Choosing a Wedding Vendor vs. Looking for a Job

Ok, so I consider myself a recovering HR Executive. Yes, I was in Human Resources for 25+ years and the last handful of those years as a VP of HR for a large organization. In my years of experience with people, hiring, firing, and the like, I regularly got the questions like, “Why did I not get that promotion?” or “Why was I not hired?” and “What were you looking for that I did not have in my experience of education?” All very fair questions. Questions that should be answered. And when they are, they give the person asking, things to work on in the future to either get the promotion or the job. Would it be right to “ghost” these people and not answer them at all? So then why is it appropriate to ghost a wedding vendor? I am one now. I left corporate America and HR behind to live a more creative life and ghosting has happened to me and many others that I work with. How is that different in this profession than that of corporate America? It isn’t.

The wedding industry is very “date” driven. When the potential client reaches out for information and engages a wedding vendor, the first thing most ask is the date of the event. If the client is the first to inquire about that date, they are first in line for booking. But what many potential clients don’t realize is that feedback, communication, and confirmation of their intent is critical for this very reason. In a season of postponements, cancelations, and rescheduling, this is even more important. 

How hard is it to just respond? If you were looking for a job, requesting a promotion, or in a job related conversation, you would expect the same, right? In HR, I always tried to give constructive feedback so that applicants knew where they stood. They knew what to work on, how to improve, etc. But they also knew next steps. As a wedding vendor, that same communication helps us determine our calendar availability, work load, and where we stand in the market if we didn’t confirm the event.

Hiring a vendor is like looking for a job. You are marketing yourself as much as they are trying to attract you like an employer, or the other way around. You, the client, are the employer. You would not want a future employee to be left wondering if they did or didn’t get the job after the interview, right? In this day of technology, personal messages, emails, and online questionnaires, those ARE the interview. So do the vendors the honor of responding, even if it is just a “thank you but we are hiring someone else.” You would expect that if you were looking for a job, right? 

“Thank you for your interest, but we have chosen an alternative candidate who better fits the criteria we are looking for.” I said that more times than I can count. Communication is key. Don’t ghost your wedding vendors. Give them the benefit of knowing so they can open their calendars and move on. It will do you both good.

Lisa Schmitz

Owner – Where Pigs Fly and such, Event and Personal Floral Design