Today’s post was prompted by a wedding story that I’m part of which took place just before Christmas. It made me cry happy tears and feel so exceptionally proud of the industry I’m part of. Today’s post is all about the dedication and darn right stubborn attention to detail and service that my version of the wedding industry is made up of.

So what’s the story?

I had a couple who wanted some unusual and yummy fortune cookies to give to their wedding guests as wedding favours. I researched and found a company who created utterly delicious offerings (I’m talking chilli chocolate, ginger and cinnamon, chocolate orange and other such unusual scrummy takes on the standard fortune cookie). It’s always an unknown when you work with a new supplier but I knew very quickly from my first dealings with Michelle, Crafter and Creator for Cracking Cookies in the summer that she was a true professional and had the same ethics, attention to detail and customer service standards as I. We set to work designing some beautiful Christmas fortunes, with fabulous personal messages for my couple and a very seasonal bauble and thank you tag.  (I will be able to show photos of the exact fortunes soon, these below are not them but other examples of Cracking Cookies work).

All was well and Michelle kept me informed. Baking was to be done near to the delivery date so that the product was as fresh as possible and we were on track (bar a small issue that Michelle had with a batch of the bauble outers). So far so good. But Michelle’s courier let her down spectacularly by leaving our package in the depot in Glasgow with no promise of when additional drivers would be available to bring it down to Surrey. With me departing for the wedding at Babington House, Somerset the next day, we were pretty stuck and neither of us had faith that the courier would get our package to us.

So Michelle dropped everything and announced she was heading down to Surrey with our cookies. She drove from 4pm to 00.15 (along with her husband as co-pilot) to ensure I had the package at my home before turning around and heading up the motorway and going all the way back.  Not even then could she relax as although my order was safely in my hands she was straight back into production for her Christmas orders.

What service from somebody who puts their heart and soul into their work! Michelle understood that this day was so incredibly unique to my couple and how the work and effort that they had put into the day meant that the cookies were a small but important part of that. Whilst the wedding would obviously have gone ahead cookies or no, to not have had what they wanted and planned for is something I will try to avoid at all costs. Michelle “got it” that my reputation was at stake. I’d chosen her and Cracking Cookies to deliver and if they didn’t deliver that reflected on me and my business reputation and my ability to choose reliable and A1 suppliers.  There are some things which couples should not see or know about on their wedding day and I believe its our job as wedding planners to problem solve without seeking glory, just because we want it to be perfect for them.

For me Michelle’s attitude is exactly what I look for in a great supplier and I hope now that our business relationship will last a long time into the future. Of course I have many “Michelle’s” in my little white book of wedding lovelies built up over the 11 years in business. Yes, there have been a few frogs along the way but I’m so very proud of the companies I am privileged to work with on behalf of my lovely clients and the new ones who get to join the fold! You’ll see many of them credited on my blog and web galleries.

As the fortune says ‘There are no traffic jams along the extra mile’ but I actually think it’s bustling with dedicated companies in my world of weddings in 2015.

To find out more about Michelle’s company and their wedding fortune cookies, do take a look at their website Cracking Cookies

Happy Planning!

What a superb story about customer service.