Hello friends!
As we head into the summer season, many newly-engaged couples will begin building their dream team of wedding professionals to start their wedding planning. Today we’re talking about just what to look for to find your perfect match!
There are several things to consider, so let’s get started!
Location
This may seem like a no-brainer, but a quick Google search for wedding pros in your area can quickly prove to be overwhelming. Narrowing this down to a 20-mile radius typically helps in providing an adequate pool of wedding pros without adding a long commute by them on the day of your wedding ceremony. This is especially important for your large teams such as catering and rentals. If your perfect match for others, such as your planner or DJ, are more than an hour away from the wedding, I’d suggest offering a hotel room for the night before.
Ratings/Reviews
As you do with any other service-based industry, reviews and ratings on Google and many other sites (including wedding websites such as WeddingWire and Aisle Planner) are extremely important – with one caveat. Some wedding professionals who may not have had time to gain new ratings yet may be just as much worth your time, so it’s important to review their work and style beforehand in order to determine if you are interested in them. If the wedding providers of your choice do have ratings, be sure to check them out and read them, but your team can sometimes provide past client references if needed.
Style
As mentioned vaguely above, when reviewing the work of wedding pros – be sure to keep your style and theme in mind. While you may love the neutral and classic look of a baker near you – if you want bright and lively colored cupcakes, be sure to look for that when reviewing photos and videos of their portfolio. (Venue: Rose Hill Manor Photographer: Katelyn Phipps Photography)
Availability
The most important step when narrowing your list is to speak with your limited list of wedding pros and find out about availability. For each category, you’ll need to ensure before you get started that they’re actually able to make it to your big day!
Personality
Once you’ve gotten all of the logistical factors out of the way, it’s important to start getting to know these wedding pros. You can do this via social media as a pre-screen and then get to know them better by scheduling a consultation! It’s so important to feel good about who you’re working with as you will be spending a lot of time corresponding with them. You want to like the people on your wedding-day team! (DJ: Great Scott Productions, Photography: Frozen in Time Photography, Venue: Linganore Winecellars)
Responsiveness
While scheduling that consultation, take note of their responsiveness and overall professionalism. You want your wedding pros to be good communicators so that nothing gets lost in translation on your wedding day. If it takes a week for the planner to get back to you about an appointment, it may be worth it to find a few others before committing to someone too busy to respond to an inquiry. On the flip side of this, be sure to manage your expectations as well. These professionals have multiple couples they’re working with – so typically weekends are spent working with their couples. Typically, 48-72 hours is that sweet spot, and note that as your wedding day gets closer, you’ll probably see an improvement on those times as well.
Credentials
Mentioned above as well, these can be anything from certifications to prior work. When meeting with your wedding professionals at consultations, feel free to ask to see portfolios (this is also shown on social media and websites nowadays) as well as asking about any certifications or classes they’ve taken.
Pricing
Now that you’ve cut your list down to a few providers with the right style, personality, and standards for you – you can start to focus on pricing. Most wedding pros are willing to work with your budget, so be open and upfront about what you’re looking to spend.
After meeting and discussing plans with the wedding professionals, you should have a pretty clear vision of who you’d like to work with out of the pros you’ve met with. Hopefully, this list can help you narrow down yours!
If you still need assistance in finding high-quality, professional, and affordable providers, I have a preferred providers list just for the occasion! Planners work with wedding providers all the time so I would love to help you find your perfect fit!
Call me today to set up a consultation to learn more and until next time, good luck with your search!
Cover image by Margaret Wrobleski Photography
