10 Things To Ask Your Wedding Vendor Before You Book

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Falcon Film Studios | Wedding Photography

1. Are you independent, or do you work for a company?

  • Find a company with a team of creative individuals to serve you on your most important day. Of course you will find independent people that have beautiful work, but no back up plans because they are on there own. God forbid your DJ or photographer breaks a leg when carrying copious amounts of gear. It’s important that the company you choose has BACK UP PLANS and people to save the day!

2. Are you preferred at any major banquet hall or gathering space?

  • When a major hall recognizes the skill of a company they often will make them the preferred vendor of the establishment. They aren’t usually willing to put there name on the line for just any run of the mill company. As long as one major hall vouches, you are more likely going to be satisfied with your vendor.

3. Do you guarantee back up gear?

  • Regardless of a vendor’s skill, there is no way to guarantee the equipment will work for the entirety of the day. Be sure they have a back up plan that won’t cost the service any quality.

4. What if it rains?

  • Hopefully your day is blessed with sunshine and a perfect temperature but let’s be honest, Michigan weather is unpredictable. Your vendor should have a plan backed by experience in the event of rain. Quality of service should never reflect the weather.

5. How simple and efficient are your online planning forms?

  • The event planning tool’s provided by your vendor is a HUGE reflection of there quality. You will find most companies still have you fill out a paper planning form for them to file. This is a risk because now you are counting on the fact that they will make copies and hopefully not loose or damage your planning form before the event. An online planning tool allows brides and grooms to update planning forms at there convenience. Also, the vendor should be able to see all the changes as they are made so that they can properly prepare. The form should be clean, easy to use, and informative to the vendor.

6. Are you insured?

  • Don’t run the risk of going with a non-insured vendor. Most hall’s wont allow a vendor without insurance and they have the right to turn them away even after you have put down a deposit. NEVER RISK LOSING YOUR DEPOSIT BECAUSE OF THE HALL”S REQUIREMENT’S. Ask your vendor for a copy of the insurance, especially DJ’s.

7. Can you have the same success when teamed with non-affiliated vendors?

  • If you decide to go with multiple companies to vend your event, be sure they can function the same on their own as they would of with the team they normally work with. For example, when producing quality video of the reception, it is imperative that the video team acquires clean audio of speeches. This is normally done through the DJ’s microphone system. Will it hold the video team back if a DJ is chosen with gear they are not used to? There is never an excuse to produce work with a lesser quality than that of which they showed you upon booking.

8. Are your reviews certified?

  • Nowadays its quite easy for a vendor to fake a review. Be sure they are paying in to an accredited site such as WeddingWire.com, or theknot.com. These types of companies make it nearly impossible for a vendor to fake reviews. Also, those websites make it easy for the vendor to share those reviews on there website or social media. A non-certified review is basically worthless.

9. What is your availability this season?

  • This question is important because it allows you to know how many other people are purchasing the same product as you. It will add comfort knowing that you are among a large number of other brides and grooms hoping for satisfaction from that specific vendor. It’s hard for a vendor to fill there schedule with low quality products.

10. Can we try out your services?

  • Never… I repeat never go for a service that is unwilling to give you a test drive of some sort. Wedding’s are expensive and it’s important to know exactly what to expect from your vendor. Successful wedding companies will always let you test there services. Some will give away free services before you even book so you know what your getting. For example, if your thinking of a specific photographer, ask them if they will shoot a few engagement photo’s of you “on the house”. You wouldn’t buy a car without first giving it a drive, why do it with your wedding vendor’s.