Tips on Tuesday: Letting a Vendor Know You Aren't Interested

I'll preface this post with this caveat - I too have been one to forget, not everyone can remember to do everything, but ...

It's just plain common courtesy after meeting with a vendor to give them some follow up, regardless of whether or not you are actually going to use their service. Perhaps during the meeting you got a feeling that they weren't the right one for you - tell them then. Don't let your vendor waste time putting together a proposal if you know that you won't even consider them as a potential contender. If you liked them during the meeting but didn't like their proposal and are choosing to work with someone else, let them know. Its just polite to tell a vendor that you have decided on someone else. It allows them to pursue other potential clients for the same wedding date. Otherwise, vendors will continue to reach out to you for some kind of answer. Don't think that by ignoring them or not saying that you don't want to work for them will hurt their feelings. Everyone in business knows that you win some, you lose some. Vendors have a business to run and don't want anything outstanding. If you need more time to decide, tell them. But, also respect that many vendors work on a 'first come, first served' mentality - so if you take months to get back to them regarding your proposal - they may have gotten booked between then and now.

While these are expensive decisions to be making, please take a minute to reach out to the vendors you've met and tell them you've decided otherwise, its the right thing to do. And yes, vendors will respect your decision.