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Giving Thanks for Your Small Business Wedding Vendors

Thanksgiving (in the United States) was yesterday, so now that we've expressed our gratitude for all of the big things in life, I thought it prudent to be grateful for the small business wedding vendors that are involved in your future wedding or were involved in your wedding. There's a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes of a wedding vendor (photographer, caterer, venue, florist, planner, etc.). Here are 5 reasons to be grateful for your wedding vendors (and to send them a "Thank You" email or text)!

They know their stuff.

There's a million small facets to each part of a wedding and you look to the experts to guide you through the confusing labyrinth of minutia. For instance, O & B Photo Co. out of Wisconsin have so many great blog posts on topics such as wedding planning while quarantined, how to include your dog in your engagement photos, and unique engagement session ideas. Not only do you get experts in their fields when you shop small wedding vendors, you also get people who are forced to live and breathe their specialties (often on weekends, late nights, and holidays) to keep their business alive and functioning. They are passionate about what they do and they put in the hours to prove it - you trust them with your wedding day for a reason.

They often have amazing blogs that can help you out.

If you've ever wondered what nuggets of information a vendor has up their sleeve, the best place to look is their blog. Bonus points if you're able to look at their blog before meeting with them so you're both on similar pages! Regardless, vendors put up blogs for the good of their clients - you! You get free wedding planning information that likely took the vendor at least 2-3 hours per post to put together. That's added value that you don't even need to pay for.

They're experts in the local marketplace.

Whether it's a hidden-away treasure or a connection with other local businesses, your small-town vendor has your back when it comes to what's possible close to home. They'll also notice things like trends (such as the dairy farm theme trend noted by Over the Vines Blog) and thoughts on small traditions (like whether or not the groom can see the bride before the wedding, discussed by Ann Ilagan Photography). There's a wide variety of topics that a small wedding vendor will have specific knowledge about which you can't find anywhere else.

Photo credit: @overthevineswi

They've adjusted dates to keep you and your guests safe.

It's safe to say that when lockdowns began and quarantines weren't yet the norm, no one expected the world to stop as harshly as it did. Brides became stressed as they were forced to postpone their weddings and coordinate vendors to find new dates. Adding to the stress, some vendors had to enforce their security deposit rules to keep themselves afloat, which strained brides' pocketbooks and created bad press for some vendors. It was a crazy time for both brides and vendors, weighing what they could and could not realistically do to make the best of the situation. Thankfully, most vendors came through for you and were able to shuffle things around despite tough circumstances.

They've sacrificed expected income.

The life of a small business owner is strained even in the best of times, but this year, every wedding vendor's cash flow was disrupted by postponed weddings and celebrations. Although it sounds like a business could hang on until weddings were once again happening, many small businesses didn't plan for a multi-month stalemate like this to happen, let alone so suddenly. Some vendors lost clients because they couldn't arrange something to fit their brides' new dates, some coasted and tried to side hustle as long as they needed to, and others just held on and watched their savings deplete. It's been a rough year for small business owners.

So don't forget to send your wedding vendors a "Thank You"! They work hard to make your big day special. They can use all the encouragement they can get!

Send them a text, email, and/or leave them a kind review on Facebook and/or Google!