While I have many pretty wedding days to share with you, today we are going to be talking about something a bit different. That is – working as a team with your wedding vendors.
This topic has been on my heart for some time after working alongside many amazing couples, and many many talented, heartfelt vendor teams. We see a wide variety of personality blends, styles, and family dynamics among our different wedding projects, and I’ve started to notice a trend.
Prioritizing a Creative Team
Couples who prioritize booking vendors that they believe in as creatives and that they feel they can work with as teammates in creating their vision, typically have the most memorable, heartfelt, and joyous weddings. I’m not saying that they go off without a single issue, but at the end of the day, those are the weddings that truly feel magical to our couples and their families.
Wedding Planning & Design: XO Moreau // Photography: Lucy Struve Photography // Videography: Moonlit Weddings // Florals: Remi + Gold // Venue: The Arlo // Rentals: Loot Rentals // Rentals: Premiere Events // Piano Rental: Capital Music Center // Signage: Owl & Envelope // Draping: Unique Designs & Events // Dance Floor and Staging: Center Stage Floors // Lighting: Austin Event Lighting // Custom Ice Cubes: Full Spectrum Ice Sculptures // Cakes: Sweet Treets Bakery // Entertainment: Dart Collective // Catering & Bar: PeJ Events // Hair & Makeup: Lux Beauty & Bridal // A/V: TSV Sound // Pyro: Big Dog Pyro // Getaway Car: 4 Leaf Limo // Transportation: Limos of Austin
Creative Small Business Owners
Most wedding vendors I work alongside define themselves as “creative small business owners”, meaning that they work from a place of creativity, heart, and passion for creating magic and memories for their couples. You’ll often find us working late nights, and a “little extra” on our day off to make sure our couples get the very best for their wedding day. We stress about the details, we check in to make sure our clients are having the best experience in wedding planning, and we strive to give our best creatively, every day. We also support each other as fellow creatives and try to work together to make sure we all succeed in following our dreams.
What Happens When You Book By Style
When our couples book vendors based on relationships, personality and style fit, and the understanding that they will be working with us as creatives for up to a year (or more!), magic truly begins to happen. We recently worked with a couple on their fabulous wedding, and it was truly a dream.
From the first meeting with the bride and her wedding planner, I was so inspired and encouraged. We chatted openly and collaboratively about our ideas, their vision as a couple, and what we could add from a stationery and signage perspective to really add to that vision. Everyone came to the meeting with an open mind and truly wanting to work collaboratively as a team, and let me tell you, it was inspiring! We came up with amazing ideas, including some I’d been wanting to share with a client for years that this wedding was just the perfect fit for. Bouncing ideas between the three of us landed us on one of my favorite seating charts to date, epic menus, and one of the biggest installs we’ve ever done, and I was just so so excited to create afterward.
Venue: One Eleven East // Event Design: Owl & Envelope and Brides of Austin // Videographer: Huckleberry Wedding Films // Photographer: Elizabeth Denny Photography // Florist: Root and Wilde // Chairs, Tables & Linen Rentals: Marquee Event Rentals // Tabletop Rentals: Table Manners // Paper Goods: Owl & Envelope // Desserts: Bonjour Bridagerio // Wedding Dress: A&BE Bridal Shop // Hair & Makeup: // Photo Booth: Vannagram & Co.
Trusting Your Vendors
Throughout their design process, they proved to be trusting and supportive clients, and I have to say, they received some of our best design work to date as a result. Did we lose sleep for their project after missing a week due to me catching Covid? Absolutely. Did everything go perfectly to plan? No. But at the end of the day, their willingness to work with me as a teammate, and not simply as a financial transaction, made me eager to show up for them and to give my very best to make sure they had the wedding they dreamed of and deserved.
On the backend of their wedding, because they had chosen a team of like-minded vendors, and had been such stellar clients all around, we had such a great experience working together as a vendor team. Everyone showed up and gave their best, and that collaborative spirit threaded its way throughout the wedding design and day of preparation. It truly was a magical, inspiring experience.
Photographer: Marni Wishart Photography // Film Lab: Rewind Film Lab // Stylist / Planner: Hawthorne & Poppy Events // Floral Designer: Blumen Floral Co. // Dress: Monique Lhuillier from Julian Gold // Rentals: Bee Lavish Event Rentals // Accessories: Nicole Mera // Venue: The Arlo // Cake: Morgan Pearl Cakes // Hair & Make-up Artist: Makenzi Laine // Hostess: Jenna McElroy Photo The Editorial Series // Stationery: Owl & Envelope // Models: Anthony and Sydney // Cookies: Olive + Aries // Suit: The Black Tux // Linens: BBJ La Tavola // Napkins: Tono + Co. // Tabletop Rentals: Table Manners TX // Sponsor & Styling Mats: Madison Popkess
A Vendors Perspective of a Collaborative Vendor Team:
- Prioritize booking vendors based on personality fit over strictly budget. (We know budgets are important, but don’t make your decisions entirely off of saving a little money. It may cost you down the line in the quality of service you receive.) Find a vendor in your budget range who you also just click with, and who really understands and shares your vision and priorities for your wedding day.
- Remember that your vendors aren’t big corporations. They’re humans, and the weight of their small business may rest on just their shoulders, or only a handful of employees. Give them grace when they need a sick day, trust that they have your back, and just generally treat them kindly and remember that they are just individual humans like you.
- Trust in your vendors for their expertise in their field. We spend enormous amounts of time learning, researching, and following trends to make sure we can provide as much value to you as possible. If you come into design with a very specific list of wants, we can likely provide it, but you may be missing out on our real expertise in creating unique, one-of-a-kind, and timeless pieces that you’ll be proud of for years to come
- Know that if you book a vendor team who is on the same page with you, and work as a team with you, they will help and support you through all of the ups and downs of wedding planning, and make sure that no matter what, you’ll have a truly memorable and magical wedding day.
What We Hope for as Wedding Vendors
As wedding vendors, we want your wedding day to be everything you’ve dreamed of. We may work many weddings in a year, but trust me, each one matters to us. If you’re willing to work with us as teammates, we’ll go above and beyond to make your day just as special as it should be.
Looking to book your wedding branding? If you want stationery and signage that carries your vision for your wedding through from start to finish, and want a small (but mighty) team of heartfelt creatives on your side, we’d love to chat with you! Just click the contact button below to fill out an inquiry, and we’ll be in touch for a meet and greet to talk about what we can do together!
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