Choosing Your Suppliers
Once you have set a date for your wedding the fun (or sometimes stressful) bit starts. There are a lot of decisions to be made and you want to make the right decision for you as a couple – so where do you start? And how do you make it as stress free and fun as possible?
Wedding Fayres
Most wedding venues/hotels hold these a couple of times a year-usually spring and autumn. You don’t have to be getting married at that venue to attend the wedding fayre, they are open to all. You will find all sorts of suppliers there from DJs, to people who will look after your dog for the day (they really do exist). Talk to everyone there, even if you have no intention of using their service. You will be amazed at what is out there, I still am and I have attended countless wedding fayres. They are a good opportunity to be nosey too, have a look at some of the local venues without committing to anything and get a bit of a feel for the place. Our Upcoming Events page has details of all of the fayres that we are booked to attend and will be updated regularly so if you aren’t sure where to start go and take a look!
Wedding Venues
You will probably find that a wedding venue has a list of preferred suppliers. These are usually people/companies that the venue has worked with many times before and they know and trust them. Suppliers work hard to be on that list and it isn’t easy to make it so be assured that if your venue recommends them they will be good. In terms of DJs, your wedding package may include the ‘in house’ DJ so you should feel confident that the know the venue very well. We hear a lot that people are cautious of preferred/included suppliers because they ‘don’t care as much’ or they cannot find any information on them. This is absolutely not the case. Any good supplier see’s every wedding or event as important regardless of how it is booked (through a venue or directly with the couple) and most preferred suppliers will make contact with you once they receive the booking from the venue to introduce themselves. Equally, do not be worried to ask your venue for contact details or further information on these suppliers-they will have to all to hand.
Just because a supplier is recommended by the venue, they do not have to be used. You can of course bring in someone else of your choice if you want to. However, it is worth being aware that if they are not on the venues list they will need to supply documentation to prove public liability insurance and pat testing. This should not be a problem for any professional. Equally most venues charge an extra fee to bring in an outside supplier as there is more admin involved for their team to sort out the relevant documentation and insurances their end.
Internet
If you search for a particular service that you are looking for you will get hundreds, if not thousands of results. But this does give you a much wider choice of services and you should be able to get an idea of price range. We also have Suppliers and Venue pages on our website listing details of companies and venues that we have worked very closely with and highly recommend to everyone.
Making Decisions
Before you make a final decision talk to the people that you are thinking of using-are they open about costs, are they helpful when you speak to them and do they seem the “right fit” for your wedding? You do not want to spend the run up to your day or even worse the actual day worrying if your suppliers are going to turn up and if they will turn up with what you asked for. Read reviews, find their websites and social media pages, ask for a face to face meeting so you can have an informal chat-any supplier should be more than happy to help put your mind at rest and accommodate you in whatever way they can.
The most important thing to remember is it is YOUR DAY. Whatever you decide needs to be right for you as a couple. Just because Uncle Bob used “Fred down the road” 30 years ago doesn’t mean that Fred is the guy for you. Ask questions, attend fayres and meetings and put aside a little bit of time to look into each supplier you are interested in. It will be worth it!
