“The Business Resource For Wedding Entrepreneurs”

If you have been in the wedding industry long enough, you will realize that many wedding professionals form a close-knit community. Not only because it shows your experience, potential clients also measure your credibility through your professional affiliation. In addition, having vendor friends also matters when you want to grow your wedding business. The question is, how are you going benefit from building a relationship with other vendors?

• Advertise each other
  We can't emphasize enough about the correlation between relationship and referrals! It is unlikely that you will refer your client to a vendor you have never met or talked to before. The same goes for other vendors - they will not refer their clients to just anyone. Therefore, cultivating vendor relationship is like building a gateway for word-of-mouth marketing within the industry.

• Unique Opportunities
  Think about creating exclusive wedding packages, giving giveaways, hosting a workshop, or organizing a styled shoot to attract more potential clients. You can definitely carry them all by yourself but when there are other vendors involved, sometimes it looks more appealing to the brides-to-be. If you would like to approach other vendors to create a partnership, it is easier done when you have

• Learn from the best
  Aside from the financial stuff, having a good relationship with other vendors enables you to exchange ideas and see the whole industry from a different perspective. Who knows you might not be tapping the right target market or maybe your branding strategy could use some tweaking. Just like talking to a friend, a discussion with other industry players could produce valuable insights useful for your business growth.

Relationship 101: How to make friends with other vendors
If you have been in the industry for a while, networking with others may not feel so difficult. With your experience and an established brand, others would have at least heard of you once. However, if you are new to the industry and just about to network for the first time, here are a few tips to help you introduce yourself.

1. Approach first
By chance, when you meet them either at a bridal fair or a even at the sidewalk, say hi! Also after working together in a wedding, a small gesture like sending them a thank you note to say how great it is to be working with them.

2. Appreciate by crediting
There is no harm in giving credits or a 'thumbs up' to those vendors to did a great job at a wedding you've worked together! If you ever happen to work together with them in the past, share your thoughts about the times when you've worked together with them. Show appreciation for their work and how you'd like to work together again in the future. It's also a nice gesture to comment on projects they posted on social media.

3. Be personal
How do you feel when someone you just met forgets your name? We know it kind of stings. So, our advise is to remember the names of the vendors you meet, because who knows you'll be working with them in the future. Addressing with the first name allows room for building an intimate relationship that can lead to a lasting friendship. But again if they forget your name, it's a-okay, just smile and re-introduce yourself.

4. Maintain
The hardest part of building a relationship is maintaining the bond. Just like any relationship, there are moments when it gets dull or mundane that you start ignoring the vendors you've reached out. It's bad, so make an effort to maintain it. From the get-go, introduce a routine where you organize a bi-weekly or monthly get-togethers with other vendors with an agenda to share or discussed. This way, not only you but others have something to be excited about and hopefully it'll continue that way.

It's not about competition
If you think otherwise, don't. You may feel like it's important to keep a distance with other vendors for fear of sharing the same pool of customers, however don't let your ego takes control. There are many talented individuals in the wedding industry, so take this opportunity to be open and learn from others. Be confident and proud of what you do because clients eventually choose you for being one-of-a-kind!

So, don't you think it's time to get to know more vendors? Share your thoughts and tips with us on the comment section below!