vendors cannot "work around their schedules". Or they expect calls back late into the evening or on weekend days.
Just keep in mind, your wedding is probably going to be on a weekend day so would you not expect that your vendors are tied up in meetings, or on phone calls with other clients when they should be focusing on your wedding right? I can tell you that almost every wedding vendor I know LOVES what they do, and they give 110%. So please remember that the vendors also have families and are people just like you and deserve to have their personal time respected. It is not because we don't want to be available, but it is because there are limited evening hours, and limited weekend days we don't already have weddings.
Here is something to think about.. If you decide to purchase a car, you know that the dealership is only open certain hours. Would you call the dealership after hours and expect them to be open? Would you ask the dealership to come in on days when they are closed, because that is what is best for your schedule?
If you need to have your hair cut or colored.. do you call or text your hair stylist at all hours? Do you ask them to stay late after they have worked all day?
I know that the wedding planning is slightly different, so many of the vendors try to be flexible, but it is not always possible.
If you follow these points when you first start planning, we are sure it will help you be far less disappointed when you realize that the best vendors are not always available to work around every schedule.
Your planning time is a special time and will not last forever, so proper time management will make it so much more enjoyable.
Happy Planning
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