Give ‘Em Tips (But Don’t Forget the Gratitude)
By Never teh BrideRecently, a post at Don’t Be That Bride got me to thinking about how brides and grooms express their gratitude toward the people who make a wedding happen, by which I mean the vendors. Unless you are putting together a complete DIY wedding, it’s likely that you’ll be hiring people to work behind the scenes to make your ceremony and reception beautiful and memorable.
You can’t deny that good wedding vendors work hard to ensure that brides and grooms get what they want. Putting aside for a moment the fact that there are some substandard wedding vendors out there, I can’t help but agree with The Wedding Fairy, who asserts that “…brides (and grooms) should take the time to thank–I mean, really thank–any vendor contacts who are at the event… When you are that happy with a vendor, you need to show it! Be over-the-top. It’s OK.”
The Beard and I did just that, as all of our wedding vendors were great about working with us remotely since we were getting married 1000+ miles away from home. We gave tips, wrote thank you cards, and made a point to speak with those wedding vendors who were actually at our wedding venue. It made us feel good to let our vendors know how much we appreciated them, and we hoped that showing our appreciation made our vendors feel just as good.
Now I’d like to know how you plan to (or did) thank those wedding vendors who provide (or provided) exceptional service.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:14 am
In addition to tipping and verbal thanks, I’d like to put in a plug for writing online reviews at WeddingWire.com and other vendor websites. 5-star reviews help the best vendors stand out, and the reviews are hugely helpful to other couples who are starting to plan their weddings. I chose my photographer, florist, and baker based heavily on their great feedback at WeddingWire. A little free advertising is a great thank-you for a small business!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:16 am
We did sort of luck out in having lots of good friends who could also work out in an official capacity but those who weren’t we both took the time to go around and thank in person and I also put up good reviews everywhere I could think of.
This also reminds me of my one bridal shower that was at a resturant. I’d like to think me and my husband were our usual nice selves saying Thank You to the wait staff when they brought us water and the like but they all just seemed so flabbergasted and had to comment to my MIL three times how nice and kind we were.
Maybe I missed something, but I didn’t think manners went out the window just because you’re the guest of honor.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:56 am
My wedding to Mr. Twistie was in the dark days before the internet, so no online reviews, but in addition to thanking everyone personally, we offered to be contacted by future potential clients in order to praise our vendors all the way to the bank.
If we were getting married today, I would definitely post reviews on both their company websites and on bridal plotting…er…planning boards. And of course I would thank them all personally. We didn’t tip, but then we only hired vendors who don’t usually expect a gratuity.
If the job is done properly – and particularly if it’s done exceptionally well – personal thanks is a must in my book, whether it’s verbal, written, or in gift form.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
We tipped vendors, but I also wrote thank you notes to the vendors who did a really outstanding job. Writing everyone to thank them for doing their jobs seemed excessive, but for the caterer, jazz quartet, and florist who were really outstanding, I wrote the notes. I also posted my reviews on my local Knot board.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Totally agree with Melissa that a good review over at wedding wire or writing up a great review on your own personal blog is a great addition to a tip.