coronavirus wedding
Booking wedding vendors may be the most direct way to help them stay afloat, but there are a multitude of free and easy ways to have just as big of an impact on your favorite wedding businesses.  These small gestures are easy, completely free and, best of all, are always helpful no matter the current event landscape.   

Here are five free ways you can help your favorite wedding vendors:

1. Social Media Sharing

The easiest way to support your favorite wedding vendors is through sharing a post, story or comment about them on social media. Support in the form of a social media shout-out means the world to your favorite wedding pros!

2. Reviews

Have a favorite wedding vendor you forgot to review?  Now is a great time to think about any feedback you’d like to share.  Even if your wedding hasn’t passed yet, you can still share a testimonial with the businesses you’ve loved working with so far.  This is especially important for weddings that have been postponed.  If you had a smooth postponement process, giving positive feedback those vendors who helped you through it is a wonderful way to acknowledge their efforts.

3. Refer a Friend

If your wedding has already passed and you’ve already reviewed your vendors, referrals are another great way to help out any wedding vendors with whom you had a great experience.  Referrals are a crucial part of any wedding business, and they are always welcome.

Many vendors have referral programs in place, so be sure to ask your favorite vendors if they have any referral incentives!  At Event Painting by Jamie, we’ve just rolled out a new referral program in order to give back to the many brides and grooms who have given us the honor of their referral to friends and family.  For more information on Event Painting by Jamie’s new referral program, please click here.

4. Refer Your Vendors

One of the simplest ways to facilitate an invaluable connection and resource to your favorite wedding vendors is by referring a vendor to another vendor.  For example, if you had a great postponement experience with your DJ, let your planner know.  If your planner went above and beyond for your big day, tell your venue contact.  This is one of the best ways to help your favorite vendors out.  Referring vendors to each other not only gives the referred vendor a positive testimonial, but it springboards a connection between both vendors that could possibly be the beginning of a valuable partnership!  

5. For Wedding Vendors:  Begin or Keep Up with Support Networks

Vendors, are you a member of multiple wedding vendor Facebook groups and never post or interact with your fellow members?  Have you made connections with a few of your competitors but never collaborate or reach out?  Now is the perfect time to make new connections and foster longstanding ones.  While it may seem counterproductive, collaborating with your closest competitors during this crucial time is one of the best resources available to maintain your business.  With many wedding dates being switched, having a referral network will be mutually beneficial to you, your competitors and, most importantly, your brides!  Additionally, collaborating on blog posts or social media posts can help grow your network even further. 

Bonus:  Two More Ways to Help  

1. Put Down a Deposit or Book Adjusted Services

Of course, while it’s not free, the most obvious way to help wedding businesses in the current climate is to put down a deposit for your wedding or to browse any adjusted service offerings.  Florists are still creating beautiful everyday arrangements, for example, and they would love to add a green touch to your work from home space.  Bakers are offering cookie and cupcake decorating kits perfect for staying in with the family.  Be sure to inquire with your favorite vendors about their current offerings! 

Event Painting by Jamie has opened photo commission availability during this time.  We are also taking new bookings for July 2020 – December 2021!  To inquire about a wedding painting from a photo or check availability for your date, please click here.

2. Postpone, Don’t Cancel!

The effects of cancelled events have hit everyone in the event industry quite severely.  While it is truly heartbreaking to have to cancel an event, keeping your event intact while moving it to a new date is the best way to help out your wedding vendors.  While there are some exceptions, most wedding pros are doing their best to keep the events they’ve booked as close to their original visions as possible.  Don’t be afraid to ask your vendors about their postponement policies!

To all of our future brides, our fellow live painters and all of the talented wedding professionals both in the Orlando wedding industry and beyond:  we see you!  We hope this post provides a small bit of helpful information and relief in the midst of much of the disappointing news of late.  Love is not cancelled, and we can’t wait to get back to celebrating the many wonderful love stories in which we’ve had the privilege of being asked to contribute.

XOXO – Amanda & Jamie

For more event painting tips and real weddings, be sure to follow along with our blog and our Instagram! If you’d like to order a photo commission painting or schedule live painting services for your big day, contact us today.  To view the full gallery of Jamie’s past paintings, click here. Happy planning and stay safe!

coronavirus wedding