There are countless articles around dedicated to showing you how to cut down on costs to have a wedding on a budget. But where you do decide to use wedding vendors, there are many benefits to ensuring that you have a quality team on your side.
While this can mean that you will be paying more for their services, there are so many reasons why it pays to have quality wedding vendors in your corner.
You will get experienced professionals
When you look purely at price, you will see that the award-winning vendors will charge more. This is because they are at the top of their game, and have clocked up countless hours of training and experience in their craft in order to reach that point.
Celebrant Charis White says, “Cheaper suppliers normally mean that they are newer and inexperienced. They are building up a brand and are starting at a base price until they feel they have the expertise to charge more. A quality priced vendor usually means a quality service. As a client you want eloquence and expertise. Your Wedding ceremony sets the tone for the rest of the day and you want to start on a high.”
Your wedding day is not the time to risk it
Check out everything you can about your potential vendors to make sure they have the body of work to back up their claims. Quality vendors will have no trouble producing image galleries, testimonials, or anything else you might need to get a feel for who they are and what they can do.
Charis says you should meet your suppliers, look and all of their content, and make an informed decision.
“Remember, you may be saving $100 or $200 even $400 but is it really worth the risk? If you meet your supplier and you do not get a good feeling then check out their Facebook and Instagram and see the type of content they are putting up. How many weddings are they doing? What are their clients saying about them? Testimonials are a great reference point for any supplier,” she says.
You will be well connected
Experienced vendors are also well-connected ones. They will know how to hook you up with other vendors who are just as experienced as they are, and are a wealth of knowledge if you want to vet those you have on your radar.
They will also know how to handle (or better yet, completely avoid) almost every situation that could crop up because they would have been through it before.
” I have had crazy situations crop up in my weddings. Like the time the rings were forgotten, or the time the father of the bride left his jacket in the car and they were an hour late. You want a celebrant who can navigate those situations with ease and confidence,” she says.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is
If you are thinking ‘Gosh, I’ve got a great deal with my vendor,’ then take some time to examine everything. Do they include the same products or services as their competitors? Or are they missing some elements and will charge you extra to include them?
Are they using the same level of quality when it comes to products? Or are they substituting things with inferior alternatives? Do they have a bad reputation in the industry? If so, you should avoid at all costs.
You can still DIY
As Charis says, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a DIY wedding, but there are some elements that you should absolutely invest in to ensure you have no regrets.
“Saving money here and there on your wedding is an amazing idea. Just do not cut back on the major elements such as having a friend take iPhone photos. Or getting a friend of a friend who has done the odd wedding here and there to be your celebrant,” she says.