How Professional Are Your Vendors?

I was honored to coordinate a wedding for a dear friend’s daughter this past weekend.  As a long time florist, and now wedding planner and designer, I strive to be cooperative, level-headed, confident, fun, ethical, and most of all….professional.  So when I occasionally come across a wedding day vendor that is anything but…..I can’t help but wonder how they manage to find work in this competitive and harsh economy?

The bride and groom in this case, chose a wonderful venue that I plan to feature on my website for the month of May.  Grace Vineyards in Galt, Ca., is an intimate, beautiful, warm, and inviting site for a moderate wedding size of 175 guests or less.  The owners, Steve and his wife Odeil, (sp?) live on the site, and are prepared to do their very best in ensuring that the bride and groom, and all of their guests, have a wonderful and memorable time.  They, and their staff,  were very helpful to me in making sure that I had what I needed, and asked me several times a day if there was anything they could do to help.  I was impressed at their attention to detail, and their true professionalism in every way.

Fast forward to the anticipated arrival of the florist and the DJ.  The photographer and I arrived before the wedding party and guests to ensure that we understood the venue’s layout and details yet to be put in place.  The florist, Jennifer of The Flower Basket in Lodi, Ca., arrived on time, and went about her task of setting up and making sure everyone was happy with her designs……again a level or professionalism that you expect of a wedding vendor.  One important vendor however….and one I wish at this point to NOT reveal the his name or the exact details of my experience with him…..although I will by private email…… was anything but cooperative or professional.

In my mind and years of experience in the wedding industry, there is NEVER any excuse for a hired vendor to act in any other way than ethical, cooperative, and professional.  Mistakes and glitches are expected and typical, but it is the way that they are handled that makes all the difference in the world.  Using the F word during a wedding ceremony because your equipment had a temporary power failure, does NOT constitute professionalism in any manner, and in my mind will not be tolerated.  In addition, there is NEVER any excuse to stand up a potential client once without notifying him or her in advance, let alone 3 separate times.  I guarantee that as a wedding planner, I will not tolerate such arrogance and lack of professionalism EVER, and I implore brides and grooms to do the same.  This is YOUR DAY, and you are paying all of us a good deal of money to make your day as stress free, wonderful, and beautiful. So come on all you wedding professionals….BE PROFESSIONAL.  I don’t care how good your work is, or how rock star you think you are……..you are there for the client, and  must answer to the rules and regulations of the venue owners at the same time.  Be on time, do your job to the best of your ability, and make us proud to be in this profession!!!  PLEASE!