The fun part of wedding planning is just that: lining up a baker, a photographer, a DJ, a florist. You and your soon to be spouse will no doubt pick each one with the greatest of care. The flowers have to be perfect, the food must be just right, and the music what you like to hear – and rightfully so.
While we all expect nothing but top-notch service on our special day, it is important to understand what each contractor has committed to you. At the same time, expect to be held to your end of the deal as well. As dedicated as each contractor is to you, it must be kept in mind that you may not be the day's only customer. It isn't uncommon for a medium-sized flower shop to service several weddings in a day with a carefully orchestrated group of teams who help each other behind the scenes.
In making your plans, put yourself in the shoes of your contractors. Consider this true story:
It was a very busy Saturday for this florist, six weddings involving four service teams and eight vehicles. A portion of the plan went like this: Team A would service Wedding X, both ceremony and reception. Team B was servicing two small ceremonies, Y, in the next town from X, and Z on the far east side of town, at 3:00. Due to the distance involved, Team A was to get wedding X down the aisle and then go set up the reception. On their way back in, Team B was to stop at X's ceremony and pick up the altarpieces and transport them to X's reception hall. After dropping them off, Team B was to continue on and see Z down the aisle. Wedding X's ceremony was only 15 minutes long and started at 1:00. By prearranged agreement, Team B would be stopping by at 1:30 for the altarpieces. Since the flower shop doesn't normally transport flowers from ceremony to reception, it was made very clear that this was being done solely as a courtesy to X, and that Team B could not be delayed. Bride X agreed that since pictures were being done before the ceremony, at 1:30 the flowers would be gone.
Upon arriving at 1:30, Team B was confused to find that pictures were in progress. After waiting twenty minutes they secured permission from the photographer to remove the altarpieces. The bride became verbally irate in the chapel, insisting that everything would run according to her schedule changes, and that if the florist didn't like it, well tough. After several frantic phone calls, Team B had to leave to service wedding Z, which was due to go down the aisle in an hour. In the name of customer service, someone else from the flower shop would go to the chapel and retrieve the altarpieces in their personal vehicle.
It came as no surprise to anybody that this bride had irked more than the florist. Her party had been shooting pictures since 11:00 that morning, delayed the minister for five hours during rehearsal the night before (for a FIFTEEN minute ceremony), and tried to get the limo driver to shop for last minute supplies for the bridesmaids.
In the end, the bride likely had a lousy time, and she certainly lost people willing to do business with her or her family in the future. All of this could have been avoided with a little understanding of what was expected from both ends.
By all means, hold contractors to their word, but be certain that you know what is contractually provided, versus what is being done as a favor, and understand that last minute adjustments can't always be honored. If 'sorry, no' is about to set you off, stop for a minute and remind yourself that by forcing the contractor to serve your extra request, you might hinder someone else's special day, and that's just not fair.
Completely oblivious to what Team B had been through, the very upbeat bride Z went down the aisle precisely on schedule. All in a day's work some might say, but some very unneeded stress for all involved. Now step out of those florist shoes and happy planning!
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