Photography: Ashely Slater Photography / Floral Design:  The Day’s Design

Wedding inquiries for me seem to go in spirts.  One week my inbox will be flooded and then I might have a drought for the next three.  And while I’d love to turn all those inquiries into clients, it just doesn’t happen – I’ve never done the math, but I’d wager to guess that over 50% of those I never hear a peep back from.  But it’s that other 50%, the ones that follow up, have questions or even take the time to meet with me that I’d really like to address.  Some of these lovely ladies share their wedding fantasies, their dreams, expectations, so much of their life stories and then…

Silence.

I hear nothing more.

So today’s post is all about telling your vendors “no.”

Be Honest.  If you’re shopping around and talking to several vendors in my category, that’s perfectly fine.  You’ve probably never planned a wedding before and so you might want to explore all your options.  You definitely need to find the right fit for you.  But let me know your intensions right up front.  Let me know if you’re trying to decide if you even want a wedding planner or not.  Let me know if you have meetings scheduled with 3 other florists/designers as well.  I promise I won’t be offended and you don’t have to share their names.

Be Realistic and Respectful.  Enter that first consult with reasonable expectations, most times it’s more of a “meet and greet” not a wedding planning session.  I put food on my table by providing wedding services.  Please don’t just inquire and consult with me to see how many free tips you can get me to share.  Please don’t ask me to draw up a design proposal or hand you a list of recommended vendors for your day if you haven’t signed a contract and sent a deposit.

Tell Me No (bonus points for a brief explanation). Your wedding is all about YOU.  While I may have wanted to be a part of your celebration so bad I could taste it, chances are if you decided that I wasn’t a good fit – I felt that too.  Some people just click.  At the end of the day, my main goal is to make you happily married and sometimes that goal is better achieved by me not being a part of your celebration.  But don’t be afraid to tell me that.  Please don’t leave me hanging, wondering what happened to you.  Was I too serious or silly?  Were my ideas a little too far out there for you?  Was it my pricing?  Telling me “no” is great but if you can give me a little insight as to why, well that helps me better myself and could also help future brides as well.

It would not be physically possible for me to be a part of every wedding that inquired with me.  Even if I really loved everything you said, sometimes it’s a relief to have a weekend off.  But remember that really great first date you had with no follow up phone call?  Sometimes I feel like that.  Don’t make me feel like Josie Grossy. I’m a big girl, just tell me the truth.

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