Booking your wedding and all the things involved with it are major decisions and given the expense involved, should not be taken lightly.
So, when choosing who to use for your big day, you should consider how much time and effort a person has put into their own business. This should give you an indication of how much time and effort they will put into your wedding.
If you need to know what to look for, here are a few pointers.
1. Previous work. Does the seller have an extensive portfolio of work to showcase and are the pictures theirs to show? Make sure they are their pictures, this should be obvious with a particular style being displayed or local venues or attractions on the pictures.
2. Do they have a team of experts around them? This proves particularly important in the event of sickness or something going wrong on the day. Back up is very important as sometimes time is of the essence when both doing bridal flowers and decorating a room.
3. Are they well established? A well established business has usually built up good relationships with their wholesalers and are able to call on them with a seconds notice, should they need to. Fresh stock and sundries are not easy to come by in a crisis and retailers have taken the time to build these networks.
4. Is this their main job? This particularly means a lot to me as if they are trading in their field entirely and not part time as a hobby, they are more likely to put all of their focus on your wedding. I understand the notion of starting out in business, but would you trust your big day with someone who does their field as a part time gig? I wouldn't. I would be asking are they going to be around in a years time as they are not fully committed?
5. Are they qualified and experienced? This ties in with number one but can be a stand alone checkpoint also. Someone who has taken the time to go to college, attend regular workshops and basically give up all their time is committed and will show the same level of commitment to your big day.
6. Do you feel easy about booking with them? Confidence is a big thing when booking your expert.
7. Do they have a retail outlet? This is not always essential as some fields of work do not need one such as a photographer but places like Cake Makers / Florists / Venue Decorators to name but a few, should have decent space to work out of in order to create the wedding of your dreams. Working around a family or in a shed or spare bedroom often can be distracting and messy. These are not conducive to providing stunning creative work.
8. Beware of cheap cheap cheap. Why are they doing it cheap? In my experience it is because they are desperate for work? If they meet all the points above, why should they be desperate for work? Another point to note about cheap work is that they often over book jobs in order to get enough money in which means the focus on your wedding will be completely lost.... you will be one in many many weddings..
Anway, this is a bit of a serious blog for me to write as we usually focus on our work. But the amount of times we have now had to bail out brides at the last minute because their friends friend or neighbour who promised them the earth is nowhere to be seen... decided to stop doing it... overbooked themselves or decided to have a holiday in the summer rather than do their wedding is becoming all to regular.
What you have to remember though is that this is only my opinion and opinions vary....
Take care and good luck with all your planning.
Paula xx
Wedding insurance is also a must I was let down by my one of my vendors who I can only assume was not properly trained or educated and luckily I got all my money back! I wish I'd read this handy check list then!
ReplyDeleteI do disagree about the retail unit this is hardly essential and sometimes companies have to hike prices to pay costly business rates. As long as the vendor is willing to invite you into their home, kitchen, shed, garage, loft, basement as if it were a 'retail' outlet then maybe this is the better option? Who knows some of these sheds or outhouses on tv are bigger than most normal living rooms! Would they not also be able to invest more time in your work as they don't need to be confined to traditional shop opening hours? Therefore having the flexibility to meet potential bride and grooms busy lifestyles by arranging consultations in an evening???
I disagree with the notion of working from home being an advantage for the reasons listed above. I find more hobby related flower arrangers do this and I would want someone who was totally committed to their field of work. Often home workers are holding down another job which can take up the bulk of their time which negates the point of flexibility, but each to their own. Opinions vary.
ReplyDelete