If this is the first question that you ask when speaking to a wedding vendor, you are in the majority. There's nothing wrong with this question, as it is obviously important to find out the price of the service you are inquiring about. But is this the most important question to ask?
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A bride recently asked me a great question...As you've probably read in this column and elsewhere, those of us "in the wedding industry" often will tell brides that "you get what you pay for" or "beware of the cheapest vendor." But how do you know a good vendor when you see one? Before we answer that, it will be helpful to consider some basic business facts:
Weddings are expensive. That shouldn't be news to anybody planning one, but the expense of a wedding is usually overwhelming, especially once a bride and groom begin getting estimates on their needed services.
But what most brides don't realize, is that it is always much more costly in the long-run if you try to hire the "cheapest" without doing your homework beforehand. There is an inherent "shopping gene" that kicks in with brides, but when you are hiring a wedding vendor, it is not like finding a dress in a bargain bin, or finding a sale on bread at Wal-Mart. It must be nice to live outside of the regular economy! Although the average wedding in the Detroit area is just over $28,000, according to Forbes, here are the 20 most expensive weddings.
The 2002 wedding of Liza Minelli and producer David Gest tops the list, with their total wedding budget coming in around 3 million dollars. Their cocktail hour featured a 60-piece orchestra and Tony Bennett. Michael Jackson served as the Best Man as Elizabeth Taylor was the Maid of Honor Your already paying your vendors for their services, be it the florist, the photographer, or the DJ. But you also don't want to be "that bride", the one who doesn't tip or feed the vendors that are normally given gratuity. So how do you determine who gets tipped and who you should feed?
A general rule of thumb, like in any other service-related industry, is to tip vendors that you believe have done a great job or have exceeded your expectations. Unlike a waiter or waitress who earn low wages and depend on their tips to make a living, most professional wedding vendors are making a living off of the prices of their package. And while tips are nice and always welcomed, they are not a necessity to survive. They say "knowledge is power." Well, arm yourself with these powerful industry secrets!
Make smart, educated decisions when planning your wedding by understanding how wedding vendors are selling to you. It's not that any of these sales techniques are bad, they are effective and time-tested. But if you can get into a vendors mind, you can cut through the "sales pitch" and begin to identify what is really important: finding quality vendors that you can trust with one of the most important days of your life! Here's 3 things that no wedding vendor wants you to know! K writes: We are getting married in 2016 and are trying to figure out the budget for our wedding. My fiance's family is not offering to pay anything towards the wedding. Is this rude to expect them to pitch in? What is the groom's family traditionally responsible for?
Yes, I own and operate a wedding video company here in Macomb, so one may tend to believe that I am a bit biased when it comes to the thought of wedding videography. But believe it or not, there is much happening in the world of videography that is relevant to you. Are you considering video, or have you already decided against it? Here's what you need to know:
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AuthorTom Santilli has been in the Detroit wedding industry since 2002, and in that time has established himself as one of the top in his field. His company, Complete Video Solutions , was named as the #1 Best Wedding Videographer in Detroit by local brides and Channel 4 FIVE consecutive years and is currently inducted into TheKnot.com's "Vendor Hall of Fame." He also has won several awards for his wedding production, and is a member of WEVA (Wedding & Event Videographers Association.) As the Detroit Wedding Examiner, he has helped hundreds of brides with their weddings, with a local knowledge not found anywhere else. Being in the industry for so long, he is an expert in all areas of wedding planning, not just videography. He welcomes your questions, article suggestions, or feedback, and he can be reached Archives
January 2024
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