FI and I went to a wedding show this weekend hoping to find a florist and a baker. I was amazed at how so many vendors made the show about how good they are and didn't even listen to what we are looking for.
We didn't really have success with bakers. I found a cake that we loved and I asked the baker if they could do wedding cupcakes for us. He then began to give me a lecture that our wedding was a special event and people deserve cake at weddings, cupcakes are meant for childrens birthday parties and have no place in weddings. After I picked my jaw off the floor, I politely explained that we have many relatives with glueten or lactose issues and I like that we can provide alternatives. Also, I along with some other do not like cake and we like that we can bring cheesecake in along with cupcakes as an alternative. I thanked him for his time and moved on...still can't believe the rudeness. We found another top known bakery and their cheesecake is to die for. We were talking with their rep as she passed me the price lists. I did notice that their prices were $2.00 more per slice then what I walk into their bakery and buy off the shelf at. We inquired about the difference and she told us weddings are special order prices and the charges are what they charge. So out of principal we ruled them out. We have leads on a little bakers friends have used in the past and will be checking up on them this month...
The florists drove me crazy for the most part. We really want to use Hops as part of our flowers. My frist question to every vendor is "have you worked with hops before?" Almost all the vendors looked at me like I was crazy, some tried to talk me out of it, and one even told me I was going to make my wedding look trashy and we might as well put beer bottles on the table. To which I told him we were, that's the table numbering scheme. My FI is very big into the craft beer movement and we are using the craft beers special to us. Now normally I would blow this off to an odd request, but we live in a major brewing city. Everything around here is focused on brewing, and I know I've been to charity events and seen hops used. I would expect local florist to atleast know what the plant is!... Thankfully, we did find two florists who are very familar with hops and loved my ideas. So I am setting up meetings with both of them.
These were the pictures I was trying to show florist I wanted to do and most of them were completely lost!