Every month, our resident columnists Holly and Susie at Revelry Events share their award-winning wedding planning wisdom. Today, they’re sharing their top tips on finding the perfect suppliers for your day: suppliers that are talented, trustworthy, and totally worth it.
Firstly, you’re in the right place – The Wedding Collective has a directory that’s chock full of brilliant suppliers so that’s tip number one, but it might not be feasible for you to source all your suppliers from here if you can’t find the right option for your location, style or budget. So, if not The Wedding Collective, then where…?
There are a hundred different ways wedding professionals are able to market themselves these days, and it can be hard to keep up. There’s Instagram, wedding fairs, blogs, Pinterest, hey even leaflet littering; but the all time best place to begin is via word of mouth. Crowdsource recommendations from suppliers you already have booked – they won’t suggest someone they don’t like working alongside, or who they’ve heard horror stories about on the grapevine.
Venues often have lists of suppliers who they have worked with before and that they trust to do a good job with their space, but make sure you know whether the list they are giving you is a list of recommendations or a list of preferred ‘you-must-use-or-else’ suppliers. Some venues, especially heritage ones, are super specific on who they will allow to work at their venue and you may get charged if you go ‘off-list’.
The wedding industry – from photographers and planners to bloggers and stationers – is largely unchecked and unregulated. Surprise! This means there are zero laws that govern what happens in the industry and no one officially checking that everyone is qualified, experienced and insured. Any one can set up a website and start being a wedding pro with the right motivation. But don’t freak out! It just means that couples like yourselves have to do a little bit more digging and due diligence to make sure you are putting your trust in the right people. Check the testimonials on the website, Google reviews, if their photos look genuine rather than stock images and how their price compares to others (always get three quotes to get a sense of what’s an appropriate price).
A quick guide to choosing the right wedding supplier
- Shortlist your suppliers and compare them against each other – are they within budget, are they available, are they local, do they charge VAT, are there any extra costs? Your final decision might not be budget related, sometimes it’s who you feel most comfortable with. If it’s the kind of supplier you need to make sure you click with, make your decision after a video call or face-to-face chat. Especially with people like photographers and planners, you need to be sure that you are going to gel with this person to make your planning life 100% easier.
- SMALLPRINT – check it. Read the contract carefully to be sure of all their policies and their rider. You don’t want to find out the day before your wedding that your band will only drink San Pellegrino instead of tap water. And also, don’t be afraid to challenge it. If your photographer wants a three course meal, ask if they’d be happy with just a hot main course, which is generally standard within the industry. Chances are they will, they just want to make sure they’re getting fed!
- Once you have let your first choice know you would like to book, wait until the contract has been signed and booking confirmed before you let the others know. You never know what might have happened between your first enquiry and your confirmation, especially if you haven’t asked that they reserve your wedding date just in case. That way you still have a supplier to fall back on if your first choice falls through.
- When everything does go through and you have definitely confirmed with your supplier, give the runner up suppliers a courtesy email to let them know you have gone with someone else. Don’t feel bad, they will be alright! It’s part of the gig. It’s better for them to know they don’t need to chase you and they can accept another enquiry for your date and move on with their lives.
And so ends our mini guide to booking awesome suppliers. Wait, hang on, is there a shameless plug coming – why yes, yes there is! As wedding planners we know some bloody brilliant people in the industry that could be booked for your wedding. You know where to find us!
Revelry Events are London and Scotland based wedding planners specialising in rulebook-free weddings that don’t fit the normal conventions, push creative boundaries, capture your personalities and, most importantly, show everyone a damn good time. They were also recently awarded the TWIA Best UK Wedding Planner Award 2021, and will be bringing their wisdom to you via their monthly column here. Check out their profile here to get in touch with them!
photos from top: Alex ⋒ Madi, Harper Scott, Megan Elle, Xander and Thea, The Curries
