How to Choose Your Wedding Suppliers

We are fortunate nowadays that the wedding industry is booming. Finding suppliers are no longer difficult and services are available easily. But finding the right one in the sea of suppliers is the most challenging part.

Based from our own experience, we jotted down important steps and information that could be of help during the wedding preparation.

1.       Attend a Wedding Expo

We have previously featured two articles about attending the wedding expo. Click here to view our experience: Wedding Expo 1 and Wedding Expo 2. Attending the event is important not only for exposure on where to start in the preparation but also to know the estimated amount of money you need to spend on your wedding day.

The wedding expo features veteran and up and coming suppliers that could help you in your wedding needs. Since every aspect of the wedding is covered in the wedding expo, you can already check the range of prices, inclusions and relevance of the services. It also showcases latest trends and sometimes suppliers give away perks for onsite bookings.

In cases where wedding expos are not available in your area, you can check these websites for reference or proceed to step 3:

http://www.weddingsnbeyond.com/

http://www.weddingsatwork.com/

http://www.kasal.com/

http://www.themesnmotifs.com/

2.       Budget Allocation

Maybe you are overwhelmed by the range of prices for wedding services at the wedding expo but do not panic. The main purpose of the expo is to know the average prices for each service. You are not required to buy on the spot. With the price options given in the leaflets, you can now estimate your budget for the services you wish to avail.

The next thing to do with your data is to make a draft of your wedding budget. Remember, this is a rough draft only. As experienced, most of the budget we indicated in our list was not met and yes, the actual prices exceeded our target price. But worry no more. We will give you tips soon on how to make up for exceeding budget by utilizing the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) method. Here’s the list of the major items/services that should be included in your budget allocation.

Item

Reception Venue

Church and Fees

Photographer

Videographer

Rings

Flowers

Wedding Attire

Wedding Accessories

Entourage Attire

Hair and Makeup

Invitations

Wedding Cake

Souvenirs

Band/Music

OTD Coordinator

Supplier's Food

3.       Research

Now that you have listed your priority and lesser priority suppliers, you can start doing your research. Try checking online sites that features wedding suppliers nationwide. Check their locations and price listings. Always consider that if you ask for suppliers outside your desired location, they would request additional payments for transportation and accommodation fees.

Try again the above websites for your start-up research. You can also check in social networking sites. Always list down at least 3 suppliers per service and inquire through their e-mail addresses. Check for the authenticity of the websites by searching the name of the companies. If there are no fishy information about them, send an e-mail right away and wait for their response.

Do not ask for discount during the first e-mail. Preferably, you introduce first yourself, inform them that you saw their ads thru research and you would like to know their current rates for their services. If their contact details are available, you may call or send them an SMS to inquire. It would be faster and more personal.

Photo courtesy of Yap Photography blog

4.       Ask for Referrals

Aside from research, try to ask around friends who were recently married. They can refer tested and proven suppliers. Usually, friends who were satisfied will automatically refer their suppliers. If not, they would honestly refer you to somebody else.

5.       Quality Check

Make sure to check the output of your prospect supplier. Check out their websites to check the quality of their services. Or if their offices are near you, spare some time to drop by and ask them personally.

Wedding Expo Philippines, SMX

6.       Haggle

The prices displayed by suppliers are their base price. So it is up to the customer to request for a discount. Haggling is an art. It’s either you hit or miss. Suppliers are also used to haggling from customers so they have also learned the art on when to say no or say “Yes”. Haggle within the lowest price you have seen in the expo. Usually, suppliers agree to the discounted price provided you let go of other inclusions. If prices could no longer be reduced, try to negotiate for additional features and freebies. Suppliers are usually accommodating for upgrades rather than downgrades.

7.       Contract Signing

A contract binds the supplier to the customer. It is the only proof that you availed of the service. This is your only weapon against the rising number of crooks and fraudulent people. No matter how little or big the budget for the service, always seal the deal with a contract.

Photo courtesy of Conceptu Bacolod Facebook page, our official OTD coordinator

8.       Hire a full-time wedding coordinator

If the 7 steps above are too tiring for you then there is another quick option - hire a full-time wedding coordinator. They will cover all prep work from the planning to execution. All you need to do is to appear on your wedding day.

For OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) or working couples that have limited time and have enough cash to spend, this is a better option. Just don’t forget that full-time coordinators are more expensive than On-The-Day (OTD) wedding coordinators. But duh, if you have enough why stress yourself?

Do you think this article has been helpful? Share your views in the comments section below.