You think the hard work is over? Think again !

Now you have to hire all the many wedding vendors to fulfill your Wedding Day dreams. For many Brides this can be anywhere from 5 vendors to even 15 vendors .

This might be the first big event you have ever planned so you might not know where to find the best musicians, DJs , Florists, Limousine company,Bakery, photographer, etc… SO …… who do you hire? How do you know they are reliable and professional??

If they have a web site or a store they must be good right?? Wrong.
There are fantastic wedding vendors who will exceed your expectations.There are also vendors who provide poor quality and little service once you fork over your money and sign on the dotted line.

Remember all the vendors you will meet with want your business. It is their job to make the sale and they will do what they have to do to gain you as a client. So you could give your money to a someone who will not live up to their claims.

For example there are florists who over extend themselves; doing multiple weddings in a single day ( not the mention “other events” as well as retail “walkin business”). If they don’t have enough staff or drivers they could be for example late to set up your ceremony or even the reception hall. When you contract a less than professional vendor attention to detail might suffer too.

Limousine companies often over book and have very transient staff and you will only find that out the day of the wedding when you are calling a cab to get to the church on time.

How do you weed out the bad ones?

1) Ask people who have had a wedding who their vendors were. This is the best feedback you will get. It will be honest and unbiased.
You could get positive information or negative. Either way it will be helpful in your search.

2) Try to read online comments on vendors. If you see multiple negative reviews then you should skip that particular vendor.

3) Ask to see their work. You can see perhaps a wedding set up at a location they are working at and by all means please always ask for samples! Florist must show you samples of their work and bakeries should offer you a cake tasting as well.

4) Photographers are very important it is a record of your event so you may want to go high end and spend a considerable part of your budget here. Look at photos and definatly try to seek out recommendations from friends, family or co-workers.

5) Don’t get your vendors from Craig’s List. As helpful as it is Craig’s list is posts are free for advertising so anyone can put an ad and claim to be who ever they want. Instead venture to for example “the knot” or any big site that lists vendors. To be included costs big money and only successful vendors can afford to be included.

6) Be careful of hiring ONLY the vendors your reception site suggests. Unless your contract calls for you to ONLY use their recommended vendors—-don’t automatically use the Catering halls or Reception site vendors. Those vendors are in business with the Reception Hall. That means your Catering hall makes money from each vendor you hire. So no wonder they push you to use THEIR vendors.

6) Take your time, keep good notes as you search for the vendors who are right for you. It may take weeks or even months but in the end it is worth it. Remember it is your wedding and you have ALOT of investment as stake!!!!