Donna Sharpe of Pasties & Petticoats, Devon and Cornwall’s beautiful wedding blog, shares the key considerations when choosing your wedding suppliers (Image: Lovely Bridal - Frances Carlisle)
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The question was popped, a pretty ring now graces your finger, and now it’s time to get down to the serious business of planning your wedding.
One of the most important things you’ll be doing as you plan your day is selecting the suppliers who will make it all happen. But as I remember only too well when I was planning my (I mean, our) wedding, there are so many options and it can get a little overwhelming.
Image: Charlotte Dart and Freckle Photography
Image: Holly Young - Simon Burt Photography
I remember wondering how on earth I would choose the right suppliers: people who could jump inside my head and understand what I wanted; people who would be reliable and professional, be experienced enough to deal with any hiccups, have a plan b, not run off with my money…. and breathe.
Thankfully, our amazing wedding industry is crammed with incredible suppliers who can and will do all of this. But how you do find them? Here are a few of my tips which can be followed loosely or (if you’re like me) with the aid of a spreadsheet and thorough scoring system.
Image: Jenny Wren - Kirstin Prisk
Image: Little Red Bus
Be prepared to invest (in proportion to your budget)
Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, but no matter what your budget size you need to allocate funds to each part of your wedding accordingly. Invest in the areas that are really important to you – you get what you pay for and your wedding day isn’t a time for taking a risk.
Shortlist
As you begin to research each new wedding stage, research suppliers and come up with a shortlist of people whose work you love and fits within your budget range.
Image: Miranda Hackett Flowers
Online stalking, I mean… research
Spend some time researching the businesses on your shortlist. Look at their websites, their social media channels – look at past work, reviews and testimonials. Do they have a good selection of examples of work, are people saying good things about them?
Contact and meet
By now you should have shortlisted a couple of suppliers that you’re really happy with. Get in touch with them to see if they’re available on your date. For some suppliers it will be appropriate to meet them (photographer, venue, cake designer, bridal boutique) so get a date in the diary. Are they friendly in their approach? Do they respond to your emails in a reasonable time (by which I mean within a day or so, not within two minutes at 11pm on a Sunday night). How do they come across to you in your communications?
Image: The Bridal Studio - Enchanted Brides
Deciding factor
Whether you’ve met your shortlisted suppliers face to face or communicated via email/phone, you should now have a feel for how you connect with them. Can you imagine working with them over the coming months?
Of course, there will be suppliers where some of these steps won’t be appropriate or necessary, but always make sure you’ve done your research, that you know what’s available in your budget and that you’re confident the supplier you’re choosing is genuine, professional and experienced.
There are a huge amount of incredibly lovely, talented wedding suppliers out there who will work so hard for you. Finding the right suppliers for you will make all the difference not just to your wedding day, but to your entire wedding planning journey. Enjoy the process.
Image: The Paddock Bar
