Vendor Response Time

Oh man I've had ones not respond to me for weeks but honestly the ones that responded really timely were more pleasant for me to work with

View Quoted Comment

It's just really unsettling. My venue only works exclusively with 2 catering companies. The one we chose is the cheapest route and we've met them before and they are very pleasant and have been great in responding in the beginning so now I'm just a bit worried.

I know your venue is the Nixon Museum (such a beautiful spot...). Do they do the catering in-house or do you have to bring in your caterer? If it's the in-house caterer, I'd probably give them a little more time. When you do reach out, can you try calling them directly rather emailing?

Also, if you need referrals for your florist, photographer, or DJ in So Cal/OC, we were super happy with all of daughter's vendors. Great people and we did a TON of comparison shopping and felt like they were all very fair in terms of pricing. Good luck!

Sorry, just saw your post about them being outside caterers. I'd probably try calling.

View Quoted Comment

Thank you! They only work with 2 caterers. They're both great but we went with the cheapest one also because we like their menu options better so I guess I'll give them more time. We already have a photographer and DJ booked. There is one florist we're looking at but who did your daughter use?

My caterer is always busy as well. I believe the longest they took to respond was 1 week. We did our food tasting before booking them. Do they allow phone calls? I hope u can hear from them soon.

View Quoted Comment

Thanks.

I don't see why they wouldn't allow phone calls but more times than not I'm at work and can't call them. They would be closed by the time I am able to call. I'll keep trying though and see if I can find a time to call.

View Quoted Comment

VestraRosaWeddings.com Erika Alvarez is the owner/chief designer and she's located in Fullerton. She is the sweetest, easiest person to work with! We absolutely LOVED working with her. She's very flexible and creative. Share your vision and your budget, and she'll do her best to make it happen. Her quote was $1000 less than daughter's next lowest bid, with many more and much nicer flowers/arrangements. When you talk with her, it's clear she's very much a "problem solver" -- she just figures out how to make things work, regardless of the circumstances. (On the Portfolio page of her website, the link to daughter's wedding is on the far right, in the second row.)

View Quoted Comment

OK. Thanks. I'll definitely take a look!

That is so frustrating. I didn’t book any vendors that didn’t get back to all my initial emails ASAP so as of now (knock on wood) I’ve had 24hr max response time.
If it’s over the weekend I’d give them until Monday afternoon to go through all their emails and email again Monday evening during business hours or Tuesday morning. If it’s during the week I’d say they should respond within 24-78 hours MAX. If it’s an important email that you need a response to ASAP I would send a second email after 2 full business days. They need to know you’re not someone they can take their time getting back to. You’re paying a lot of money for all these vendors and you had and have choices! That was my thing, I had a million choices and I choose you, my wedding deserves your time as do all weddings they booked. If you can’t get back to your clients within a reasonable timeline they took on too many clients and that’s not your fault. Be persistent, so they know you are not the bride to let the ball drop with.

View Quoted Comment

Thank you!

That makes sense. I also just don't want to seem like a bother. It just sucks because our venue only works exclusively with 2 catering companies and we thought this was the best one for us because 1. They are cheaper and 2. At the venue open house, we just felt better about them in general and the food choices they offer.

I sent an email on the 20th to my venue and have not heard back yet. I will be reaching out again in the next few days. I think a week is more than enough time for them to respond. It is frustrating for sure.

You are 100% not a bother to them. They are working for you. You are paying them to do a big part of a very important day of your life. Your wedding is important and you are important, if you need to get ahold of them, they should be accessible to you and if they’re not, you should not feel bad about following up. 💗

View Quoted Comment

That does seem like a reasonable amount of time. It also sucks because they are closed on weekends. Hopefully I can squeeze in a phone call like previously mentioned.

View Quoted Comment

Very true! I'll definitely see if I can manage calling them tomorrow if I don't hear anything back from them mid-day. Thanks!

My transportation vendor took a month to respond to me once. I would have gone somewhere else but they are the only transportation providers in the area.

View Quoted Comment

Oh wow! Talk about being limited. Glad to hear it worked out in the end.

Typically a business should respond within 24-48 hours. This is the rule I follow at my event planning job. However if the vendor is away or dealing with a family issue that could result in a delayed response.

View Quoted Comment

That definitely makes sense. Thank you.

I reached out to a MHUA 7 months ago and she just sent me a price list last week- didn't even mention the "slight" delayed response

It looks like you're a little less than a year out from your wedding? I wouldn't stress too much, a lot of venues and caterers don't want to do tastings until you're much closer to your date. It's also busy season, so sometimes vendors are super swamped with other weddings. If you're worried that you haven't gotten a response, I'd just find a time to call them on your lunch break and check in.