Let’s Talk Money
Let’s Talk About Money, Friend to Friend
This one might sting a little. But it needs to be said.
Money is awkward. Especially when you’re close with your fellow vendors. Especially when you love the people you work with and want to believe everyone operates from the same place of integrity and respect. But here’s the truth: how we treat money reveals how we view people.
Let’s start here:
No one should ever assume someone else’s financial position. You don’t know what anyone’s carrying. You don’t know who came from privilege and who crawled their way out of debt. You don’t know who’s juggling kids and groceries and car payments, praying the invoice clears before the weekend. You don’t know. And it’s bad taste to assume everyone is fine.
Personally, I came from nothing. Like nothing. I started my adult life in debt from college, and I grew up in a house where we lived paycheck to paycheck. There were nights we didn’t know if we’d make it through the week. So when I talk about this, it’s not from a high horse, it’s from lived experience.
Social media will trick you into believing everyone’s rich. That everyone’s traveling, buying the dream house, wearing the perfect outfit, and landing the high-budget client. But what you don’t see are the quiet seasons of hustle and the small goals like paying off debt one bill at a time.
Is that everyone’s story? Of course not. But here’s the point—may we never be so presumptuous to think that those working for us or with us have the luxury of waiting on payment. May we never be the reason someone can’t put gas in their car or buy groceries for their kids.
If a service is rendered, payment should be made—immediately. Not “when it’s convenient,” not “when the next client pays,” and not “once I catch up.”
If you hired someone to help you—pay them first. It’s not their fault if you didn’t price your service correctly or overspent somewhere else.
If a client came to you and said, “I just can’t pay you right now,” you wouldn’t say, “Oh, that’s totally fine, I understand.” Of course not. That’s exactly why we have contracts—because this is a business. None of us are working for free. We hold clients accountable to their payment schedules, and rightly so. So why would we extend less professionalism to one another within our own industry? If we expect respect and timely payment from our clients, we owe the same to our peers.
Some people have the incredible privilege of never knowing financial struggle and that’s a blessing. But let’s not get so out of touch that we forget what it feels like to need what you worked for. You don’t like waiting on payment. Neither does anyone else.
And to be clear, grace and professionalism can coexist. There’s room for kindness when life happens. But chronic delays, lack of communication, and the “it’ll get there when it gets there” mentality? That’s not grace. That’s negligence.
Generosity is a beautiful thing, but it should never be assumed. If someone offers their time or skill at a discounted rate or free of charge, honor that. Don’t exploit it. Don’t “forget.” Don’t assume everyone else can afford to float what you can’t.
We have to remember that behind every business name is a person trying to make it work. A mom paying for dance lessons. A dad covering insurance premiums. A creative hustling to make a dream sustainable.
Money is not the taboo. The silence around it is.
So let’s normalize talking about it. Let’s normalize prompt payment, fair compensation, and respecting people enough to handle business like adults. Let’s normalize being honest about what we can afford instead of over-committing and under-delivering.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about money, it’s about mindfulness.
And if we, as wedding professionals, can’t treat each other with the same respect we demand from clients, then we’ve missed the whole point.
Stay kind and generous friends.
Xoxo, Latham