Own that shit! 6 ways to help vendors understand your offbeat wedding #Advice#industry insiders#wedding planning January 11 | Guest post by Carrie Swails Carrie Swails is a kick-ass wedding photographer with a career-load of wedding knowledge. (Trust me, photographers pick up on ALL KINDS of industry insider tips.) So here's her advice for getting a more traditional vendor to understand your offbeat wedding plans… One of the biggest ways the wedding industry has changed in modern years is offbeat weddings. There are so many people out there doing less-traditional things. However, the wedding industry can still be new to many of the less traditional ideas and you may have encountered a vendor or who who thinks your Dungeons and Dragons inspired wedding is well… a little weird. Your wedding can be a thousand times more amazing if all of your wedding vendors get on board with your less-traditional plans. It can be really tough for wedding vendors to shake off their traditional ideas of what a wedding should be and embrace your wedding's uniqueness instead. I've been to many weddings where a vendor or two force their ideas on the clients. (It's not fun being forced to do a first dance or parent dance by your DJ when you don't want to.) Getting your wedding vendors on board with your offbeat wedding can definitely help your day be happier and smoother. There is already enough pressure coming from family and friends to do things a certain way — the last thing you need are the people you are paying forcing their plans down your throat too. Here are a few ideas to help you get those wedding vendors jiving with your offbeat wedding… Include your vendors in the planning process As a photographer I can tell you that when clients include me on their mailing list for Save the Dates and invitations it always makes me more excited about what the wedding will be like. It also gives vendors a better idea of who you are. Many times if you've picked an obscure wedding theme or are doing something different you educate your guests about it in your invites, so why not your vendors too? Be open and communicate details about how your wedding is going to be different Don't be ashamed of doing things a little differently from the rest of the world, no matter what aspects are different (big or small). The best way to get your vendors on board is to have a conversation about what you are doing and why. The why is the most important part It's pretty safe to say that most people who work in the wedding industry do it because they love the love. As cliche as that is, it's true. That means we appreciate love of all different types and want to celebrate each client's unique relationship. Tell us why you've decided to incorporate an unusual tradition. The why tells us that it's important to you. Create a Pinterest board about your wedding Related Post Use a shared Pinterest board as the visual "Shit People Suggest" spreadsheet We all know that planning a wedding = a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. Tons of inspiration and easily searchable database, but there's inspiration overload and... Read more I know it may be tempting to pin photos and poses you want your photographer to take, but just remember some of the most famous photos on Pinterest happened when the photographer had lots of wiggle room to be creative and didn't have every image mapped out. Instead of focusing on the images you want a photographer to take, focus on images of what your wedding vibe will be. Related Post It's dangerous to go alone: Morgan & Rob take each other at their Legend of Zelda wedding The Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, and every other fantasy genre you can think of has a home at this cosplay lovefest wedding.... Read more For example, if your wedding is Legend of Zelda themed, make a board filled with Zelda inspiration, links to what Zelda is and then send it out to all of your wedding vendors. DJs, photographers, planners, and the venue so they know what to expect visually. Pin some articles about why you don't want to throw the bouquet or why you love colored wedding dresses. These are great subtle visual hints that can help your team be your biggest fans. Make emails and meetings your best friend Ask your planner out for drinks, and tell them all about how you met and why you've chosen to have a 10 guest wedding instead of the usual 400 guests your planner is used to seeing. Own that shit! If you are sharing your excitement and seem enthusiastic for them to be a part of your day, it can definitely shift and help them want to understand more of what you're up to. Book a vendor who specializes in less traditional affairs Unfortunately sometimes we end up with a vendor and can't prevent who we work with for one reason or another, but if at all possible spend the extra time searching for a vendor who is authentic and will "get" you. Vendors listed here on Offbeat Bride and at the Lovesick Expo are an amazing place to start that search. It's one of my hopes that the wedding industry becomes more open and understanding to the less traditional shindigs happening these days. Hopefully a few of these tips will help you get your vendors on board? Is there anything you want to add to the list? Leave it in the comments! This post features Offbeat Vendors! Check out their vendor listing to see how they cater to Offbeat Brides: Carrie Swails Photography Reporter Name * Reporter Email * Original text Enter the original text here. Edited text* Enter your suggested copyedit here. Notes You can add a note for the editor here. * Required information. Fix Typo Guest post written by Carrie Swails Carrie Swails is a wedding photographer for geeky non-traditional people. She loves anything with unicorns on it, has a maddening addition to all things Lord of the Rings and believes wine is like the Force. It has a dark side, a light side and it holds the universe together. http://carrieswailsphotography.com PREVIOUS The first rule of this boxing match wedding: tell everyone! NEXT TSA hates sequins: lessons learned at NY & Philadelphia Lovesick Expos Show/Hide comments [ 2 ] great advice! I can tell you that, try as I did to get people to understand that our wedding was supposed to be authentically medieval, it did NOT get through to them and it was not a good day. this was well before the internet, let alone OBB and pinterest so work the tools to communicate and exemplify to your family, friends, and vendors so they know what you want and that it won't be the end of the world if your wedding doesn't look like something out of a traditional bridal catalog. 1 agrees Reply I completely agree! ? Reply Leave a Reply to Carrie Swails Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. If you want to promote your stuff on Offbeat Bride, join us as an advertiser instead.
great advice! I can tell you that, try as I did to get people to understand that our wedding was supposed to be authentically medieval, it did NOT get through to them and it was not a good day. this was well before the internet, let alone OBB and pinterest so work the tools to communicate and exemplify to your family, friends, and vendors so they know what you want and that it won't be the end of the world if your wedding doesn't look like something out of a traditional bridal catalog. 1 agrees Reply