Trusting your wedding vendors

This is a hard topic to take on. It goes to the very heart of the success of any event, especially weddings. I know more than anyone that weddings are the most stressful and emotional events to happen to anyone. A girl dreams of her wedding her whole life. You invite the most important people you know to share the most important day of your life with you. You are spending a good chunk of money on this one event. You are making the biggest life decision a person can make. Having your day be all you wanted it to be is essential.

So, what happens when you don’t trust the vendors that you have hired to pull off this day, to do what you want them to do? Well, many things. Not the least of which is that you will waste too much time and energy on your wedding day worrying, needlessly, that things aren’t going the way they should. Also, you put a lot of stress on your vendors when they know that you don’t trust them (and believe me, they know). When that happens, things don’t go the way they should. Things can still turn out okay, but when you micromanage – especially the day of your wedding – your vendors will worry the whole day and not be able to do the incredible work that you hired them to do.

This is an easy scenario to avoid. First and foremost, you need to know that if you don’t trust the vendor to begin with, don’t hire them! If you are unsure, at all, that they may not perform or understand what you are really looking for, then they are not the vendor for you. It is really easy to get caught up in hiring a particular vendor based on budget alone. Money is always an issue. Obviously you should stay in budget. But, when you are sacrificing your style and peace of mind because you think you can’t afford a certain vendor, you have just created a problem. Take it from me, you will look back after your wedding and wish you had gone with the other vendor.

Unless you are talking about serious budget issues, most vendors can work a package for nearly any budget. For example, you might meet with one florist and have a fantastic consultation and feel that you click on the creative end. But, you get their quote and you see that it is above your budget. Then, you meet with another florist that you aren’t that excited about. You didn’t get a bad vibe about them, but you know that they didn’t quite get the look you are going for like the first florist did. However, their quote is very much inside your budget. What to do? Easy! Tell the first florist that things are a little high, how much you need to cut and what is their suggestion on where to cut back and still have the general look that you both know you want. You may not get as many flowers, but they will be in the style that you want. Quality vs. quantity.

Same thing could be said for a photographer or caterer. You will find that people are very willing to work with you and create the best package to fit your budget. Don’t get me wrong. Wedding vendors work very hard and, in general, everyone is worth the price that they ask for. I’m not saying that you should play hard ball for the sake of playing hard ball. That’s just mean. This is their livelihood. But, everyone that I have ever worked with is very happy to work up custom packages and quotes to help you get the wedding you want.

So, now that you have hired the vendors that you want in the first place, let them work their magic! Nearly every part of a wedding is a creative process. Vendors are very creative people, have a passion for what they do, and want to deliver that to you. Let them do it! There is nothing worse than watching a creative person being told how they should do their job. It’s excruciating for the vendor and you definitely won’t get what you want in the end product.

In the end, everything is based on trust. Know that you made the right decision in who you hired and let everything else go. Honestly, you will have a much better wedding day when you know that you have enjoyed it to its fullest and not worried about every vendor that you have hired.

Happy Wednesday! – XOXO, Julie

The featured photo is of Jennifer and Scott’s wedding. Jennifer went with a very bold design using fuchsia and black. She let Kim Nelson work her magic in the flowers and was thrilled with the result!