I’ve reached out to many vendors about their availability and rates for my wedding. While some have been more responsive than others, several haven’t responded at all. That concerned me and made me question…what is a reasonable response time?
When hiring a vendor, I’m looking at the quality of work whenever possible (e.g. portfolio, taste of cake, etc.). I am also taking into consideration vendor reviews, rates and even responsiveness.
Given the pandemic, I realize it’s not “business as usual” for many companies. Though probably considered non-essential businesses, I think that many of these vendors are sole proprietors working out of their homes, and are still checking emails.
Initially, one vendor responded within hours of my inquiry that she was available on my date, but then didn’t respond when I asked about her rates. After 4-5 days, I followed up, but never did get a response. I thought that was odd and assumed she didn’t want my business.
One bride on a wedding forum suggested maybe vendors weren’t responding so as not to give false hope. She thinks an August wedding is unlikely and maybe vendors don’t want to take a deposit that would have to be returned. While that could be true, I think vendors would be open to rescheduling if necessary.
I may be competing with other brides who have had to postpone their spring weddings and their requests would take priority. I also understand that vendors could be impacted by what’s going on–both professionally and personally. That said, I want to give them ample time to respond, but I also need to keep moving forward.
Pre-pandemic, I would have said 1-3 days is an acceptable response time. Nowadays, I think 3-5 business days is a reasonable amount of time to wait for a response (though I may even give them up to a week) before I remove a vendor off my list. If I don’t hear back from someone, I won’t sweat it. Rather, I’ll just take it as a sign they’re not meant to be part of my wedding.
