Cliches exist for a reason. You snooze, you lose, for instance, is one of those gems that you’ll likely utter a few times while you’re reaching out to dozens upon dozens of wedding vendors…and waiting to hear back from them. But just what constitutes ‘Snooze’ when you’re waiting to hear back from six floral designers in peak engagement season (which is now, by the way) or during peak weddings season? How long is Too Long a window for getting back to you? A day? Three days? An hour?

“Hey, if this person wants my business, they’ll get right back to me!” sniffs the bride who has herself up there on a pedestal and has set a one-hour response time before setting loose the symbolic guillotine and chopping that vendor from her research lists. Think this is a cartoonish depiction of the snooty bride? During our Trend Talk Discussion, we discovered that 2.3% of brides moved on to another vendor prospect after not getting a call back within an hour, and 4.7% of brides said ‘Sayonara’ when they didn’t get an email response back within 6 hours.

Yes, the world moves lightning-fast out there, and today’s mega-efficient brides who operate in speedy mode expect that vendors will be just as quick as they would be to seal the deal.

Of course, not everyone is an energy-drink-fueled whirling dervish of wedding planning, eliminating potential vendors when an egg timer blares out the end of 60 minutes. The Trend Talk Discussion revealed, among other eye-opening stats and — my favorite parts of these reports — their write-in thoughts, that 48.8% of brides give vendors a day to return their call, and 44.2% give more than 1 day. For email responses, 48.8% of brides give more than 1 day, and 44.2% give a day.

So, when you’re reaching out to lots of vendors to collect your all-important answers and details, it’s going to make your process easier if you first decide when your guillotine will fall on non- or slow-responders. These early-stage tasks, after all, are immensely important, and you need to keep a clear head and organized notes on the vendors who will take your wedding into their hands.

If you’re stressing out because a vendor is taking a week to write back, it could be chopping time. That pro holding up your system now could potentially mean he or she will be slow to respond to your questions or urgent requests down the road, should you hire him or her.

The best vendors have staff members in place, and a set block of time during their workdays during which they may personally respond to your initial requests for info. They know how important it is to connect with brides like you who have found them in a crowded wedding industry, so they make it a priority to connect.

Some respondents to the Trend Talk Discussion mentioned their frustrations over receiving an auto-response that doesn’t answer questions. You want to talk to the vendor, right? You want price lists, package details, your questions answered…all by a vendor who is listening to you.

If I had to plan my wedding again, I’d be impressed if I received a call from a vendor’s assistant, saying “she’s just finishing up a destination wedding and would love to talk with you on Thursday. Is that a convenient time for you?” I’d completely understand that a top-tier wedding vendor is super-busy, and it would mean the world t0 me if that vendor’s in-house system holds it as a priority to treat brides with respect and value, whether or not we’ve signed a contract or a check.

Yes, fast, personal replies make me take notice. If that takes a day, that works for me. Two days is fine when I know it’s the busy season. A weekend? I know they’re working weddings and could get back to me on Tuesday.

What are your feelings about speed of vendor responses? Do you feel like too-fast a reply could indicate a vendor who’s not busy at all, perhaps not experienced enough? Is there a flip side to this story that you’d like to share? What are your frustrations about waiting too long for a call or email back from a vendor? We’d love to hear your stories…