How To Create A Good Working Relationship With Your Vendors

Wedding planning and preparation can be really stressful but if you made it right, you will be very happy that you did it. Wedding happens once, at least for some, so it is only right that they do everything essential to make it the most memorable. Wondering how to create a good working relationship with your vendors? Apart from a beautiful wedding dress to wear, there are a lot of other wedding necessities the couple need to prepare. The good news is, there are vendors willing and available to render their services.

Actually, there are a lot of vendors working on different fields, catering services, photography, wedding coordination, and more. Your options are endless, yet even if you were able to hire the best in their field, you cannot get the best service if you do not know how to build a good relationship with them.

You do not need to make friends with your vendors but at least you have to build a good working relationship with them so they will be inspired to work and give you the best service possible.

Moving on, below are some tips on how to create a good working relationship with your vendors!

• Make sure that everything is organized

Try to be as organized as possible. Keep everything in a binder, especially contracts as you have to go back to it in case everything went wrong, missing in action or anything else. You have to make sure that everything is well kept. You should also keep your emails well organized. Checking your inbox and also spam message is necessary so you can respond to your vendor’s emails as soon as possible.

If possible, delete all emails that you do not need so you won’t get swamped with too many emails.

• Make sure that your expectations are only realistic

Your sister may be able to reply to your message in as short as 30 seconds. However, you should not expect that your photographer can do the same. As much as they want to reply to your message as soon as possible, they may not be able to do that. Moreover, they can possibly be talking to a client or working with them. You may want to ask the vendor on the communication style they are most comfortable to use. Then, use that medium as much as possible.

Remember that this is not only a one way street, you also have to do your part by replying to their messages as soon as possible. You do not want them to wait for your reply too long especially if their inquiry is important.

• Keep everything straight to the point

Going around the bush is something that a vendor may not highly appreciate. See, they have a lot of work to do and spending hours reading your irrelevant messages and listening to your unnecessary stories are not part of their job. Even how close you are with your vendor, you have to keep professionalism all the time. Make sure that you value their time as much as they value yours.

You definitely can start small talks but it should not be too long. Keep conversations straight to the point. When sending them a message make sure to tell them directly what you want and what you need. Going straight to the point is not all the time rude, it is how you deliver that can set the tone of the conversation.

• Consider visual aids

Just to make everything clear to the vendors, instead of verbalizing instructions show them photos of what you want your wedding to look like. For photographers, you have to let them know the kind of photos you want to achieve and show them an inspiration to follow. But, you have to be open to suggestions, anyway, their expertise is what you hire them for.

Instead of just showing the photos through your mobile phones, have it printed so they can bring it home and strategize more about it.

• Have a POC or Point Of Contact

You surely cannot handle all vendors at the same time. Having a POC, a friend, sibling, fiancé, or parents is best. Assigning one POC per vendor can help you a lot. This way you can ensure that everyone is given enough time and attention. For instance, florist, photographers, photo booth are few of the vendors you can entrust to someone else. Although, if you have enough time to spare like if you are not working, you can collect all information yourself.

• Make sure that you know timeline

You do not need to call them once in a week. Sure, they know what they need to do and they keep track of things accordingly. You can schedule a call twice or thrice before the wedding, but not once a week. But when the wedding comes to close, you can start to schedule calls and meetings more frequently.

Also, apart from checking on their work timeline, you also have to revisit your payment agreement. For example, when you need to pay the rest of the balance and so on. You have to make sure that payments are made in a timely fashion.

• Give them trust they need

Yes, please and besides you will not hire them if you do not trust them. There is no reason for you to micromanage their work. They specialize whatever service they offer, so give them a little trust.

Let them work on things they are good at.

• Give them tip

Sure, if you are happy with their service give them a token of appreciation through tipping. If you cannot afford to give them extra pay, then at least give them a high rating on their social networking sites. You can also mention them on your wedding or recommend them to your friends.

There are many vendors you can consider hiring. However, you have to consider many factors before making a final decision. We hope after this article it will be easier for you to create a good working relationship with your vendors. Looking for more wedding tips? Check out The Ultimate Bride’s Survival Guide!

 

Header Image Credit: @nelyaphotos