Pet Peeves Wedding Vendors Won’t Tell You

Are you guilty of any of these pet peeves?

Don’t worry

we won’t

judge you…

We know… you have good intentions! It’s not like you mean to do it on purpose. You just want it to be perfect.

Have you ever considered that you might be secretly driving your wedding vendors insane? Yes! You will not hear this from them because they are too professional to speak openly about their frustrations.

our guide covers things you might do accidentally to frustrate wedding vendors

We have all the insight directly from them, & we’re here to dish the dirt. The reason? Knowing your vendor’s pet peeves and avoiding them could help you get better results.

Often we don’t see all the hard work behind their craft. So here is the scoop on the pet peeves your wedding vendors are not telling you.

Wedding Planner Pet Peeves

So you have already gone through the process of interviewing & hiring a wedding planner. They do things like tell everyone where to sit & help problem solve any situations that pop up. How could there be something that bugs this angel?! Well, there is, and we are about to tell you all about it.

The wedding planner has a huge role in coordinating your reception. They will make sure your vendors properly set up the wedding ceiling draping, your photo booth is set up in the right place, and the dancing on a cloud. looks good.

one superpower your wedding planner does not have is the ability to read minds

You also need to do your part by giving input. A wedding planner loves couples who communicate their wishes & consider all the options.

Another big pet peeve is changing plans. We all know this could happen while wedding planning. You might want an all-white wedding until you see how magical an emerald green looks with white.

Now you need to change the table setting & décor. We recommend you avoid changing the whole theme or it will cause extra work with less time to plan. Your wedding planner will appreciate this, it will also help keep them sane.

Photographer & Videographer Woes

Make sure you head on over to our guide on how to hire a photographer. Something important to understand is your vendor expectations. You want to stay off your photographer or videographer’s bad side. Try to be early and also listen to their directions when taking photos.

giving a photographer a limited time to perform their art, limits their creativity

There is no bigger pet peeve for a photographer than having a limited time to shoot you as you are getting ready. Something else that sets off photographers is having a second amateur photographer at the event.

They can get in the way of photos. This also includes your great aunt that just learned how to use a camera phone last week.

Now let’s move on to your videographer. Never watch the highlight video and then suggest a complete song change. It makes it almost impossible to re-edit the timeline. They will have to start over completely.

What to discuss with your videographer?

• the song(s) to use for the video (your choice, the editor’s choice)

• the style for the video (fast, slow, dramatic, romantic)

• must have shots (what is important, what you like)

• events to include (getting ready, locations, ceremony, limo)

• discuss the expected time to get the footage

Be mindful of the changes that might ask your videographer to make. Some videographers charge for re-edits because of the time it takes. Do not want to rush your videographer for the final edit. This process can take months so be patient.

Don’t Make These Caterer Mistakes

When you hire a catering service, they will ask how many guests you have and provide a quote accordingly, and they will bring all that is necessary to fulfill the number of plates requested. But when dinner time comes, they find out you have 10 extra guests, and you didn’t inform them because you thought not everyone would come to your wedding.

a caterer has extra plates but not for an entire table, so be mindful of the info you provide

Another major pet peeve for your catering service is to delay dinner time due to guests coming in late. It takes hours of preparation for caterers to serve a hundred plates.

Everything is calculated to be on time & arrive warm at guest tables. If you delay dinner because your guests are not punctual, you push back the schedule which may reduce the food quality.

It’s not just the timeline but other guests that can cause you to run behind schedule. We have seen this happen all the time at weddings because of the bridal party. Let’s say someone took their time to deliver a best-man speech. Taking too much time can put the meal behind schedule.

This will more than likely cut into the dinner. Either give them a limit or have the speeches begin once food service starts. This will prevent the food from getting cold.

Hair & Makeup No-Nos

When you go to a hair or makeup trial, you get a sense of how long it takes to be perfect. Once you hire your hair and makeup artist and agree on a time, you need to stick by it.

Be as early as possible. If you show up thirty minutes late, your chances of being perfect by the time your photographer arrives are narrow.

bottom line… hair & makeup take time

Want to get into your hair and makeup artist nerves? Add an extra person to the line. Doing this last minute on the same day of your wedding will not make your vendors happy.

As we discussed earlier, time is precious for your wedding vendors! They need to fulfill a timeline. Perhaps they even have another appointment scheduled after you. Being late & changing your schedule messes up their day BIG TIME.

What Drives Your Banquet Hall Crazy

If you are not planning a backyard wedding, then you will be at a venue. Your hall might be a big operation so timing is crucial. They need your event to start and end at a certain time.

If you start late then it could affect the time for everything else. This can cause you to go over & they might need to pay their staff to stay longer. It is really hard for a banquet hall to shut down with 200 people still in the room.

there are (2) main issues that concern wedding venues that is timing & liability

If your event is outside then there will be a noise curfew or decibel threshold. DJs can sometimes play too loud causing concern or complaints from neighbors.

Most guests will take their shoes off an hour into open dance. It makes sense why the #1 venue’s pet peeve is guests that dance with glass drinks on the dance floor.

Avoid Doing This to Your Disc Jockey

We get it, you love music. So you’ve decided to handpick EVERY song the DJ is to play at your wedding. Sounds like a good idea right?

Wrong! 9 times out of 10 this is can go south really quickly! Your disc jockey doesn’t play the music they like. Their goal is to read the room and play what your wedding guests love.

restricting a DJ’s creative abilities may reduce the likelihood of your guests dancing

Just because you don’t like 2000s boy bands of 90s hip hop doesn’t mean you should save everyone having to endure it. What if your guest would like that genre? You need to trust the recommendations of your entertainment.

Your entertainment should also get must play and a list of do not play songs. No need to over-manage either list. Selecting 30-40 must-play songs & 10 do not play songs should be enough.

Vendors vs. The Setup

Anytime your vendors have a lot of equipment their first concern is the setup logistics. This can sometimes even be a deal-breaker if they will take your event.

Common setup concerns:

• is the venue downtown

• is there parking for box trucks

• are there wait times at the loading dock

• is the venue unionized

• are there steps to load in

• is there an elevator to load in

• does the hotel have a bad cell signal

• does the setup require a ladder

• is there limited setup/teardown time

These could be potential reasons why a vendor turns down your event. The above points make it stressful to do their jobs. Consider that downtown venues have one-ways, the box truck might need to get parked a mile away from the venue, and your vendor might have to wait 1 hour to use the loading dock.

vendors do multiple events on the same day, delays can ruin events

For example, we provided draping for a unionized event center. The issue is that the client found out last minute and had to pay their in-house company to set up our package under our supervision.

Our rentals only cost $1500, but they had to pay $8000 for the union to set it up! It was extremely frustrating because they had 4 people doing a 1 person job and our team was not allowed to touch their own equipment.

Vendors vs. Weather

Everyone wants beautiful weather on the day of their wedding. This allows you to plan events outside in nice breezy weather. However, have you considered how this can affect your vendors?

get a tent for your DJ this protects equipment from rain & heat

What if there is a chance of rain? Will vendors set up your ceremony outside & then move everything inside 15 minutes before because plans change?

Guess what… they are stuck in the rain sweating moving equipment to make this happen. Not to mention your DJ whose electrical equipment might get damaged.

The flipside to rain, puddles, & mud is heat. Too much heat is a bad thing for vendors & guests. We love the rustic-chic vibe from outdoor barn weddings, however, this is missing one thing… AC!

Events in a 100-degree barn with 200 people are uncomfortable. Now get them dancing & it will get really hot. Your vendors could be working 16 hours straight & the heat makes the event unbearable.

Are You Guilt-Free

tell us in the comments below if any of your actions were a vendor’s pet peeve

Wedding vendor pet peeves to avoid…

• you need to arrive on time

• have a clear idea of what you wish

• be mindful when making sudden changes

• know how weather affects vendors & guests

Like you, they put 110% to fulfill your needs and provide outstanding service. If you don’t do your part, things might easily go wrong or become complicated. We hope you found our advice helpful! For more expert articles browse our blog homepage.