The Importance of Reviews when Wedding Planning | Why You Should Read Them and Why You Should Leave Them
In honor of National Small Business Week, we thought it was a good time to drop some info about the importance of reviews when wedding planning. Planning your wedding involves making countless decisions, both large and small. Everything from cake flavors and color palettes to your vendor team, and wedding venue requires careful consideration and research. While this process can be fun at times (who doesn’t love a cake or dinner menu tasting?!), it can also be stressful to sift through all the options to find the ones that truly fit you. We’ve found small businesses here in the Lakes Region to be our BEST vendors, making the wedding planning process so much easier. If you have a small business you love, consider giving them a shout out and showing some love. We assure you they will appreciate it immensely.
When you are in the thick of making a million wedding-related decisions, one of the most valuable research tools you have at your disposal is the reviews. No amount of strategic marketing or sales tactics can replace the real-life sentiments of couples just like you working hard to create their perfect day.
How Reviews Can Help
Reviews give you a real insight into how a vendor or product went over during real wedding days. Sometimes, the discovery call with a wedding vendor goes fantastic, but the reviews might tell you that the service was lacking on the day of. Other times, maybe the communication was a bit dry, but the execution on the day was flawless! While reviews can be biased, flawed, or even incorrect at times, it’s important to read through them and decide for yourself how you feel. Everyone works differently – it’s up to you to decide what/who aligns with your personality, and reviews can help give you real insight into someone’s process from an outside perspective.
Reviews with photos take it even a step further and may provide you with just the inspiration you need to decide. Think about touring wedding venues; they are often empty and undecorated when you see them, and it may be challenging to imagine your vision coming to life within the wedding space. This is where reviews (and blog posts/social media) come into play! A photo gallery shared from a previous wedding in a review or post might be exactly the inspiration you need to know this space is perfect for your vision, or it may even spark your creativity to try something different than you originally imagined!
How Much Weight Should You Place On Reviews?
While reviews are a critical piece of the puzzle, remember that they are still only a piece. Small businesses often use client feedback to refine their offerings to ensure the smoothest transactions moving forward. If you find something concerning within a business’s reviews, ask them about it!
Why Write Reviews?
Pay it forward – Your words have the power to make a difference in someone else’s wedding-planning process. Just as past reviews hopefully supplied you with valuable information, your words will likely provide the same for future couples. By sharing your honest opinions, you are helping others make informed decisions and, ideally, removing some of the stress of wedding planning for future couples.
Show your appreciation and support small businesses – Many wedding venues and vendors are small businesses that rely heavily on reviews to be found and validated. Small businesses can sometimes be dismissed by potential clients simply due to a lack of reviews. No amount of marketing can outweigh the power your words have as a former client/customer sharing your real experiences.
Small businesses often do not have the marketing budget of their corporate counterparts, which can cause them to fall behind in searches. However, you’ll often find that service from a small business vs a larger corporate entity will be more personalized and tailored to your needs. With fewer clients overall and their own name to uphold, small businesses can typically give more energy and flexibility to each client. With a smaller staff (often owner-operated) and fewer resources overall, your reviews are one of the most valuable ways to thank and support the small businesses that served you.
When should you write reviews?
We suggest writing reviews soon after your wedding day, while everything about the day is still fresh in your mind. Consider writing reviews right about the same time as you begin writing thank-you notes.
It’s never too late - While it is preferable to write reviews shortly after your event, while the magic is still fresh, don’t stress if you didn’t get around to them right away. Your venue/vendors will be grateful for your thoughts no matter when you get to them.
What should you talk about in your review?
The most important thing is that you share your honest opinion on the service or product provided. It’s best to mention anything that stood out to you or that you felt was above and beyond what you would have expected. If you are reviewing a complex service, consider touching on the stages of working together. For example, discuss your experience with a wedding venue, starting with how you found them, your tour, the planning stages (and any support that was offered,) the setup/execution of your event, any staff that stood out, and the breakdown. Use your review to touch on the things that felt important to you, as they are likely important to future couples as well.
What if you had a negative experience?
Whether critical or positive, your feedback helps shape the future of operations. We all hope never to be in the position to have to leave a negative review. The option of reaching out to the business directly to resolve issues is always available and is often the best course of action. If the business is receptive and resolves the issue with you, you may both be able to walk away without a loss. When possible, speak up during the planning process if something feels off. Most vendors want to make you happy; make sure they are aware that something isn’t meeting your standards. If the challenge persists despite your communication efforts, then it may be important to note it within a review.
Critical reviews can be just as helpful as glowing ones for both customers and businesses. You can note your concerns in the review along with how the business responded to them (whether positively or negatively). A review is always a good way to help ensure a business stays accountable and that future clients are aware of potential drawbacks. Your words have the power to help the best wedding venues and vendors stand out and encourage them to provide the most exceptional service possible. Small businesses are often motivated heavily by the review process and are excitedly awaiting your feedback once the day has come and gone.
Your words have the power to help the best wedding venues and vendors stand out and encourage them to provide the most exceptional service possible. Small businesses are often motivated heavily by the review process and are excitedly awaiting your feedback once the day has come and gone.
Thank you for stopping by our blog today! We hope this was a helpful article for you! We use this space to share about wedding planning, farm happenings, and our support for other small locally owned businesses. Did you know that supporting small, locally owned businesses supports our local economy and keeps income circulating within your community?
Check out this article about locally owned businesses for a more detailed breakdown of how that works. We believe wholeheartedly in collaboration over competition. No two venues are alike, and we want every couple to find a space that truly speaks to them. Please check out these other locally owned wedding venues who are out here making the dream work!
Cheateau Jolivenue | Catawbafalls Events | Love Grove Estates | Within Sodo | Valley Mills Farm | Legacy Lakes Venue | The Venue at Murphy Lane | Talulamesa | Florida Barn Weddings | Bluestone Estate