Do you come from a problem solving mindset or an “it’s impossible” mindset? I have to say being able to find solutions or at least attempt to find solutions to your client’s problems is a HUGE factor in being a valuable member of the team vs. being someone who adds more stress to your client’s planning process. We all know sometimes clients ask for the moon and the stars and we all know there are times where what they are asking may seem impossible. My advice is, explore it anyway. Don’t say no without thoroughly thinking through the issue at hand, asking everyone that’s part of the equation and until every stone is unturned. My pet peeve when working with a vendor is one who says no without knowing all of the details. Coming from the angle of “that’s just not how we do it” is not only frustrating but can be damaging to your reputation. Brides want to feel like their day is custom and personalized for them, so when you say “that’s not how we do it”, they hear “We have a cookie cutter way of approaching our events and we aren’t going to change that for you.” It’s a silly mindset and quite honestly is perceived as laziness. Instead of saying “no” before you even know all of the details, try to listen to the request and think of ways to compromise. As a vendor, it’s your job to figure out how to make the client happy without compromising the integrity of your product and service. That’s another topic all together. But, as a wedding planner, there is NEVER an excuse to say no before you have really explored the options. Take the structure shown above…it took a full week to build and remove. We ran into so many no’s from the property manager to the neighbors to even the fire marshall. Instead of just saying, “well, we can’t do the structure”, we worked as a team with the property manager and fire marshall to come up with a solution on how we could get it done. It involved changing the design a tad, making sure things like forklifts had the right type of tires and so much more, but in the end, we created something amazing, if I do say so myself.
Even if I’m 99.9% positive my latest crazy request is going to get turned down, I will ask anyway. And, I’ll ask again and again until I at least have a compromise that I can present to my client. I might not be able to get my clients everything their hearts desire, but I’m going to get as close as I possibly can. That’s my job and if you’re working on a wedding, it’s yours too. Go to bat for your client. Even if you don’t get the solution you hoped for, it will build trust and show you’re client that you are truly on their team.
Photo from M&C Villa Sevillano Wedding, photography by Samantha Cabrera
