Paying in full?

mcmath27

So we're trying to pay off as much of the wedding before we get to Vegas, so that we don't have to deal with it then. I wonder though for service industries if it is a bad idea to pay in full before you actually receive the service. I pretty sure we have reputable vendors, but I was curious what others have done before and people's thoughts...

Specifically curious about:
Photo- bently and Wilson
HAMU - harmony
Floral- Pam the palette- I think this one we have to pay in full 6 weeks prior

Thanks!

KikiMira

We paid everything but those off in full, when the exchange rate was par. We will send them payment before we head down.

ktbabe530

I would keep all your money in a savings account and pay as close to when you go as possible.  Why let them hang onto your money for free until your wedding?  

vegasgroom

I believe they all require payment in full before the wedding date so I don't think you'll have much choice.  Of course you can pay the final portion post-deposit as close to wedding date as they allow you to go so your money is in your pocket longer in case you have it invested, etc.  All of our vendors required full payment at various times from a few weeks up to a few days before wedding.  I put as much as I could on credit card as close to wedding date as possible so I had some easy recourse if things went sour, but fortunately all of our vendors were awesome.

One tip, for vendors who do not let you pay by credit card, they may let you pay by paypal, and then you can use both a credit card and have some recourse through paypal if there is an issue.  Keep in mind that you only get paypal's protection if the transaction is conducted as a buyer/seller transaction; if the business owner asks you to send money as a 'friend' type request so they avoid the transaction fee, you give up your protection from Paypal themselves.

SD210

I also paid all of my vendors in advance via credit card, so I would have some sort of protection.  I used all of the above vendors (Bently & Wilson, The Palette, and Harmony) and didn't have any problems.  I liked only having to deal with cash tips the day of the wedding.