We all know the business side of things tends to take the back seat when it’s the middle of wedding season. That doesn’t mean you should let everything go by the wayside. The busy season is a great opportunity to connect with other professionals that you normally wouldn’t see throughout the year.
Here are a few ways you can create impactful relationships in the busy season:
1. If you’re on-site together and it’s appropriate, offer to lend a hand.
Just the simple gesture alone will reinforce a vendor relationship. It doesn’t have to be much. It might be helping to bring flowers to the venue from the florist’s car. Or placing centerpieces or place settings on the table. Extra hands always seem to be needed. This effort will keep you top of mind with other wedding pros.
2. Go above and beyond and do the unexpected.
I have a friend who owns a boutique rental company in California. At the end of the night, her delivery crew will personally escort the wedding planners to their vehicles. Some of the neighborhoods are not the safest or are very dark. So, when they’re done loading up, they let other wedding pros know they’re there to make sure they make it safely to their vehicles. How nice is that?!
3. Send a handwritten thank-you card.
Did someone go the extra mile in helping make your process easier? Did someone help when you were in a bind? A handwritten thank-you card that speaks specifically to how they helped is the surest way to show appreciation. If the card is sent right away and written authentically, I guarantee the other person is going to remember.
I once sent a thank-you card after a shoot with a photographer. She replied to me with kindest email, letting me know how much the card meant to her. She said the card made her day, and she admired the fact that I practice what I preach.
4. Above all, be kind.
Ask what you can do to help make the job of others easier.
Bear in mind: These tips still matter even after a busy season winds down. Practice them year-round. Give more and expect less.
The key to building a meaningful relationship is the impact you have on people and how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
Lane’ Richards is a multidisciplinary entrepreneur and creative behind Something Borrowed Portland, an award-winning event design and specialty rental company based in Portland, Ore. Her newest venture, Wedding Pro Coaching, offers mastermind business coaching and educational programs to wedding industry professionals who need help building, running and growing their businesses in the crowded wedding industry.
