Vendor Reviews
Why, when, what, where to leave vendor reviews for your wedding vendors
Why Write a Vendor Review:
- To help other couples – It is important to those couples coming behind you wading through the sea of vendors, trying to choose the perfect one to hire for their wedding. Your review and advice could be super helpful to another couple researching vendors
- It is the best way to Thank them – shouting your gratitude from the rooftops is a way better “Thank You” than a card
- You can give them a business boost – Vendors rely on positive reviews to get more sales. In the competitive world of wedding vendors, honest reviews help the vendor capture more clients that want what they are selling.
When to Write your Review:
- Whenever the service has been completed. For instance, your review of the bridal Store where you bought your dress or had your dress altered can come as soon as you get it home. Your review of the photographer might be after you get all your final photos delivered a couple months after your wedding.
What to Include in your Review:
- Time of year and venue
- Name of the person/people representing the company that gave your service (ie the main chef/coordinator of the catering company or the 2 reps manning the photo booth)
- What you loved about them (Quality of Service, Responsiveness, Professionalism, Value, Flexibility)
- What could have been better (if anything)
- What you would have done differently looking back (lessons learned)
- Photos of their work if possible – like the cake, photo booth, drive off vehicle, band on stage, florals, lighting, etc
What to Do if you had a Negative Experience
If you had a negative experience with a vendor, contact the owner/general manager of the company in writing first. Calmly explain the facts, how they did not deliver what was promised and how you would like them to fix the problem. You can talk to them in person, but having it in writing with a time and date stamp is helpful in case you need to bring legal action. Also, remember there are two sides to every story so let them counter with their side of the story before condemning them. This is where a wedding planner is great since they can mediate and figure out what the problem was and where the fault might lay.
Wait to write your review until you are satisfied with the solution. Then write the review as above but add the issues you had and how they fixed the issue if you would like to warn future couples. Try to keep to the facts when writing negative reviews and not muddy the water with emotions.
If you were happy with the service and just had some additional feedback for the company that you did not want to add to the online review, go ahead and email them separately with your feedback. Most vendors are grateful to get honest constructive feedback even if it is not all that positive. It allows us all to get better at what we do. But don’t forget to add all the positive feedback as well.
Give a Video Testimonial
A great way to support your favorite vendors is to record a video testimonial and send it to your vendor with permission to use it on their social media and website if they wish. Everyone loves to see happy customers after the wedding giving a rave review.
Best sites to Write Vendor Reviews:
You can Google the company name + “review” and all the places where people are leaving reviews will come up for that company.
- The Knot
- Wedding Wire
- Their Facebook page
- Yelp
- Instagram tag
- Trip Advisor (for destination wedding locations, restaurants, tour companies and hotels)