Refreshing our look, our services, and our salon is a great way to get ready for the busy coming season. It is a great reminder, Jill, that we need to periodically look at our ourselves and our workspace with a client’s eyes. Keeping it clean and fresh-looking is very important in building their confidence in us. They always like to try new scents or services while they enjoy the old tried-and-true ones. This got me thinking, spring not only starts bringing in our pedicure clients more frequently but it also starts bringing in bridal parties for services. How does your salon manage bridal parties? 

Here at Misbehaven we have a bridal contract that we e-mail to the person coordinating the bridal party. In this contract e-mail we collect the names of the guests, the services requested, and the time of the wedding or photos if the services will be performed the day of the wedding. Then we quote the basic prices for the services and explain the cancellation policy, what the guests may need to bring or wear, and that there are optional upgrades that the person can choose the day of the service. Once the contract is signed by the coordinator, we then schedule the services and get a credit card to hold the appointments. 

We have a 10-day cancellation policy for the whole wedding party, and a 24-hour one if just one person needs to cancel. This policy states that if less than a 10-day cancellation notice is given for a wedding party of two or more people, then half of the total service amount will be charged to the credit card reserving the appointments. This has cut down drastically on the last-minute changes to what we originally agreed on with the bridal party coordinator. We used to have problems several times a season with people requesting appointments for six to 10 people and then only two or three showing up the scheduled day. This left us with big holes last minute on our service providers’ books. It was very challenging for our salon until we came with the bridal contract.

Having a bridal contract helps us to prepare for the coming spring/summer season so that we can provide the best service possible, and stand out from everyone else.

— Sandy