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Hiring Vendors – the #1 Criteria

By Richard ~ February 6th, 2009 ~ Wedding Planning       9 Comments

I will talk a lot about how to select the right venue, hire the right photographer, find the perfect band, and so forth. And obviously, for any vendor, competence is a given. But there is one criteria that trumps all others: it needs to feel right.

The classical vendor – client relationship is fine if you are renting a car. But for a wedding, you need – and are entitled to – more. You need a true partnership. You need vendors who will jump through hoops to make your wedding spectacular. At the same time, you should nurture the relationship, make them feel special. Let the bandleader tell his band mates – who probably play at close to a hundred weddings a year – that you are special. Let the photographer see your kindness in such a way that he or she can easily capture it in pictures. The dividends are enormous.

There have been times that I have ignored this advice. After all, I’m a professional planner and I am accustomed to working through challenges. Nonetheless, in most such cases I have regretted it.

My next post – about feeding the band – will include a very special story about a hotelier (yours truly, several years ago) and a wonderful client.

By the way, if you had a very special experience with a vendor, please let me know, either here or by email at richard@weddingaces.com.

Richard

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9 Comments

  1. Planning a Wedding Cruise | cruise.traveltheworld360.com

    2/7/09

    [...] WeddingAces » Hiring Vendors – the #1 Criteria | Wedding Planning … [...]

  2. Chris Garrow

    Chris Garrow

    2/9/09

    I can’t agree with you more Richard. I especially like that you insist that client/customer nurture the relationship as well. Building rapport takes a small effort from both parties.

  3. Evan

    Evan

    2/9/09

    Definitely true… your gut will always tell if someone is trustworthy or not.

  4. Carla

    2/10/09

    Beyond that, plain politeness will take you a long way- being kind to any customer service rep you speak to regarding any problems that may arise will more likely than not encourage that rep to do all they can to make things right.

  5. Jackie

    2/12/09

    I have to respectfully disagree. I learned a hard lesson. I became to good of friends with my photogapher and videographer, and it ends up that was the WORST thing I could do. Yes, getting to know eachother is good but you don’t want to create a close relationship. This is business, very important business at that, and they are there to do a job not schmooz with my family and bridal party instead of taking pictures or shooting video. I just believe that yes you should have a good feeling about your vendor, but at the same time remember this is a very serious day and should not be treated any different.

  6. Richard

    Richard

    2/13/09

    Jackie, you make a good point that I probably should have been clearer about. I was not intending to suggest a personal relationship, but rather an outstanding professional one. There is always a chance that a personal relationship will evolve, but don’t let that happen until after the wedding. Jackie, thanks for bringing this up.
    Richard

  7. Joy

    2/19/09

    Jackie’s experience brings to mind a good reason for not hiring friends or family as vendors. You will often find that friends and family will act in a similar manner to the vendors Jackie mentioned, spending more time with the guests and having a good time than doing their job.

    From Joy’s own blog: The Wedding Kiss

  8. Chiarina

    2/22/09

    I think that this is a very important read for bride/grooms going to meet vendors. I am a form bride and I had a difficult time finding a photographer. I went to a photographers “office” and it just didn’t feel right. I looked for them on thought the better buisness burrow and they were no where to be found. My gut told me to go with someone else. I was right! I later found on the web they were no good. I ended up going with a credited BBB photographer (Gerard Photography, NJ) and couldn’t have been more happy. I even got to hand pick my actually photographer! He was so nice and we were all very comfortable with him. Best of all our pictures show both of our personalities. My only regret is my husband get to meet him before bc then you would be able to see him personality eeven more.

  9. Rev. Tom Henley

    4/17/09

    I see you still do not have a place for advice from an officiant. Just one of the most important vendors on the list.