You get what you pay for…so the saying goes, but these days everybody is on a budget. When planning a wedding or event, a budget is key to making your dream become a reality, but having a good idea of how to measure cost -vs.-quality when dealing with vendors is very important for couples to understand. Being thrifty and working on a budget to plan your wedding is a good thing, but knowing where not to cut corners is also essential in planning a good celebration. When planning your wedding hiring true professionals, with experience may cost you more in the end, but you can’t measure their worth, as I have seen what happens when brides and grooms try to cut corners to save cost by hiring vendors that are not invested in their businesses full-time. Not hiring an experienced professional will cost you a lot more than money in the end…
Here are some of the many examples I have been witness to, in my years of working weddings.
At one wedding the cake was late (2 hours) and when it arrived, it had been finished in marshmallow fluff, not fondant or buttercream and in just a few minutes, I noticed it was sloping. I quickly grabbed up the bride and groom and we were able to get a few cake shots before the entire top slid right off the table, onto the floor, while the bride and groom watched in horror!
Last summer, I worked a wedding in which the flowers for the reception and the wedding party didn’t show at all! The bride was in a panic, as the groom drove to the actual florists store, only to find they were closed and nobody was answering calls! They had already made the final payment for the flowers and were out all that money. Meanwhile, the groom had to go on a mad dash to find another florist locally who could pull something together for their event in just a few hours! The bride and groom lost a lot of money, and it caused a lot of drama for the poor bride and groom.
One bride hired what she thought was a professional DJ. Throughout the night, I was shocked and amazed as this “DJ” not only played horrible, dated music and had to ask the bride and groom for their song list right before the reception, but I caught him repeatedly sneaking off to take shots of Jagermeister from the open bar. After about 2 hours of drinking, he began ranting over the microphone, reminiscent of a scene from the “Wedding Singer”, telling the guests, “They only paid me to be here for 10 more minutes, but because I love all of you so much, and I’m having such a great time, I’m gonna stay and play ONE MORE SONG…!” He promised, “ONE MORE SONG” for another hour and a half, to my shock and horror!
I have seen the result time and time again of hiring a friend or family member to do your wedding portraits…blurry, low-quality images, that can’t be repaired. I often am told by brides that they love my work, but they found another “professional” photographer who was willing to shoot an 8 hour wedding and give them a CD for $700, not understanding that anyone who will do a wedding for that price, is NOT a professional, and will NOT offer professional products, or magazine-quality editing.
You only get one shot at making sure your day is perfect! Why not hire trusted professionals, who know what it takes to get the job done the right way? Can you place a value on the peace of mind you will have knowing that your wedding day will be stress-free, because the vendors you hired are experienced and professional, and are there with the one goal of making our dream day a reality. I found another blog website that really has some great feedback on how you get what you pay for when you hire a professional. It’s worth the read. http://everylastdetailblog.com/2010/08/19/thursday-tips-you-get-what-you-pay-for/
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