Honestly, this post has been a long time coming. I consider it my job to educate brides on etiquette, but other wedding industry professionals should be able to carry themselves appropriately, especially since they’ve done this before. But I am sad to admit some professionals have a problem being, well, professional. Here are my thoughts.

Please conduct business in a timely manner. This applies to meetings, phone/email correspondences and especially the wedding day. If you haven’t noticed brides are sometimes stressed out and taking your sweet time doesn’t help them to feel any better.

When a situation doesn’t apply to you fulfilling your contract, mind your business. Yes, in the binder I carry around on the wedding day I have the ability to answer all of your questions, including “How much does this venue cost to rent? or “Are the Bride’s parents footing the bill?” but it puts me in an awkward situation to gracefully tell you I am not comfortable discussing that, so don’t ask.

Gossip is not my middle name. It’s certainly not appropriate to gossip in any situation but really, you choose the wedding day to corner me and rant about others in the industry. Seriously, the couple is paying us both to work, not to chit chat.

Lastly, I understand some of you aren’t familar with the Milwaukee wedding industry and if that’s the case, keep the comments to yourself. I have worked with many out-of-town vendors who feel the need to share their opinions about the industry that I love and make a living from. Remember the childhood rule, if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. It applies here too.

Brides, I hope you never experience poor vendor etiquette but in case you do, I apologize on behalf of us all.