Choosing Service Providers for Your Wedding

Choosing your dream team is one of the most important decisions you will have to make after your engagement. Professional wedding service providers will make every aspect of your wedding great resulting in a flawless and perfect experience for you and your guests.

When it comes to choosing your service providers for your wedding, I have only one suggestion – have a face to face meeting.

The first point of reference for brides is Google, and there are plenty of websites out there. One word of caution, some companies use stock photos to make their websites look professional. A blog is a far better representation of what a company is about.

Do not be discouraged by the fact that most service providers in South African wedding industry work from home. In the 21st century offices became redundant and unnecessary in this line of work. After all, the main event takes place at the venue of your choice, and  backstage efforts become irrelevant. However, you are more than welcome to inquire whether or not they have the right tools and staff to execute your vision.

I know, having that initial meeting often intimidates brides, and they feel that they may feel the pressure to commit themselves to a particular supplier after that initial meeting. Therefore, brides often feel safer sticking to email communication whilst trying to gain as much information as possible. It is important to give people you are contacting via the email an opportunity to present themselves and their work in person. A true professional will respect a bride’s decision to shop around. A true professional will provide a bride with as much information about their style of work as possible at the meeting without creating unnecessary pressure.

Some providers will have a set package – photographers, videographers, DJs, musicians, etc. However, when it comes to flowers and decor, quoting is highly subjective to individual requirements. Same goes for yout dressmaker who need to understand your requirements before she can quote you.

The meeting will allow you to view the provider’s portfolio, ask questions, and get a feel for the person. After the meeting, you will receive a formal quotation for your wedding, which you can evaluate and consider in your decision making process.

Please remember  the old age wisdom of ‘you get what you pay for’, whilst never loosing sight of that new age reality that having the best and most expensive ingredients does not necessarily translate into a delicious gourmet meal. This is the same with the wedding, having the best wedding service providers will not necessarily translate into the best wedding for you. Since weddings are highly personal and emotional affairs, the people working with you need to compliment your personality and style.

Another important thing, whilst you are interviewing the providers, they are also evaluating whether or not your wedding suits their working style and talent (this is especially true for successful, respected and well known names in the wedding industry). Enjoy meeting these creative and amazing people and ask as many questions as possible!

And remember, good providers get booked months and even years in advance. Do not leave your decision making for too long.