How to find vendors? And you charge for what?

Re: How to find vendors? And you charge for what?

• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  June 2014

  Don't be afraid to call for a ballpark. They get it all the time. It's ok.
  
  Don't get hung up on finding "the best" of anything. There's no such thing. Find somebody good and pull the trigger. Don't look back.
  
  Ask friends in your area for recos - whether they've recently been married or have just been to a few weddings. No need to be "unique" if you know somebody had a great cake. Steal away.
  
  Lots of reviews are fake, and lots are skewed because people are more likely to talk about bad experiences than good ones. Honestly, take them all with a grain of salt.
  
  Please, when you get a chance, give yourself a more distinguishable username so we can get to know you!

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• Cookie Pusher member

  

  June 2014

  I would ask your friends/family who have gotten married in your area for recommendations. Your venue may also have vendors they have worked with before. You can also try bridal shows if you're into them/up for it. I lucked out in that all of my vendors except the caterer are friends of mine.

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• rockymtnhipster member

  

  June 2014

  Thanks for the tip, I see it gave me a generic name!

  
  

  Well part of the problem is we just moved here in the last year and we dont' know a lot of people, let alone people who have just recently married here,

  
  

  I see what you mean, but I guess I worded it wrong. I'm not really looking for the best ppl in the business so to speak, just ppl who are good at what they do and easy to work with.  I have friends from back home with just a ton of horror stories about picking crappy vendors,so trying to avoid that.  Seemingly no one way to separate one vendor from the other other than actually having to chat with a few from each and trust what they say.

  
  

  Lol I'm totally down for stealing ideas and what I have in mind is probably the same as 9 out of 10 weddings here lol. 

  
  

  I do a lot of purchasing and after a few days of researching, it seems like the industry is so far behind other things.  I dont' mind calling someone for a price, it just seems like there's so much ambiguity behind pricing. I'm sure they want to hear my budget number before they give me a price?

  
  

  Jamie

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• Ven&Radio member

  

  June 2014

  When I got engaged, I had never been to a wedding as an adult.  The wife of one of my coworkers was a wedding planner, so I started talking to her and ended up hiring her as a DOC.  She had awesome recommendations and really helped guide me to vendors she trusted and helped me get some great deals.  I honestly couldn't have planned my wedding without her and would highly recommend a DOC to someone in a similar position.
  

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• AprilH81 member

  

  June 2014

  Also check out your local Knot board.  They will be able to make recommendations based on their experience and/or research.

  
  

  http://forums.theknot.com/categories/local-wedding-boards_colorado-denver
  

  
  

  

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• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  June 2014

  rockymtnhipster said:

  Thanks for the tip, I see it gave me a generic name!

  
  

  Well part of the problem is we just moved here in the last year and we dont' know a lot of people, let alone people who have just recently married here,

  
  

  I see what you mean, but I guess I worded it wrong. I'm not really looking for the best ppl in the business so to speak, just ppl who are good at what they do and easy to work with.  I have friends from back home with just a ton of horror stories about picking crappy vendors,so trying to avoid that.  Seemingly no one way to separate one vendor from the other other than actually having to chat with a few from each and trust what they say.

  
  

  Lol I'm totally down for stealing ideas and what I have in mind is probably the same as 9 out of 10 weddings here lol. 

  
  

  I do a lot of purchasing and after a few days of researching, it seems like the industry is so far behind other things.  I dont' mind calling someone for a price, it just seems like there's so much ambiguity behind pricing. I'm sure they want to hear my budget number before they give me a price?

  
  

  Jamie

  First bolded - you'll see how easy it is to get sucked into the trap of researching EVERYONE and trying on ALLTHEDRESSES and OMG what if there's a bluer shade of blue I should have gotten?! Bride Brain is a serious ailment.

  
  

  Second bolded - they may, or they might not want to make it so easy for other vendors to find their price and undercut them. But for vendors you'll be interacting with personally (photographer, DJ, officiant), you'll want to meet them and see who you click with. We met with two florists and had cake tastings at two bakeries; lucked out loving the first photographer and officiant we spoke with and canceled meetings with two others. 

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• beachyone15 member

  

  June 2014

  We found most of our vendors through bridal shows. You can try food/cake samples, talk to them, look through photo-books of weddings they've done, and they usually give you materials with their pricing/package options to take home.
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• thisismynickname2 member

  

  June 2014

  It IS seriously overwhelming. You're not alone.

  
  

  Try figuring out your "style" before researching anything further. I'm also in a big city, so ultimately we looked for venues that were a) all inclusive, because little details drive me nuts and b) awesome views (no ballrooms without windows).  Just knowing that allowed us to narrow down venues very quickly, and after getting the ballpark pricing, we visited four, and chose from there.

  
  

  Venues often have recommended vendors, so that helps greatly.  

  
  

  Style works for photography too- I actually Googled "wedding photos- [city]" for images, looked at images that caught my eye, and figured out who the photographer was.  

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• JCbride2015 member

  

  June 2014

  Yep, it's really overwhelming.  Here's how we found our vendors:

  
  

  Venue: I used the filter searches on The Knot.  So when you're looking at venues, you can select "museum" or "historical" or "ballroom," etc. to narrow down the choices.  I got about 8-10 venues in my area that were roughly within budget, historical locations, then researched each one online.  A few I eliminated right away because of style reasons or they didn't offer food we liked.  We visited about 4 venues in person and fell in love with our venue after a visit.  We then made a second appointment where we talked money and signed the contract.

  
  

  Music: We used the recommended company from our venue.  They blew us away at our first meeting, we signed the contract on the spot-- done and done.  I did Google their reviews ahead of time, so we knew going in they were a reputable company.

  
  

  Photographer: I stalked the local boards and also used TK filters again.  I ended up meeting our photographer at a bridal show, and his name rang a bell from the TK local boards.

  
  

  Note-- not one of these venues asked our budget before giving us prices.  They just had certain packages with a set cost.  I think this should be true of most reputable vendors.  I could see an exception where maybe a caterer would provide more or less food tailored to your budget, or a florist might choose different flowers based on budget.  But generally, it seems shifty if they want to know your budget first.  Like they will just raise the price to meet it once you tell them.

  
  

  Bottom line-- TK filters and word of mouth recommendations are your friend.  Use the local boards!

  
  

  
  

  
  

  "I'm not a rude bitch.  I'm ten rude bitches in a large coat."

  
  

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• duhitsd member

  

  June 2014

  I second the tip about Bridal shows. I would have NEVER found my photographer if I hadn't gone to that first bridal show. It was a great way to meet a lot of different people, look at pictures of their work and get a general idea of prices. After the show, I'd take all the info home and sort through the people I liked and didn't like, then I'd check out their websites. That really helped me when making some of our decisions.
  

  

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